By: Lauren Mason
This weekend, the SFU football team travelled to Ellensburg, Washington to play Central Washington University. The game went underway at 1 p.m., with fans and the warm Washington sunshine in attendance. Over 5,000 people witnessed the game, making it the most attended game of SFU’s season. The Clan lost 0–62 to the 5–0 Central Washington University Wildcats, making the Clan’s record 0–5 on the season.
In an earlier interview, coach Kelly Bates explained how he thought that Central Washington was “going to be a force to be reckoned with.” They are one of the highest ranked teams in NCAA Division II, let alone in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC).
Despite this, the Clan put up a hard fight. Bates commented on SFU’s strengths and the mentality they have of improving as individuals and as a team day to day. The Clan has a lot of new athletes coming in to fill spots on the roster, with the returning players showing the younger ones the ropes of university football.
Junior quarterback Miles Richardson finished the game with 51 yards, and freshman Jethro Questad, had 17 yards on the game with sophomore Nathan Kyeame adding on 14 more. With five first downs, and a total of 26 offensive yards, the Clan wasn’t able to advance nearly as much as necessary, and fell to a 0–29 score by halftime. Some other standout players include freshmen Brendan Lowry and Shea Carstens, both with nine tackles. Defensively, the Clan just couldn’t keep up with the Wildcats.
An early touchdown for the Wildcats, just eight minutes in, got the momentum rolling. The Central Washington Wildcats then went on to outscore the Clan with 62 unanswered points. SFU gave up five turnovers during the game to hinder their progress, and eventually finished with an unfortunate loss. The Clan will return home with more experience while keeping with their motto of improving each day and to come back and fight with the next team they face.
This game showcased the powerhouse of a team that Central Washington University is, and the level of competition that is in the GNAC this year. SFU’s next game will be on Saturday, October 7, at the Terry Fox Field to host the Western Oregon Wolves. Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
