Tuesday, October 11, 2016

A flurry of record breaking performances on both sides of the ball put an exclamation point on the first half of the GNAC season.

The first record had been on the radar for some time. Simon Fraser linebacker Jordan Herdman became the GNAC’s all-time tackling leader with his 10 in Saturday’s loss at Western Oregon. Herdman now has 393 career tackles, surpassing the mark of 385 set by Central Washington’s Buddy Wood from 2005 to 2008.

The second record was from the man that the Clan couldn’t stop. The Wolves’ Paul Revis caught 17 passes for a GNAC single game record 250 yards in the victory. That surpassed the previous record of 236 yards set by Central Washington’s Nate Brookreson against Carroll (Mont.) on Aug. 28, 2004.

The third record was an explosive one as Azusa Pacific’s Tyree Davis returned a third quarter kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown in the Cougars’ 27-23 loss at Colorado Mines. That tied Dixie State’s Cache Morgan, who had two 100-yard kick returns in 2011 and 2012.
The three record performances capped a first half of the GNAC season that has been anyhing but to script. The Cougars enter the week as the only team undefeated in GNAC play at 4-0, but fell to No. 19 in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll after the loss in Colorado.

The Cougars will square off this week against Humboldt State, which has faded to 3-3, 1-3 GNAC, in its title defense. The Lumberjacks compiled just 253 yards of total offense in its 42-17 loss to Central Washington.

The game of the week will be in Ellensburg, where Central Washington will host Western Oregon. The Wildcats exploded for five second half touchdowns and saw its defense allow just 68 second half yards to the Lumberjacks. The Wolves, meanwhile, finished with 396 yards of total offense against Simon Fraser.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
Paul Revis, Western Oregon
WR/KR • 5-9 • 165 • Junior • Scappoose, Ore.

Revis set a GNAC single game record with 250 receiving yards on 17 catches in the Wolves’ 33-7 win over Simon Fraser. He caught a 27-yard touchdown pass that opened scoring late in the first quarter. Revis also had two punt returns for 62 yards, including a long of 49 yards, for a total of 312 all-purpose yards.

Also Nominated: Weston Carr (Azusa Pacific), Justin Lane (Central Washington).

DEFENSE
Tyler Johnson, Western Oregon
LB • 6-2 • 230 • Junior • Eugene, Ore.

Johnson finished with six tackles, including four solo tackles, three tackles for loss for 17 yards, two sacks for 15 yards and had an interception to lead the Wolves in its 33-7 win over Simon Fraser. Johnson and the Wolves held the Clan to 163 yards of total offense, negative 8 yards rushing and no offensive points.

Also Nominated: Mykal Walker (Azusa Pacific), Tovar Sanchez (Central Washington).

SPECIAL TEAMS
Tyree Davis, Azusa Pacific
CB • 5-10 • 180 • Senior • San Diego, Calif.

Davis had three kick returns for 124 yards and became the second player in GNAC history to return a kick 100 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter at Colorado Mines. Davis now leads Division II with an average of 44.5 yards per return.

LAST WEEK'S GAMES
AT COLORADO MINES 27, AZUSA PACIFIC 23
GOLDEN, Colo. - A third quarter comeback by Azusa Pacific was stunted short Saturday as the No. 10 Cougars fell to Colorado Mines, 27-23, at Marv Kay Stadium. Mines had Azusa Pacific on the defensive quick, going up 13-0 on a pair of Justin Dvorak touchdown passes to Brody Oliver before Tyree Davis got the Cougars on the board with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, just the third in GNAC history. The Cougars went up 14-13 on Andrew Elffers’ 3-yard touchdown pass to Tanner Henry. Dvorak found Oliver for the third time in the game with 6:49 left in the first half before Jamie Cacciatore connected on a 22-yard field goal with a minute left to come within 20-17 at the half. Elffers found Weston Carr on the first possession of the second half to put the Cougars up 23-20, but Dvorak responded with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Ty Young that proved to be the last score of the game. Azusa Pacific saw its last three drives end in punts and its last drive end in an interception. Carr led the Cougars by catching six passes for 177 yards and a touchdown while Kurt Scoby carried 15 times for 79 yards. Elffers completed 11 of 14 for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Dvorak led Colorado Mines by completing 31 of 45 for 342 yards and four touchdowns. Oliver caught nine passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns. Mines outgained Azusa Pacific on offense 481 to 380. Mykal Walker led Azusa Pacific defensively with a season-high 16 tackles.

AT WESTERN OREGON 33, SIMON FRASER 7
MONMOUTH, Ore. - A record-breaking performance by Paul Revis led Western Oregon to a 33-7 win over Simon Fraser at McArthur Field. Revis set a GNAC record with 250 receiving yards on 17 catches with a touchdown. He also had 62 kick return yards to finish with an impressive 312 all-purpose yards. That accounted for the majority of the Wolves’ 401 yards of total offense. The WOU defense, meanwhile, limited the Clan to 163 yards of total offense and negative eight rushing yards. Revis had his lone score with 3:15 left in the first quarter, catching a 27-yard touchdown pass from Phillip Fenumiai. Nick Duckworth added three touchdowns in the second and third, finding Zach Suarez for an 11-yard pass with 6:23 left in the second and Andy Avgi for a pair short touchdown receptions in the third quarter. Torreahno Sweet closed scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Simon Fraser’s only score was a defensive one with Gabe Lopez returning an interception 51 yards for a touchdown in the third quarter. Duckworth completed 26 of 39 passes for 277 yards and three touchdowns and was intercepted twice. Miles Richardson led Simon Fraser by completing 15 of 38 passes for 171 yards. Justin Buren caught four passes for 68 yards. Tyler Johnson and Austin Spencer each had six tackles for Western Oregon, with Johnson adding 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception. Nathan Kyeame led Simon Fraser with 11 tackles. Jordan Herdman finished with 10 tackles to become the league’s all-time tackles leader with 393.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON 42, AT HUMBOLDT STATE 17
ARCATA, Calif. - Central Washington used five unanswered second half touchdowns to rebound from a 17-7 halftime deficit and beat Humboldt State 42-17 at the Redwood Bowl. After the Wildcats built a 7-3 lead after one quarter of play, Humboldt State responded with Robert Webber finding Sage Burmeister for a 25-yard touchdown pass and Ja’Quan Gardner made it a 17-7 halftime lead with a 25-yard touchdown run. JoJo Hillel started the CWU run with a 2-yard touchdown with 8:50 left in the third. Justin Lane then found Jesse Zalk for a 49-yard touchdown pass at the 6:07 mark for a 21-17 lead after the third quarter. Austin Pernell scored on a 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. Lane then found Justin Peterson for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 11:52 left in the game and Christian Cummings scored on 16-yard touchdown run with 4:26 left. Lane completed 26 of 38 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns. Zalk caught nine passes for 171 yards and a touchdown and returned six punts and three kicks for 95 yards for 266 all-purpose yards. Webber led Humboldt State by completing 19 of 44 passes for 202 yards and touchdown. Gardner rushed 16 times for 79 yards and a touchdown while Burmeister caught six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown. Richard Doctor returned six kicks for 144 yards. Central Washington outgained Humboldt State in total offense 452-253. Kevin Haynes led CWU defensively with seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Jeff Shott led Humboldt State with nine tackles.

AROUND THE GNAC
AZUSA PACIFIC
• Azusa Pacific took its first loss of the season Saturday, unable to complete a second half comeback in a 27-23 defeat at Colorado Mines.

• With the loss, the Cougars dropped nine spots to No. 19 in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll and eight spots to No. 20 in the D2Football.com Poll.

• Cornerback Tyree Davis tied a GNAC record with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in the first quarter. Davis tied the mark set by Cache Morgan of Dixie State in 2011 and repeated in 2012. For his effort, Davis was named the GNAC Special Teams Player of the Week. Davis enters the week leading Division II with 44.5 yards per kickoff return and is 12th in Division II with 498 combined kick return yards.

• Quarterback Andrew Elffers led the APU offense by completing 11 of 14 passes for 219 yards and two touchdowns. The junior leads the GNAC and is fourth in Division II with a pass efficency rating of 177.3. Elffers is also 15th in Division II with 9.13 yards per pass attempt and 22nd with a .657 completion percentage.

• Wide receiver Weston Carr had another big game, catching six passes for 177 yard and a touchdown, which included an 85-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter. Carr is third in the GNAC with 78.7 receiving yards per game and is 15th in Division II with 21.45 yards per reception.

• Defensively, Mykal Walker finished with a season-high 16 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Walker enters the week fourth in the GNAC with 8.8 tackles per game. Defensively, Azusa Pacific is second in Division II in red zone defense (.474), third in team sacks (4.50 per game) and 13th in scoring defense (16.2 points allowed per game),

• Azusa Pacific enters the week leading the GNAC in pass efficiency (269.4), scoring defense (16.2 yards allowed per game), rushing defense (93 yards allowed per game), pass defense efficiency (112.9), turnover margin (1.67) and kickoff returns (30.2 yards per return).The Cougars rank second in Division II in kickoff returns, fourth in interceptions (13), fifth in turnover margin and ninth in tunrovers gained (17).

• Azusa Pacific returns to conference play on Saturday, hosting Humboldt State. The Cougars will play three of their final four GNAC games at home.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington scored five unanswered touchdowns at Humboldt State Saturday, coming back from a 17-7 halftime deficit to beat the Lumberjacks 42-17 in the Redwood Bowl.

• Wide receiver/return specialist Jesse Zalk led the Wildcats with 266 all-purpose yards. He caught nine passes for 171 yards and a touchdown, returned three kicks for 61 yards and returned six punts for 34 yards. Revis enters the week leading the GNAC and ranked fifth in Division II with 189.2 all-purpose yards per game.

• Quarterback Justin Lane also performed well, completing 26 of 38 passes for 330 yards and three touchdowns. Lane enters the week second in the GNAC in passing with 247.8 yards per game and total offense with 252.8 yards per game. In the NCAA Division II stats, Lane ranks 13th with 16 passing touchdowns and 22nd with 14.72 yards per completion.

• Linebacker Kevin Haynes led a balanced defensive attack with seven tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Defensive lineman Tovar Sanchez finished with six tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks. Sanchez enters the week leading the GNAC and seventh in Division II eiyh 2.17 tackles for loss per game. Haynes ranks 15th in Division II with 6.2 solo tackles for game.

• Central Washington set a GNAC single game record by forcing Simon Fraser to punt 13 times on Oct. 1. That beat the previous record 12 set on five occasions, most recently by Western Oregon at Portland State on Sept. 26, 2015.

• Central Washington enters the week leading the GNAC in total defense (345 yards allowed per game) and opponent first downs (105) and ranks second in scoring offense (36.8 points per game), rushing offense (155.8 yards per game), pass offense (278 yards per game), total offense (433.8 yards per game), pass efficiency (157.6), first downs (127), scoring defense (21.8 points allowed per game), pass defense (242.5 yards allowed per game), pass defense efficiency (125,6) and turnover margin (0.17).

• Central Washington’s final four games of the season are all conference games, beginning with a matchup at home on Saturday against Western Oregon.

HUMBOLDT STATE
• The offense staked Humboldt State to a 17-7 halftime lead, but the Lumberjacks were stunned by five second half touchdowns by Central Washington in 42-17 home loss.

• The Lumberjacks were limited to 68 yards of total offense in the second half and finished with 253 yards for the game. Quarterback Robert Webber accounted for 202 of those yards in the passing game, completing 19 of 44 and throwing for a touchdown.

• Webber enters the week leading the GNAC and ranking 16th in Division II with 297.5 passing yards per game. He also leads the GNAC and is ranks 26th in Division II with 297.3 total offense yards per game.

• Webber spread the passing offense between eight different receivers. Sage Burmeister was his top target, catching six passes for 49 yards and a touchdown.

• Running back Ja’Quan Gardner had another quiet game, carrying 16 times for 79 yards and a touchdown and catching three passes for 16 yards. Gardner enters the week leading the GNAC and ranked 21st in Division II with 111.5 rushing yards per game.

• Defensive back Jeff Shott led the defense with nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. As a team, Humboldt State leads the GNAC in pass defense at 224.2 yards allowed per game.

• Offensively, Humboldt State leads the GNAC in scoring offense (37.5 points per game), rushing offense (162.3 yards per game), pass offense (299 yards per game), total offense (461.3 yards per game), first downs (148), punting (37.3 yards per punt) and time of possession (31:53 per game). In the NCAA Division II stats, Humboldt State leads Division II in blocked kicks and blocked punts allowed (0), is second in blocked punts (3), eighth in fumbles lost (2) and 12th in turnovers lost (6).

• On Sept. 24, Humboldt State set GNAC single game records with 44 pass completions and 24 first downs passing. In the same game, Robert Webber set GNAC single game records with 502 passing yards and 44 pass completions and tied a GNAC record with 64 pass attempts.

• The Lumberjacks are on the road for its next two games, beginning with a Saturday matchup at Azusa Pacific.

SIMON FRASER
• The offensive challenges continue for Simon Fraser, which was held to 171 yards of total offense and negative eight yards rushing in a 33-7 loss at Western Oregon.

• The highlights of the game for the Clan again came on defense. Linebacker Gabe Lopes accounted for the only SFU score of the game, returning a third quarter interception 51 yards for a touchdown.

• Linebckaer Jordan Herdman became the GNAC’s all-time tackles leader with 10 in the game. He now has 393 for his career, surpassing the previous record of 385 set by Buddy Wood of Central Washington from 2005 to 2008. Herdman had five assisted tackles to add to his career record in the category, which is now at 305. Herdman leads the GNAC and is fourth in Division II with 13.0 taackles per game and is 10th in Division II with 6.5 solo tackles per game.

• Quarterback Miles Richardson completed 15 of 38 passes for 171 yards and an interception. Justin Buren caught four of those passes for 68 yards while Gavin Cobb caught five passes for 64 yards.

• Simon Fraser enters the week leading the GNAC and ranked fourth in Division II with 22.7 yards per kick return. The Clan is also ninth in Division II with 9.3 tackles for loss per game and 30th with three sacks per game.

• Simon Fraser set a GNAC record with 13 punts against Central Washington on Oct. 1, surpassing the mark of 12 set by five different teams, most recently Western Oregon vs. Portland State on Sept. 26, 2015. Punter Colin Cossette kicked the ball away all 13 games to surpass the individual single game record of 12 set three times, most recently Western Oregon’s Alexander Bradt against Western Oregon in 2015. Cossette averaged 30.8 yards per punt in the game.

• Simon Fraser is idle this week. The Clan returns to action at home on Oct. 22, hosting Azusa Pacific.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon rode Paul Revis’ record-setting afternoon to a convincing 33-7 victory over Simon Fraser on Saturday at McArthur Field.

• Revis caught 17 passes for a GNAC single game record 250 yards and a touchdown. The 250 yards surpassed the previous record of 236 set by Central Washington’s Nate Brookreson in 2004. Revis finished with 312 all-purpose yards to earn GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Revis enters the week leading the GNAC and ranked fifth in Division II with 189.2 all-purpose yards per game. He also leads the GNAC  and is 17th in Division II with 107.3 receiving yards per game and leads Division II with 23.7 yards per punt return.

• Linebacker Tyler Johnson was named GNAC Defensive Player of the Week after he finished with six tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and an interception in the victory. As a team, Western Oregon is second in the GNAC in rushing defense (99.5 yards allowed per game).

• Quarterback Nick Duckworth had his best game of the season, completing 26 of 39 passes for 277 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Phillip Fenumiai completed 7 of 9 in a short appearance with 116 yards and a touchdown.

• As a team, Western Oregon is averaging 373.8 yards of total offense per game. The Wolves are fifth in Division II in punt returns (22.54 yards per return) and 16th in fourth down conversions (.667).

• Western Oregon plays its only road game of the month this Saturday, playing at Central Washington. After the Oct. 22 nationally televised home game with Humboldt State, the Wolves will close the season with back-to-back road games.