Wednesday, November 6, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. - Azusa Pacific can clinch no worse than a tie for its first GNAC football title Saturday when it hosts Dixie State at Citrus Stadium in Glendora, Calif.  Kickoff is at 6:30 p.m.

The Cougars (7-2, 7-1), who are in their second season in the conference, currently lead defending champion Central Washington (6-3, 6-2) by one game.

The Wildcats will need a win at Western Oregon (5-4, 5-3) Saturday (1 p.m.) to keep alive their title hopes. Meanwhile, Humboldt State (0-9, 0-8) will be looking for its first victory of the season when it travels to Canada to take on Simon Fraser (2-6, 2-6) in a 6 p.m. game.

Azusa Pacific, which is among "others receiving votes" and is 31st overall in this week's AFCA Division II national poll,  is coming off a 38-28 win over Western Oregon last Saturday.  That kept the Cougars one game ahead of CWU, which was a 21-14 winner over Humboldt State.

APU running back Terrell Watson rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns to key the victory - and to move closer to two GNAC all-time single season rushing records.

Watson has rushed for 1,459 yards and need 120 yards to match the conference single-season record of 1,579 yards set last season by Nick Ricciardulli of Humboldt State. 

He has 17 rushing touchdowns one shy of the GNAC record of 18 set by Willie Johnson of Central Washington in  2002.

Watson, who is just a junior, is only 281 yards shy of the GNAC career rushing record of 2,836 by Western Oregon's Jason Taroli between 1997 and 1999 and in 2001. Watson has 2,555 yards in two GNAC seasons.

Including 697 yards in his freshman season before APU joined the GNAC, Watson has rushed for 3,252 yards.

Central Washington Remains Prominent in National Defensive Stats

Central Washington, which hasn't given up more than 24 points in any game this season, is ranked in the Top 10 in two major team defensive categories in this week's NCAA Division II national statistical report.

The Wildcats rank seventh in rushing defense (86.9) and ninth in total defense (290.1).  They also rank 11th in scoring defense allowing just 15.7 points game.

CWU also ranks ninth in kickoff returns (26.1).  The only other GNAC team in the Top 10 in any category is Simon Fraser, which is fifth in punt returns (18.3). That average got a boost last week when the Clan's Earl Anderson had a 70-yard return for a touchdown in a 42-35 loss to Dixie State.  That equaled the sixth longest return in GNAC history.

In individual categories, Dixie quarterback Griff Robles is the highest ranked player.  He ranks fourth in total offense (375.1) and 14th in passing (302.8).

Other players in the Top 10 include Central Washington's Isaiah Davis, sixth in interceptions with six; Casey Chin of Simon Fraser, eighth in total tackles (11.9) and Kraig Akins of Western Oregon, seventh in forced fumbles with four.

NATIONAL STATISTICS (Through Nov. 3): Team (Top 30):        Team: Passing Offense – 12. Dixie State 320.6.  Total Defense – 9. Central Washington 290.1.  Rushing Defense – 7. Central Washington 86.9.   Passing Efficiency Defense – 15. Central Washington 102.9.  Scoring Defense – 11. Central Washington 15.7.  Turnover Margin – 30.  Dixie State 0.8.  Kickoff Returns – 9. Central Washington 26.1.  Punt Returns – 5. Simon Fraser 18.3.    Pass Sacks – 28. Central Washington 2.78. Punt Return Defense – 18. Central Washington 4.0.  Net Punting – 28. Humboldt State 36.2.  Individual: Rushing – 19. Jordan Todd, CWU, 116.6.  Passing – 14. Griff Robles, DSU, 302.8; 28. Ryan Bergman, WOU, 276.0.  Total Offense – 4. Griff Robles, DSU, 375.1.  Receptions – 12. Chase Krivashei, HSU, 8.2; 15. JD Duncan, DSU, 7.3.  Receiving Yards – 17. JD Duncan, DSU, 111.1; 30. Mitch Frei, DSU, 93.9. Punt Returns – 18. Isaiah Davis, CWU, 13.7. Kickoff Returns – 30. Isaiah Davis, CWU, 25.6.  Field Goals – 19. Matt Bruder, HSU, 1.2; 24. Chad Heerspink, SFU, 1.2.  Interceptions – 6. Isaiah Davis, CWU, 0.7.  Total Tackles – 8. Casey Chinn, SFU, 11.9. Solo Tackles – 12. Casey Chin, SFU, 6.4.  Forced Fumbles – 7. Kraig Akins, WOU, 0.44.  Passes Defended – 21. Isaiah Davis, CWU, 1.4. 

INDIVIDUAL STELLAR GAMES

100-Yard Rushing Games: 7 – Terrell Watson, APU. 6 – Jordan Todd, CWU.  4 - Chris Tolbert, SFU. 3 – Griff Robles, DSU. 2 - Joe Harris, WOU; Myles Burton, DSC.  1 – Devauntee Hoffman, WOU; Kyle Morris, HSU; Jamarie Sanders, HSU; Joe Harris, WOU.

200-Yard Passing Games: 9 – Griff Robles, DSU.  7 – Ryan Bergman, WOU. 5 -  Kyle Morris, HSU; Ryan Stanford, SFU. 1 – Spencer Phillips, HSU.

300-Yard Passing Games: 4 – Griff Robles, DSU. 2 – Ryan Bergman, WOU. 1 – Kyle Morris, HSU; Ryan Stanford, SFU.

100-Yard Receiving Games: 5 - Joe Don Duncan, DSU. 4 - Mitch Frei, DSU. 3 - Kelechi Nwadibia, HSU; Tyrell Williams, WOU. 2  -  Chase Krivashei, HSU. 1 - Lemar Durant, SFU; Michael Reeve, WOU; Jesse Zalk, CWU; Robert Borcky, SFU; Lucas Gonsalves, WOU.

GNAC RED LION PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offense – Jake Nelson, Central Washington (QB, 6-1, 205, Fr., Lake Stevens, WA) had 238 yards in total offense to lead the Wildcats to a 21-14 win over Humboldt State.  Nelson completed 15 of 22 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 66 yards on 11 carries.  He tossed a 17-yard TD pass to Jordin Kinnune in the first quarter, then threw a three-yard TD to Colter Clinch to give CWU a 21-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Defense – Nick Grunsky, Azusa Pacific (SS, 5-11, 192, Sr., Folsom, CA) had eight tackles, including 1 ½ for losses of seven yards as the Cougars maintained a one-game lead in the GNAC race with a 38-28 win over Western Oregon.  Grunsky also had an interception and broke up two passes.

Special Teams – Tarik Myles, Azusa Pacific (KR, 5-6, 152,  Fr., Rancho Cucamonga, CA) had 132 return yards – 66 on four punts and 66 on two kickoffs in APU’s home win.  He also caught eight passes for 98 yards, finishing with 230 all-purpose yards.

Honorable Mention – Griff Robles, Dixie State (QB, 6-5, 230, Sr., Spanish Fork, UT - Utah) passed for 319 yards and five touchdowns leading the Red Storm to a 42-35 win at Simon Fraser ... Terrell Watson, Azusa Pacific (RB, 6-2, 230, Jr., Oxnard, CA) rushed for 173 yards on 30 carries and scored three touchdowns ...  Stan Langlow, Central Washington (DB, 6-4, 205, Sr., University Place, WA - Curtis) had five tackles and also had a 47-yard interception return and forced a fumble ... Shane Kuenzi, Western Oregon (LB, 6-0, 200, So., Salem, OR – West Salem) led the Wolves with 13 tackles, sharing a six-yard tackle for loss.  He also had a fumble recovery and broke up a pass.

For more GNAC football news, check out the GNAC Weekly report.