Although the scoreboard indicated a third straight loss for the Clan football team, the 32-24 result against the Azusa Pacific Cougars (APU) showed a team capable of fighting back, and perhaps one headed in the right direction.
SFU started the game with an abysmal first half, giving up 23 points and only managing to score a single field goal.
Right off the first drive, the Cougars converted for a touchdown after possessing the ball for nearly seven straight minutes.
Even though APU took a penalty on kickoff, the Clan were unable to convert for even just a first down during their first drive, which included a sack on quarterback Ryan Stanford. SFU was able to make a 16-yard rush, gaining back some of the yardage lost due to the sack and a false start penalty, before punting at their own 35-yard line.
The second drives for both teams were nearly identical. Azusa had another nearly seven-minute long drive, but SFU was able to hold them to a field goal. The Clan then followed with another fruitless four-play drive.
With 4:56 left in the half, the Clan finally got on the scoreboard with a 39-yard field goal, taking the score to 10-3. SFU also finally found some offensive rhythm, making 12 plays for 51 yards.
However, the Cougars would answer back immediately with two touchdowns before the half was over.
SFU allowed Cougar running back Terrell Watson 51 yards in a single drive and committed a 15-yard personal foul, both of which contributed to the first of the two touchdowns, taking the score to 16-3, as the Cougars missed the extra point kick.
After another ineffective SFU drive, APU would score the final touchdown of the half with 23 seconds left. The Clan could not even hold onto the ball until halftime, throwing an interception in the dying seconds of the half.
However, the second half was an entirely different story for the Clan. In the third quarter, they scored the only points: two touchdowns.
The first was built off a series of small gains and was saved by a bold move to go for a first down, rather than punting, at fourth and one on APU’s 20-yard line; Cole Tudor, who had 34 net rushing yards, ran for a five-yard gain.
The second scoring drive contained a few notable throws by Stanford, with wide receivers Kyle Kawamoto and Bobby Pospischil making 16- and 14-yard catches respectively.
The fourth quarter would bring a bit more trouble for the Clan — they suffered a safety followed immediately by an Azusa touchdown, putting up nine quick points, Azusa’s only points of the half.
SFU would come back with another touchdown after a poor Cougars punt left it at the APU five yard line with 1:08 left in the game.
Down by eight points, a Clan touchdown and a two-point conversion were needed to force overtime. The Clan made an onside kick and recovered the ball, making it to APU’s 21-yard line.
However, the comeback fell just short, as they missed on a fourth down conversion, and turned the ball over to the Cougars, who let the clock run with the final score 32-24.
Though the loss was a stinger, the resolve to come back in the second half showed a lot of heart, and an ability to stay in the game even when down by a seemingly insurmountable lead — something that was not there last game. SFU soundly won the second half 21-9, achieving all but three of their points in that half.
“Unfortunately [when] you combine both halves, you’re not the winner by a number of points but a lot of good things happened in the second half,” said head coach Jacques Chapdelaine. “We eliminated a lot of the costly mistakes that have been negative for us in terms of turnovers, ball security. We reduced the number of penalties.”
Chapdelaine also commented that, during the first half, the team could not stay on the field offensively, while on the defensive side, they were unable to keep the other team at bay. However, he noted that the most important thing is building a winning culture, so that the team perseveres through the mistakes they make and fights back — as they did against Azusa.
“We created and forged an identity for ourselves in the second half,” added the coach. “If there’s a silver lining in this defeat, it’s the fact that I thought our team got better tonight on a whole lot of different levels.”
