When SFU went down 14–7 in the first quarter, giving up touchdowns the first two times the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Arizona Christian University Firestorm (ACU) saw the ball, it looked like they might be in for a rough night at their season opener in Phoenix, Arizona.
But SFU answered back the next drive, with quarterback Miles Richardson running it in himself for the first touchdown of the season.
It was the story of the night: a team that didn’t give up.
While they weren’t able to close out the win, they came within six points of winning — their closest margin since a 24–30 loss on November 6, 2015. To put that in perspective, last season their closest game was a 26-point loss.
After preventing the Firestorm from achieving a first down in their next drive, the Clan opened the second quarter by tying up the game, with Richardson completing a 44-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Nathanael Durkan.
The next drive, Arizona Christian put themselves back in the lead, scoring a touchdown to make it 21–14.
Neither team could put up anything more before halftime, as both defences shut down the offensive game. SFU blocked a field goal attempt at the 18-yard line to prevent the Firestorm from building their lead.
Arizona Christian built their lead in the third quarter, when running back Devonte Carter easily ran it in seven yards for a touchdown, after the team had blocked SFU’s punt attempt and got to start their drive in the redzone.
A 25-yard pass to Gavin Cobb at the end of the third quarter started a successful drive for SFU. Two consecutive passes to Jalen Jana finished the job, giving SFU a touchdown, and cutting the lead to 28–21.
While the Firestorm answered back the next drive, they left points and a potential comeback on the table as they missed the extra-point kick.
Sure enough, SFU answered back when Richardson — who earlier in the drive, passed it to Cobb for a 69-yard reception — ran it in himself the second time in the game to chop the lead to six.
SFU was able to hold ACU to just one first down, and get the ball back in a matter of 51 seconds.
23- and 38-yard passes got SFU into the redzone at Arizona Christian’s 19-yard line, but a too many men penalty set SFU back five yards. Richardson was then sacked for a loss of nine yards. Going for it on the fourth down, SFU’s chance for their first win since the 2014 season ended with an incomplete pass.
Richardson made 28 completions on 55 pass attempts (50.9%), and threw for 434 yards.
“Miles had his best game as the starting SFU quarterback,” head coach Kelly Bates told SFU Athletics. “He got the ball out of his hands quick[ly], made good decisions, and stepped up in the pocket well. He gave us a chance to win.”
Cobb led the team in receiving yards with 183 on eight receptions. Durkan had 115 receiving yards, while Jana notched 117 combined yards (79 receiving, 38 rushing). Middle linebacker Jordan Leech led the team with 13 total tackles.
SATURDAY: SFU will open their season at home next Saturday against Texas A&M Kingsville, their second of two non-conference matchups before Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) play starts the following weekend. (Note: “Kingsville” is a satellite campus of Texas A&M . . . SFU is not in fact playing the Division I powerhouse.)
Last year, Kingsville dominated SFU 68–7, with SFU’s lone touchdown coming on a punt return. Kingsville lost their season opener yesterday to SFU’s GNAC rivals, Central Washington, 34–10.
Kickoff is at 1 p.m. at Terry Fox Field.
