GLENDORA, Calif. – In a game that featured the nation's best running back and one of the country's best all-purpose players, Western Oregon University's football team nearly pulled off an upset over No. 24-ranked Azusa Pacific before having a 41-yard field goal attempt blocked in the game's final minute en route to a 19-18 loss to the Cougars in Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play Saturday at Citrus Stadium.
Trailing by a single point with 2:32 on the clock against the conference's top team in the standings, Western Oregon (4-5, 2-2 GNAC) got the ball on its own 25 yard line and proceeded to drive 51 yards on seven plays that included four straight completions by
Ryan Bergman that got WOU to Azusa Pacific's 29 yard line. After a five-yard completion from Bergman to Thomas, Azusa Pacific (8-1, 5-0 GNAC) stopped the Wolves on back-to-back passing attempts to set up a 41-yard field goal try by
Jesse Correa. On Correa's fourth and final attempt of the night, Azusa Pacific's Matthew Hackett blocked the field goal try with C.J. Broussard recovering the ball for the Cougars at their own 35 yard line with 31 seconds on the clock that sealed the win for APU.
Western Oregon's
Paul Revis, who ranked third in the country in all-purpose yards coming into the game with an average of over 200 yards per game, led the Wolves with 135 receiving yards and a touchdown, while Bergman registered the seventh 400-yard game of his career with 403 passing yards on 24-of-41 that included a pair of touchdowns. Revis tallied 141 all-purpose yards in the game, as his season average dipped just below the 200-yard mark after collecting eight return yards to go along with his game-high receiving performance.
Tyrell Williams chipped in with 132 yards receiving for WOU, while
Kraig Akins led Western Oregon's defense with a game-high 12 tackles that included three tackles for loss.
Jeremy Moore tallied two of the Wolves' four sacks on the night.
For Azusa Pacific, Terrell Watson, who entered the game as the leading rusher among all NCAA Divison I, II, or III players averaging over 185 yards per game, put together his fifth 200-yard game of the season behind a game-high 202 yards rushing to go along with a pair of touchdowns. Chad Jeffries was 18-of-23 passing for 188 yards and a touchdown for APU, while Steven Fanua registered a team-high 10 tackles for the Cougars.
In a slow-scoring first half, Azusa Pacific got on the board midway through the second quarter when Watson scored his first touchdown of the night on a 12-yard run with 8:33 on the clock to put the Cougars ahead 6-0 after APU's two-point conversion failed.
With 1:05 left in the opening half, Correa connected on his only field goal of the night from 33 yards out that brought Western Oregon within three points (6-3) at halftime.
Over the opening two quarters of play, the two teams combined to register 360 yards of total offense with Western Oregon putting together 201 yards compared to Azusa Pacific's 159 yards that included a mere eight passing yards in the second quarter.
The third quarter featured 13 combined points, as Azusa Pacific scored first on a Jeffries' 13-yard passing touchdown to Josiah Thorpay that put the Cougars ahead 12-3 with 5:35 on the clock.
On the very next possession for Western Oregon, Bergman began with a seven-yard completion to Williams before connecting with Revis on a 68-yard touchdown on the third play of the drive that brought the Wolves within two points (12-10) with 5:07 on the clock.
Neither team would score again in the third quarter en route to setting up a wild fourth and final quarter between the Wolves and Cougars.
In the fourth quarter, Western Oregon stopped Azusa Pacific on its first drive before getting the ball back on its own 16 yard line. Over the next three minutes and 14 seconds, WOU put together an 84-yard scoring drive that concluded on a 46-yard passing touchdown from Bergman to
Daniel Thomas that gave Western Oregon its first lead of the night (16-12) following a two-point failed conversion with 9:10 on the clock.
Neither team would score over the next four-plus minutes until Moore stepped up defensively for Western Oregon with back-to-back plays that disrupted APU's quarterback, as the final one came via a sack that pinned the Cougars back at their own one-yard line. With Azusa Pacific's punter standing at the back of the end zone, the Cougars did not want to risk a potential blocked punt and stepped out of the back of the end zone for a safety that gave the Wolves an 18-12 lead with 4:30 left in the game.
After a three-and-out for Western Oregon, Azusa Pacific needed only two plays to tie the score (18-18) after Watson took a handoff from Jeffries and ran 80 yards for the eventual game-tying touchdown. Jamie Cacciatore's extra point gave the Cougars the lead (19-18) with 2:32 remaining.
Following Watson's second touchdown of the night, Western Oregon got the ball and began its final drive of the night that set up the field goal attempt by Correa with 31 seconds left on the game clock.
Western Oregon ended the game with 429 yards of total offense compared to Azusa Pacific's 367. In a game that featured zero turnovers, the two teams combined for 105 penalty yards with the Wolves being whistled for five penalties that resulted in a mere 25 yards lost versus APU's 11 penalties that resulted in 80 yards lost.
Western Oregon returns to action on Saturday, November 8, in its final home game of the season against nationally-ranked Humboldt State beginning at 1:05 p.m. on McArthur Field. The Wolves will be honoring their seniors before the game, while also looking to move back into the top half of the GNAC standings.
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Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Western Oregon...... 0 3 7 8 - 18 Record: (4-5,2-2)
Azusa Pacific....... 0 6 6 7 - 19 Record: (8-1,5-0)
Scoring Summary:
2nd 08:33 APU - Watson,T. 12 yd run (TEAM rush fumbld), 10-72 6:13, WOU 0 - APU 6
01:05 WOU - Correa,Jesse 33 yd field goal, 7-61 2:32, WOU 3 - APU 6
3rd 05:35 APU - Thropay,Jos. 13 yd pass from Jeffries,C. (Cacciatore,J. kick blockd), 12-64 7:24, WOU 3 - APU 12
05:07 WOU - Revis,Paul 68 yd pass from Bergman,Ryan (Correa,Jesse kick), 2-75 0:28, WOU 10 - APU 12
4th 09:10 WOU - Thomas,Daniel 46 yd pass from Bergman,Ryan (Bergman,Ryan pass failed), 8-84 3:07, WOU 16 - APU 12
04:30 WOU - TEAM safety, , WOU 18 - APU 12
02:32 APU - Watson,T. 80 yd run (Cacciatore,J. kick), 2-88 0:46, WOU 18 - APU 19
WOU APU
FIRST DOWNS................... 16 15
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 19-26 38-179
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 403 188
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 41-24-0 23-18-0
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 60-429 61-367
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 2-8 2-9
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 3-99 4-84
Interception Returns-Yards.... 0-0 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 5-40.4 6-36.8
Fumbles-Lost.................. 2-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards............... 5-25 11-80
Possession Time............... 24:50 34:39
Third-Down Conversions........ 2 of 13 8 of 15
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 2 of 2 0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 1-2 2-2
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 4-28 5-27
RUSHING: Western Oregon-Harris,Joe 8-19; Johnson,Tyler 1-6;
Penaranda,Nathaniel 1-5; Apelu,Kamakana 1-2; Panui,Leighton 1-minus 1;
Bergman,Ryan 7-minus 5. Azusa Pacific-Watson,T. 27-202; Adams,R. 1-7; TEAM
2-minus 2; Jeffries,C. 8-minus 28.
PASSING: Western Oregon-Bergman,Ryan 24-41-0-403. Azusa
Pacific-Jeffries,C. 18-23-0-188.
RECEIVING: Western Oregon-Revis,Paul 8-135; Williams,Tyrell 6-131;
Thomas,Daniel 5-91; Apelu,Kamakana 2-18; Penaranda,Nathaniel 1-21; Simkins,Dylan
1-6; Harris,Joe 1-1. Azusa Pacific-Robertson,B. 6-53; Henry,T. 3-39; Watson,T.
3-23; Zeidler,E. 2-40; Thropay,Jos. 2-21; Myles,T. 1-7; Hill,A. 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS: Western Oregon-None. Azusa Pacific-None.
FUMBLES: Western Oregon-Revis,Paul 1-0; Johnson,Tyler 1-0. Azusa
Pacific-None.
Stadium: Citrus Stadium Attendance: 3889
Kickoff time: 6:00 pm End of Game: 8:35 pm Total elapsed time: 2:35
Officials: Referee: Wane Dallosto; Umpire: James Sillik; Linesman: John Fallman;
Line judge: Benjamin Keller; Back judge: Mike Patton; Field judge: Ty Druse;
Side judge: Craig Miers; Alternate: Steve Coover;
Temperature: 59 F Wind: 13mphWSW Weather: Cool, partly cloudy
