Wednesday, October 8, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. – Five consecutive wins has landed Humboldt State in the AFCA (American Football Coaches Association) Top 25 poll.

The Lumberjacks, who are ranked 24th the AFCA poll, travel to Glendora, Calif., for a Great Northwest Athletic Conference game with defending champion Azusa Pacific this Thursday.

The winner will move to 2-0 in the GNAC standings.

The teams met earlier this season at Arcata in a non-conference game. Humboldt State won that contest 30-10 knocking the Cougars out of the national rankings.

Azusa Pacific has rebounded for three consecutive wins and takes a 4-1 record into this week’s game.  They are among “others receiving votes” and 30th overall in this week’s AFCA poll.

Humboldt State, meanwhile, has outscored its five opponents by an average margin of 31.2 points per game.  In three of its wins, it has led by margins of 30-3 (Azusa Pacific), 36-3 (Dixie State) and 46-0 (South Dakota Mines) at halftime.

The ‘Jacks have posted some impressive numbers in the process and currently rank in the Top 10 nationally in seven different statistical categories.

HSU ranks fourth in scoring defense (8.6) and sixth in total defense (243.0) and rushing defense (70.4).    It also ranks first in sacks (5.2), second in third down defense (.203) and red zone defense (.400) and fifth in fourth down defense (.143).

Individually, HSU freshman quarterback Robert Webber leads the GNAC in pass efficiency, passing for 968 yards and seven touchdowns and completing 63.6 percent of his passes.

Thursday’s game will feature the GNAC’s top three rushers, led by APU’s Terrell Watson, who is the NCAA Division II national leader with 881 yards and nine touchdowns.

Humboldt’s Ja’Quan Gardner and Nick Ricciardulli rank 2-3 with 494 and 444 yards, respectively, and have combined for 12 touchdowns.

Gardner also leads the GNAC and ranks 11^th nationally in kickoff returns (32.2).

In addition to Watson, who also ranks seventh in all-purpose running (184.0), seven other GNAC players rank in the Top 10 in this week’s NCAA national statistical report.

Paul Revis of Western Oregon ranks fourth in all-purpose running (203.0) and  Humboldt’s Gianni Olivas ranks ninth in punt returns (16.9).

Two players – HSU’s Alex Markarian (3rd, 1.5) and Central Washington’s Tovar Sanchez (6th, 1.2) – rank in the Top 10 in sacks.

Three others – CJ Broussard of Azusa Pacific, Roger Garrett of Western Oregon  and Jay Lata of South Dakota – are tied for eighth in fumble recoveries with two each.

In addition to Thursday’s HSU-APU game, three games involving GNAC teams will be played Saturday as Central Washington visits South Dakota Mines, Dixie State plays at Western Oregon and Simon Fraser takes on Idaho State in a non-conference contest.

From The Record Book

Azusa Pacific running back Terrell Watson recorded his fifth career 200-yard rushing game and his 19th career 100-yard game (as a member of the GNAC) in last Saturday’s 27-20 win at Central Washington. 

Both are GNAC records.  He is one shy of the APU record for 200 yards games held by Christian Okoye and has rushed for 4,484 career yards.

Watson leads the GNAC this season with four 100-yard rushing games.  HSU’s Gardner has three.    

Game Recaps For Oct. 4:

Azusa Pacific 27, Central Washington 20 (at Ellensburg):  Running back Terrell Watson rushed for 199 of his 256 yards in the first half powering the Cougars to a 27-20 victory over Central Washington at Tomlinson Stadium … The Cougars outgained the Wildcats 343-93 (234 rushing, 109 passing) in opening a 27-7 lead at the break.  APU finished the contest with a 425-310 total offense advantage, including 353-99 on the ground ... Cougar quarterback Chad Jeffries had 169 yards, rushing for 59 yards on 17 carries and passing for 110 yards, including first-half touchdowns of 15 and 19 yards to Tanner Henry.  The latter TD came with 26 seconds left after Na’im Colbert, making his first career start, returned an interception 19 yards to the CWU 31. Colbert led APU with seven tackles, including two for losses of 10 yards.  One of those was a nine-yard QB sack ...CWU, which had a 3-0 deficit in takeaways, scored all of the second half points on a 87-yard pass from quarterback Jake Nelson to Kent McKinney and field goals of 29 and 21 yards by Sean McDonald to pull within seven points with remaining ... Azusa Pacific, however, was able to run out the clock as Watson ran 30 yards on a third-and-five play to CWU’s 26 ... McKinney’s TD catch equaled the fourth longest in GNAC history.  He finished the game with four receptions for 118 yards.  CWU quarterback Jake Nelson had 255 yards in total offense (245 passing, 10 rushing) increasing his career total to exactly 3,000 ... The Wildcats set a GNAC record for single-game punt return yards, netting 122 yards (66 on two returns by Isaiah Davis and 56 on three returns by Jesse Zalk).  The old record of 118 had been accomplished three times.  Linebacker Kevin Haynes led the Wildcats with 12 tackles ... McDonald converted two extra points extending his streak to 52.

North Alabama 30, Western Oregon 10 (at Florence, Ala.): Philbrt Martial’s 70-yard interception return gave the Lions an early lead on the way to a 30-10 victory ... North Alabama opened up a 27-3 advantage before the Wolves scored their only touchdown in the fourth quarter on a 28-yard pass from Trey Shimabukuro to Daniel Thomas ... WOU’s other points came on a 50-yard field goal by Jesse Correa as time expired in the first half.  The field goal was the 12^th 50-yard three-pointer in GNAC history.  Correa is the sixth kicker in WOU history to connect from 50 yards or more ...  North Alabama outgained Western Oregon 324-183 in total offense.  The Wolves were held to minus rushing yardage (minus 23) for the second week in row.  Shimabukuro, who completed 23 of 38 passes for 206 yards,  was sacked nine times for losses of 77 ... Paul Revis, who ranks fourth nationally in all-purpose running averaging 203 yards per game, had 113 including 78 yards on six receptions ... Defensive end Kraig Akins led the Wolves defensively with a career-high 14 tackles, including his team’s only quarterback sack. Defensive end Devin Williams had 10 tackles and a forced fumble ... WOU played the game without quarterback Ryan Bergman, who leads the conference in passing yards per game (309.0), and wide receiver Tyrell Williams, who ranks second in receptions per game (6.0).

Humboldt State 53, South Dakota Mines 0 (at Arcata):   Nick Ricciardulli scored three first-quarter touchdowns (35, 11 and 3) as the Lumberjacks cruised to a 45-0 halftime lead to stay unbeaten in five contests ...Ricciardulli finished the contest with 84 yards on seven rushes.  Ja’Quan Gardner had 114 yards on seven carries and Richard Doctor had 79 yards on 10 totes as the ‘Jacks had 393 yards on the ground.  Doctor scored three short touchdowns (2, 3 and 5) ... HSU added 112 yards through the air, 59 on a Robert Webber pass to Gardner for a second-quarter touchdown.  Webber completed 5-of-10 passes for 85 yards ... South Dakota Mines, which came into the game averaging 512.2 yards per contest, was limited to 217 yards.  QB Kent McKinney completed 14 of 30 passes for 138 yards.  Daniel Ziegler had four receptions for 75 yards ...  HSU punter Chris Campbell averaged 48.4 yards on five punts , allowing just one yard on two returns ... The Lumberjack defense had 12 tackles for losses, including 3 ½ by  defensive end Alex Markarian, who leads the GNAC in quarterback sacks with 7 ½.  HSU linebacker Khaalid Abdullah had a team-high eight tackles.  Linebacker Jay Lata had eight tackles for the Hardrockers.

Simon Fraser 29, Dixie State 19 (at St. George, Utah):  Running back Cole Tudor rushed for 113 yards and Tiernan Docherty kicked field goals from 42 and 43 yards as the Clan earned their first victory of the season ... Simon Fraser’s defense also scored twice as linebacker Jordan Herdman forced a fumble on the second play of the second half.  Jordan’s brother Justin picked up the loose ball and ran 27 yards for a touchdown.  Later in the period, SFU’s Quinn Horton and Keenan North tackled Dixie quarterback Ben Longshore in the end zone for a safety to extend SFU’s lead to 19-6 ... Dixie State finished the game with a 330-280 advantage in total offense as Longshore completed 27 of 47 passes for 315 yards and two touchdowns.  Nate Stephens had nine receptions for 126 yards.  Tyler Nickel (15-21-1, 108) and Ryan Stanford (6-13-0, 61) combined to pass for 169 yards for Simon Fraser.  Lemar Durant had five receptions for 47 yards ... Linebacker Mitchell Barnett led SFU in tackles with 11 tackles.  Jordan Herdman had 10 tackles ... DB Kendall Prescott led the Dixie defense with nine tackles and forced a fumble, while lineman Jake Miller had eight tackles, including 3 ½ for losses totaling 16 yards and two of DSU’s three sacks.  Linebacker Trevor Oakley also had eight tackles.

GNAC Football Players of the Week

Offense – Terrell Watson, Azusa Pacific (RB, 6-2, 240, Sr., Oxnard, CA) rushed for 256 yards, including a school-record 199 in the opening half, leading the Cougars to a 27-20 win at Central Washington.  Watson leads NCAA Division II in rushing with 881 yards, an average of 176.2 per game.  He has rushed for nine touchdowns, including two in the first half Saturday as APU built a 27-7 lead at halftime.  

Defense – Jordan Herdman, Simon Fraser (LB, 6-2, 231, So., Winnipeg, MB) had 10 tackles, including 2 ½ for losses of four yards.  He also forced a fumble, which was picked up by his brother Justin and returned 27 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter to give the Clan a 19-6 lead on the way to a 29-19 victory.  Jordan leads the GNAC in tackles with 60, and ranks 12^th nationally with an average of 12 tackles per game.  

Special Teams – Chris Campbell, Humboldt State (P, 5-11, 175, Sr., Granite Bay, CA) averaged 48.4 yards on five punts, three times pinning South Dakota Mines inside its 20-yard line. He had a season-long of 61 yards.  Campbell now leads the GNAC in punting averaging 42.3 yards.