MONMOUTH — On a sun-drenched recent Saturday at McArthur Field in Monmouth, Matt Buche and Brandon O’Neil lined up for a home game with Western Oregon University’s football team for the final time.

The career of two of the South Coast’s better football products in the past decade was winding down, but it could be extended if the Wolves beat Humboldt State. A win and help from other schools could put Western Oregon in the Dixie Rotary Bowl, an NCAA Division II game between two top teams from the West that failed to reach the playoffs.

With that on the line, the two local players helped the Wolves to a dominant win. Now they will play Colorado School of Mines today in the bowl game at St. George, Utah, after helping Western Oregon to one of its best seasons and best runs in the past few decades.

While Western Oregon ultimately beat Humboldt State 64-0, it wasn’t a clean game offensively. Western Oregon had five turnovers in the first half — and forced five as well — and led 37-0 at the break.

The Wolves sputtered early before a big play by Buche provided a spark. With the Lumberjacks backed up near their goal line, Buche burst through the line, forced a fumble and then fell on it, giving Western Oregon possession at Humboldt State’s 4-yard line. Moments later, quarterback Brad Ching pulled in a touchdown pass from Mark Thorson and the Wolves had the lead for good.

O’Neil, meanwhile, was helping open big holes for Western Oregon’s running backs as the team moved the ball almost at will against the Lumberjacks.

“It was fun the whole game — going out and knowing we could do whatever we wanted,” O’Neil said.

Neither player was still on the field in the late stages of the game. With a comfortable lead, the starting offensive line got the fourth quarter off, and O’Neil had plenty of time to plot with teammates a plan to give a Gatorade bath to offensive coordinator Ryan O’Malley — other teammates had already done the same for head coach Arne Ferguson.

“It was a great way to finish,” O’Neil said, adding that he didn’t mind taking the fourth quarter off. “I’ll take that any game.”

Buche’s departure from the game was not by choice, and actually was somewhat ironic.

He never was injured in four years of college football until he gave himself a concussion on a hard tackle on special teams in the second quarter.

He watched the second half in sweats.

“It was frustrating watching,” he said.

Buche hasn’t had to spend much time on the sidelines during his career, and O’Neil has been a mainstay the past few seasons.

O’Neil arrived on campus five years ago, redshirting as a true freshman, playing some on the defensive line as a redshirt freshman and then working his way into the starting lineup on offense midway through his sophomore season. Buche showed up a year after O’Neil and charged right into the starting lineup at middle linebacker, a position he held throughout his career.

Along the way, the program experienced lows and highs.

“We were 1-9 my freshman year,” Buche said. “That was not a lot of fun.”

Now the Wolves have had winning seasons in consecutive years for the first time since 1987, having finished 6-4 last year and 8-2 this fall.

“I’m happy to be part of turning (the program) around,” said O’Neil. “It was hard to go through going 1-9. It took a lot of hard work and dedication.”

Western Oregon coach Arne Ferguson said Buche and O’Neil have been a big part of that.

“Matt Buche is a tremendous leader,” he said. “He’s one of the kids who plays with a tremendous motor — one of the four or five best I’ve seen here in 20 years (as a player, assistant and head coach).”

O’Neil, meanwhile, is one of the leaders on the team’s veteran offensive line, Ferguson said.

“He plays our right-side guard, which is our most physical guard,” the coach said. “He has tremendous size and strength and he can move. He’s got quick feet. He’s really developed into an extremely talented football player.”

O’Neil is one of several seniors who are three-year starters on the line, and that helped the Wolves be successful running the ball a year after graduating a standout running back and outstanding tight end.

“Even in the two losses we had, including one to Central Washington who is still in the playoffs, we were still able to run the football because of the offensive linemen,” Ferguson said, noting that the team also has given up few quarterback sacks.

While O’Neil developed into a standout, Buche arrived on campus and charged right into the lineup at a challenging position.

It’s unusual for players to start as true freshmen, even moreso at linebacker, Ferguson said. It’s even more rare for a linebacker to go through an entire career without any significant injury to the extent that Buche started every game until missing one in November because of the death of his grandmother.

“It’s a tribute to how hard he works in the offseason,” Ferguson said. “He plays so hard. It’s pretty amazing at the college level.”

Buche plays on the strong side at linebacker, and has a knack for getting to ball carriers.

“I’m not sure if he’s gotten blocked on the strong-side run,” Ferguson said. “He’s always getting off blocks.”

Buche said playing for the Wolves has been fun, and that he considers himself lucky to have suffered so few injuries “especially in the position I play.”

In addition to his role at linebacker, Buche also plays on the kickoff and punt coverage teams and the kickoff return team.

Even though he missed half the game against Humboldt State, Buche still recorded three solo tackles and two assisted tackles. For the season, he had 29 solo tackles and 30 assisted tackles, including six for losses. He forced three fumbles and recovered two.

When the game was over, the Wolves were able to celebrate their best season since 1985.

Ferguson said one reason the team has been successful is the wealth of in-state talent like Buche and O’Neil.

“If you look at our roster, the first thing you’ll see is we have about 100 Oregon kids,” he said. “And we play more people than anybody we play. And they’re all Oregon kids.”

Ferguson estimates about 95 percent of his players are from in state.

“There’s not any other team in the state that’s even 60 percent,” he said. “That’s what we want to do.”

The South Coast’s impact on the program will continue next year, even after Buche graduates with a degree in earth science and O’Neil with one in physical education. Buche hopes to become a graduate assistant for the team with an eye at eventually becoming a coach himself.

Meanwhile, another Buche is expected to contribute next year. Scott Buche, Matt’s younger brother, is a redshirt freshman this year and figures to be in the mix next year as punter and possibly as a receiver or defensive back as well.

“He’s got a tremendous leg as a punter,” Ferguson said. “As an athlete, he has the work ethic that his brother has. He will be in the mix at receiver, and we might even move him to safety — wherever he can get the most playing time.”

Two other redshirt freshmen are players from Siuslaw’s 2006 state champion team — Jordan Rainwater and Matt Cartmill.

Rainwater, a do-everything playmaker for the Vikings, will try to bulk up in the weight room during the offseason.

“We’re going to be patient with him as he matures at the college level,” Ferguson said.

As for Cartmill, the lineman probably could have been on the traveling squad this year, Ferguson said.

“We decided to redshirt him this year, with all our senior linemen, and see him develop another year,” the coach said.