Tuesday, October 17, 2017

As the second half of the GNAC football season began, the scoring ability for conference teams showed little sign of slowing.

The league’s four teams combined to score 143 points in two games last week. Most of those came in a high-charged 52-49 win for Humboldt State against Azusa Pacific. The two teams combined for 1,298 yards of total offense and 14 touchdowns, but the game was won when Lumberjacks’ kicker Jose Morales broke a 49-49 tie with a 47-yard field goal with 1:19 left.

The game was a record-setter on many levels. Humboldt State running back Ja’Quan Gardner set GNAC single-game records with 446 all-purpose, and six total touchdowns and tied another with five rushing touchdowns. He also established GNAC career records for touchdowns, points, all-purpose yards and rushing yards. Ironically, all those records belonged to standout APU running back Terrell Watson and were broken against his old team.

Not to be outdone, Azusa Pacific quarterback Andrew Elffers set a GNAC single-game record of his own with 559 yards of total offense, most of which came on 475 passing yards.

In other game of the day, the Central Washington defense finished with its second shutout of the season as it limited Western Oregon to 198 yards of total offense in a 42-0 victory in Monmouth, Oregon. The Wildcats had six sacks, 11 tackles for loss, one fumble recovery and a pair of interceptions.

Offensively, quarterback Reilly Hennessey threw for 364 yards and five touchdowns, wide receiver Christian Gasca needed just five catches for 149 yards and two scores.

This week holds potential to see another set of high-scoring contests. Azusa Pacific will host Simon Fraser while Humboldt State hosts Western Oregon. Central Washington, which is now at No. 9 in the AFCA Division II Coaches Top-25, will put its 7-0  mark on the line in a con-conference contest, hosting North Alabama.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
Ja’Quan Gardner, Humboldt State
RB • 5-7 • Senior • Ceres, Calif.

Gardner had a record-setting night in the Lumberjacks’ 52-49 win over Azusa Pacific. He finished with a GNAC single-game record 446 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns and tied a record with five rushing touchdowns. He had 293 rushing yards on 31 carries, three receiving yards and 150 kickoff return yards on five returns and a touchdown. In the process, Gardner set GNAC career marks in touchdowns scored (67), points (402), all-purpose yards (6,366) and rushing yards (5,124) and tied the GNAC career with his 63rd rushing touchdown.

Also Nominated: Christian Gasca (Central Washington).

DEFENSE
Kevin Haynes, Central Washington
LB • 6-1 • Senior • Battle Ground, Wash.

Haynes repeated as the Defensive Player of the Week selection after he finished with 12 tackles, two for loss and a sack as Central Washington held Western Oregon to 261 yards of total offense in the Wildcats’ 42-0 shutout of Western Oregon.

SPECIAL TEAMS
Jose Morales, Humboldt State
K • 6-4 • Senior • Lompoc, Calif.

Morales kicked the game-winning 47-yard field goal, a season-long kick, with 1:19 left to lift the Lumberjacks to a 52-49 win over Azusa Pacific. He also went 7 for 7 on point-after attempts and averaged 63 yards per kickoff on nine kickoffs with four touchbacks.

Also Nominated: Marcus Shimmelfennig (Central Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
AZUSA PACIFIC
LAST WEEK: Oct. 14: Lost at Humboldt State, 52-49
THIS WEEK: Oct. 21: vs. Simon Fraser, 6 p.m.

• Despite a record offensive performance by quarterback Andrew Elffers, Azusa Pacific came out on the losing end of a 52-49 offensive shootout at Humboldt State.

• The two teams for a combined 1,298 yards of total offense. Elffers set a GNAC single-game record with 559 yards of total offense, breaking the record of 535 set by Trent McKinney of South Dakota Mines in 2015. Elffers completed 30 of 43 passes for 475 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed 12 times for 84 yards and a touchdown. Elffers enters the week leading the GNAC and ranked 13th in Division II in total offense with 311.1 yards per game. He is also third in Division II with 9.77 yards per pass attempt.

• Wide receiver Darrell Adams led seven APU receivers with 176 yards and a touchdown on 12 catches. Weston Carr caught nine passes for 171 yards and a touchdown. Carr enters the week leading the GNAC and third in Division II with 131.3 receiving yards per game. He is also second in Division II with 919 receiving yards and sixth with eight receiving touchdowns. Adams is ninth in the GNAC with 51 receiving yards per game.

• Running back Kurt Scoby posted another 100-plus yard rushing effort, carrying 22 times for 126 yards and three touchdowns and also returned three kicks for 83 yards. Scoby enters the week averaging 162.8 yards per game in four games, but falls under the minimum of play in 75 percent of a team’s games to be ranked in either the GNAC or NCAA statistics.

• Defensive back Adrian Shocks led the APU defense with 10 tackles and one fumble recovery. Shocks enters the week leading the GNAC with nine tackles per game and is tied for 13th in Division II with two fumbles recovered.

• Azusa Pacific enters the week third in the GNAC and 22nd in Division II with 464 yards of total offense per game. The Cougars are third in the GNAC in both rushing offense (188.6 yards per game) and passing offense (265.4 yards per game) and are 25th in Division II in passing offense.

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
LAST WEEK: Oct. 14: Beat Western Oregon, 42-0
THIS WEEK: Oct. 21: vs. North Alabama, 1 p.m.

• Central Washington had its finest defensive day of the season Saturday, limiting Western Oregon to 198 yards of total offense en route to a 42-0 shutout of the Wolves in Monmouth.

• With the win, Central Washington moved up one more spot to No. 9 in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll and No. 16 in the D2Football.com Poll.

• Linebacker Kevin Haynes was named GNAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second straight week, registering 12 tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack. Haynes enters the week second in the GNAC with 8.6 tackles per game. Haynes also sits seven solo tackles away from breaking the GNAC career record of 208 set by CWU’s Blake Walker (2001-04).

• Quarterback Reilly Hennessey had a big day for the Wildcats, completing 24 of 32 passes for 364 yards and five touchdowns and also rushed for 30 yards. Hennessey enters the week ranked fourth in the GNAC with 220.4 passing yards per game. His 272.3 yards of total offense per game is third in the GNAC and he ranks 12th in Division II with a .667 completion percentage.

• Wide receiver Christian Gasca had an equally big game, making five receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He averaged 29.8 yards per catch and caught a 65-yard touchdown pass to open scoring in the first quarter. Gasca enters the week tied for fifth in the GNAC with 54 receiving yards per game.

• Defensive back Tyler Hasty had yet another interception, picking off Phillip Fenumiai on the opening drive of the third quarter. He enters the week leading the GNAC and ranked third in Division II with 0.9 interceptions per game. Bo Banner also had an interception in the second quarter which he ran back 41 yards for the touchdown. The Wildcats as a team lead Division II with 15 interceptions.

• Central Washington enters the week leading the GNAC and is ranked 12th in Division II in rushing, averaging 237.6 yards per game. The Wildcats also lead Division II with 4.43 sacks per game and are ranked 19th in total offense, averaging 470.7 yards per game. Central Washington is also third in Division II in rushing defense (63.6 yards allowed per game) and ninth in red zone defense (.611).

HUMBOLDT STATE
LAST WEEK: Oct. 14: Beat Azusa Pacific, 52-49
THIS WEEK: Oct. 21: vs. Western Oregon, 6 p.m.
 
• Humboldt State rode a record day by running back Ja’Quan Gardner to a high-scoring 52-49 victory over Azusa Pacific.

• Gardner set GNAC single-game records with 446 all-purpose yards, five rushing touchdowns and six total touchdowns. He finished with 293 rushing yards on 31 carries and returned five kicks for 150 yards and a touchdown. The kick return score was his first non-rushing touchdown of his career. The performance earned Gardner selection as GNAC Offensive Player of the Week.

• In the process, Gardner set GNAC career records in touchdowns scored (64), points (402), all-purpose yards (6,366) and rushing yards (5,214), all marks held previously by Azusa Pacific’s Terrell Watson (Western Oregon’s Paul Revis is No. 2 on the all-purpose yards list). He also tied the career record with his 63rd rushing touchdown. Gardner enters the week leading the GNAC and third in Division II with 218.8 all-purpose yards per game and also leads the GNAC and is second in Division II with 159.5 rushing yards per game.

• Kicker Jose Morales was named GNAC Defensive Player of the Week after he won the game for the Lumberjacks with his season-long 47-yard field goal with 1:19 left to play. He also went a perfect 7 for 7 on point-after opportunities. Morales has made 2 of 3 field goal attempts this season and is fourth in the GNAC in scoring with seven points per game.

• Quarterback Robert Webber completed 19 of 26 passes for 325 yards and a touchdown, a two-yard strike to Chase Krivashei in the second quarter. Webber enters the week leading the GNAC and ranked 14th in Division II 293.3 passing yards per game. He is also second in the GNAC and 22nd in Division II with 293.3 yards of total offense per game.

• Defensive back Davaeon Johnson had his fourth interception of the season. He enters the week second in the GNAC and fifth in Division II with 0.8 interceptions per game.

• Humboldt State leads the GNAC and is second in Division II in scoring offense, averaging 47.7 points per game. The Lumberjacks also lead the league and are third in Division II with 520.5 yards of total offense per game and is 14th in Division II with 305.8 passing yards per game. Humboldt State is second in Division II with a team pass efficiency rating of 192.92 and is fourth with a .695 pass completion percentage.

SIMON FRASER
LAST WEEK: Idle
THIS WEEK: Oct. 21: at Azusa Pacific, 6 p.m.

• Simon Fraser had a bye last weekend and will open its second half of the GNAC schedule at Azusa Pacific on Saturday.

• A series of GNAC single-game records by Gavin Cobb proved the highlight for Simon Fraser in an 82-21 loss to Western Oregon that closed the first half of the GNAC schedule on Oct. 7. Cobb finished with nine kick returns for 295 yards. He broke the single-game record for kick return yards of 195 set by Cache Morgan of Dixie State in 2012 and the record of 210 combined return yards by Lucas Gonsalves of Western Oregon in 2010.

• Cobb enters the week second in the GNAC and sixth in Division II with 192.2 all-purpose yards per game. He is also second in the GNAC with an average of 24.1 yards per kick return and second in Division II with 843 combined kick return yards.

• Quarterback Miles Richardson enters the week fifth in the GNAC with 212.8 passing yards per game. He is 22nd in Division II with 20.67 completions per game.

• As a team, Simon Fraser is averaging 249.2 total offense yards per game, the majority of those coming on 212.8 passing yards per game. The Clan is ranked 15th in Division II with four blocked kicks.

WESTERN OREGON
LAST WEEK: Oct. 14: Lost to Central Washington, 42-0
THIS WEEK: Oct. 21: at Humboldt State, 6 p.m.
 
• Western Oregon was held to a season-low 198 yards of total offense in a 42-0 shutout by Central Washington on Saturday.

• Wide receiver Paul Revis was the star for the WOU offense, making eight catches for 96 yards and also returned one punt for seven yards. Revis enters the week second in the GNAC and seventh in Division II with 118 receiving yards per game. He is also sixth in Division II with 826 total receiving yards and 16th with 158.7 all-purpose yards per game.

• Revis has surpassed the GNAC career record for all-purpose yards as his 6,294 surpassed the mark of 5,508 set by Azusa Pacific’s Terrell Watson, but he trails Humboldt State’s Ja’Quan Gardner, who has 6,366 to date.

• Quarterback Phillip Fenumiai took most of the snaps for the Wolves for the first time this season, completing 12 of 20 passes for 115 yards. Nick Duckworth played only in the first half, completing 10 of 20 passes for 83 yards. Duckworth is second in the GNAC and 25th in Division II with 257 passing yards per game.

• Western Oregon enters the week averaging 391.4 yards of total offense per game. The Wolves are second in the GNAC and 17th in Division II with 283.9 passing yards per game. They are also fourth in Division II with four defensive touchdowns.