The Battle for the Border continued as a youthful Simon Fraser University football team (0–3) traveled down to Ellensburg, Washington to take on the Central Washington University Wildcats (2–2) in what would be a one sided matchup in favor of CWU.
Woes for the Clan started before the game even had a chance to begin: as key injuries to defensive backs Jordan Pugh and Cairo Messer-Barrow forced the coaching staff to start true freshmen Jake Tumblin and Josh Bayne against a fierce Wildcat offense. Starting running back Josh Hayden was also a scratch for the game after suffering a hamstring injury in practice earlier in the weak.
“We’ve had many injuries [. . .] key guys at corner, safety, linebacker, running backs, you name it there’s injuries,” said Head Coach Kelly Bates following their 40–7 loss.
The Clan opened the start of the game with a promising seven minute drive as quarterback Ryan Stanford moved the chains by connecting with receivers Sam Swerehorn and Earl ‘Swagup’ Anderson on separate pairs of catches. However, the drive ended in a missed 38-yard field goal attempt.
Big plays hurt the youthful Clan defense in the remain minutes of the first quarter as the Wildcats quickly put up 21 points, including an 80 yard touchdown pass on their first offensive play of the game.
Coach Bates addressed his young defenses performance by stating, “They saw some things [in the game] that they’ve seen in practice, but they just weren’t able to adjust to it quick enough [. . .] it really comes down to experience, and that’s what happened.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys right now that are playing, and gaining a lot of valuable experience,” Bates explained. “We’re very young, and we’re going to pay for that lack of experience right now, but it’s going to pay off down the line, and that’s really what you saw happen on the weekend.”
The Wildcats continued to dominate on offense, as they would score two more touchdowns to close out the half, putting the score to 35–0.
It was a tough rest of the game for the Clan offense as the Wildcat defense continued to sack the quarterback and hold the offense to fourth down. With Josh Hayden out of the game due to injury, freshmen David Lagou stepped up to take on the Clan’s rushing duties; however, he was only be able to amass 25 yards on 15 rushing attempts.
A commanding lead forced the Wildcats to play many of their second string players as the second half wore on. The young and injured Clan team would rally to win a second half point differential of 7–5, but would still claim a loss against a conference opponent.
Back-up quarterback Tyler Nickel was able to connect with the speedster Earl Anderson on a 55-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to keep the game from being a shutout.
SFU will take the week to heal their wounds and look to get their first win of the season at home on October 10 against Dixie State (1–3).
