Cougars notch first victory of Kirby Moore era

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Sep. 19—It wasn't perfect. It didn't have to be.

For the first time in the coach Kirby Moore era, the Washington State football team won a game, beating the Duquesne Dukes 48-7 — and it happened 129 miles east of his hometown of Prosser, Wash., in front of a home crowd Saturday at Gesa Field.

It also featured dual 100-yard rushers, with running backs Maxwell Woods, a sophomore, and junior Kirby Vorhees combining for 225 rushing yards.

Quarterback Caden Pinnick and the WSU offense's struggles continued in waves Saturday afternoon, then they began to surf en route to 512 total yards.

It looked to be more of the same struggles for the Cougar offense in the first quarter. A high snap sailed past Pinnick's head, prompting him to take a sack while retaining possession.

The very next play put a bow on the perhaps worst offensive start as Duquesne's Dallas Harper intercepted Pinnick's deep pass intended for senior wide receiver Darrius Clemons.

What was a 14-7 WSU lead at halftime abruptly became a 35-7 margin behind the first two passing touchdowns of Pinnick's career — an 11-yard catch-and-run to fifth-year tight end Jack Pedersen and a 10-yard dart to the back of the end zone and into the paws of junior wide receiver Brenden Ganashamoorthy.

Vorhees, who put WSU on the board in the first quarter off an 8-yard run, broke loose to close the third quarter with a 58-yard ramble into the end zone that put WSU up 35-7.

In an expected but nonetheless dominant defensive showing against the worst offense in the Football Championship Subdivision, the Cougar defense forced 11 punts and contained the Dukes to 180 yards.

Taylor can be reached at 208-848-2260, staylor@lmtribune.com, or on X or Instagram @Sam_C_Taylor.

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