On a cold, snowy November day, SFU fans said ‘goodbye’ to the football team’s seniors, as four players saw their last game on Terry Fox Field on Saturday, where the team fell to the undefeated Central Washington Wildcats 51–0.
“They’ve bought into the long-term vision of what we’re trying to do here, and they understand that they’re in a very tough spot,” said head coach Kelly Bates of the senior class on a team that is facing its third straight season without a win.
“Your team’s strength is usually determined by your junior and senior classes, and we have very small junior and senior classes due to things that are out of our control before we got here, so credit to all of them as they have not quit. They understand that they are helping set the tone as we go forward, and they’ve done that. I’m very proud of that.”
On SFU’s 71-man roster, just 18 players are in their junior or senior year.
Linebackers Trevor Kemp, Jordan Leech, Deondre Townsend, and wide receiver Justin Buren were the four players honoured as seniors. Of the four, just two — Buren and Leech — have played their entire careers at SFU, as the last holdovers from former head coach Dave Johnson’s 2013 recruiting class. Kemp joined the team last year as a junior college transfer from Southwestern College, while Townsend joined the team this year as a graduate student with one year of eligibility left, having played three seasons at the University of Calgary.
Leech dressed, but did not play Saturday.
Kemp put up a dominant showing, leading both teams on defence with 14 total tackles (six solo), a sack, and a forced fumble.
SFU didn’t find much on offence, putting up only 30 yards total and gaining only five first downs. The team lost yardage on rushing, going negative 31 yards.
Central Washington redshirt sophomore running back Hasani Childs was dangerous, running in four touchdowns, and 232 total yards of offence. He looks to be a threat in the GNAC for years to come.
Dionte Simon led the team on the ground game, and Nathanael Durkan led receivers for SFU, both achieving 21 yards in their respective categories.
“I think we’ve got some very talented young men, but they need to build the two most important things that all players needs, that’s football IQ and physical maturity . . . that only comes with time and dedication, and it doesn’t happen overnight,” said Bates.
“That’s what gives me great promise, that we’ve got 75–80 per cent [of] our team in their first or second year,” he continued. “And that’s [what] we must build on. We must continue to see a long-term vision and continue to build with high school kids, bringing them in, and having them here for four or five years, building their physical maturity and football IQ . . . it takes time.”
SFU will have one last chance for a win this season when they go on the road to face Western Oregon in Monmouth, Oregon on Saturday, November 11. Western Oregon are the second-worst team in the conference with a 1–6 GNAC record.
Their only conference win came against SFU in an 82–21 contest in Burnaby. Western Oregon linebacker Bo Highburger leads the conference in tackles with 89 total.
Kickoff is at 1 p.m.
