"I had a dream this week that it would come down to this," said an emotional Daichendt. "I couldn't feel a thing when I kicked it."

The win puts the Cougars in the quarterfinals of the NAIA playoffs.

"We did some things that normally wouldn't win games," said Cougar head coach Vic Shealy. "But our effort gave us a chance, and that last drive was phenomenal."

Early on, it looked like the game would be a blowout, primarily because Taylor couldn't hold on to the ball. Trojan LB Justin Heth fumbled the opening kickoff and Cougar CB Mike Cory recovered the loose ball. At the 13:00 mark, junior RB/CB Jack Williams took the ball into the end zone from 7 yards out to give Azusa Pacific a quick 7-0 lead.

After the Cougars forced a Taylor punt, the Trojans returned the favor on the Cougars, but it proved to be costly. Trojan DB John Molineux fumbled the punt and Cougar FS Matt Zaengle recovered the fumble. The Cougars capitalized on the turnover, using a 1-yard TD run from freshman FB Adam Shelly to take a 14-0 lead.

After punts by both sides, the Cougar offense continued to produce. Senior QB Geoff Buffum hit senior all-American WR Dexter Davis for a 19-yard TD pass with 10:42 remaining in the first half.

The Cougars continued to stymie the Trojans' option offense, while their own offense kept running. Azusa Pacific had a fourth and 1 from the Trojan 2-yard line, but Jacob Spenn and Chad Wilt stopped Williams for no gain.

The Trojan offense finally clicked into gear, marching 98 yards in under 2 minutes, and scored on a 1-yard run from Quinn Hirschy with 10 seconds left in the half, to make it a 21-7 game.

The Cougars seemingly put the game away with 10 minutes left in the third quarter when senior LB Elbert Baker intercepted a Jon Jenkins pass at the Trojan 16-yard line and returned it for a touchdown and a 28-7 lead.

But the Trojans marched back. Jenkins hit TE Pete Brummond with 8:18 left in the third quarter to close the gap to 28-14.

After a 69-yard run by Hirschy put the ball at the Cougar 11 yard line, the Trojans moved it to the 1-yard line. But on the Trojans first play of the fourth quarter, Jenkins was stripped by Joel McGivney, and McGivney recovered.

After exchanging punts, Shawn Zook fumbled the punt. On the next play, Trojan RB Chad McBeth hit Brummond on a tailback pass for a 38-yard TD. However, Trojan PK Micky Dockery missed the PAT. He made up for the miss by setting up a perfect onside kick that Trojan CB Andy Liechty recovered. McBeth hit Ben Godfrey for a 34-yard TD with 3:34 remaining and Jenkins then hit Brummond on a 2-point conversion to tie the score at 28-28.

Then the Cougars' offense kicked in. After the kickoff went out of bounds, the Cougars took over at their own 35-yard line. Facing a third and 10, Buffum hit Davis for 25 yards, to give the Cougars a fresh set of downs. Then facing a third and 4, Buffum hit tight end Justin Duarte. Azusa Pacific was able to move the ball to the Trojans' 10-yard line, which set up Daichendt's heroics.

Daichendt, who had only one previous game winning kick in his career (a 21-yarder to beat Chico State in 1996), calmly nailed the field goal. Jenkins' last gasp Hail Mary pass was knocked down by Williams, and the Cougars got their first-ever NAIA playoff win.

"I have said all year long that this football team is special and I couldn't be more proud of them," said Shealy. "This is unbelievable."

Williams was named Azusa Pacific's Player of the Game, finishing with 99 yards rushing and 104 yards receiving and 1 TD. Hirschy was named Taylor's Player of the Game, finishing with a game-high 118 yards rushing and 1 TD.

Buffum finished 26-for-35 for 342 yards and 1 touchdown pass. Jenkins finished 11-for-21 for 180 yards and 2 touchdown passes.

Davis had a game-high 120 yards on 10 receptions, breaking his own single season Azusa Pacific record with 1,047 yards (his old mark was 1,012). Godfrey led the Trojans with 4 catches for 92 yards and 1 TD.

"That's the kind of team we have. I am proud that we stayed focused and played hard, said Taylor head coach Steve Wilt. "I felt like we hurt ourselves with the turnovers."

The Cougars host Central Washington University (7-3) next Saturday (Nov. 28) at 6 p.m. in Cougar Stadium for a quarterfinal game. It will be the second time the two teams have met this season. In week 3, the Cougars lost to the Wildcats 51-17.

"It won't be hard for our guys to get up for Central Washington," said Shealy. "We owe them."

Scoring by Quarters
Taylor (Ind.)             0   7    7   14 -- 28
Azusa Pacific            14   7    7    3 -- 31
                 INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
SCORING
AP - Jack Williams 7 run, 13:00 1st quarter (Jim Daichendt kick)
AP - Adam Shelly 1 run, 3:48 1st quarter (Daichendt kick)
AP - Dexter Davis 19 pass from Geoff Buffum, 10:42 2nd quarter, (Daichendt kick)
TU - Quinn Hirschy 1 run, 0:10 2nd quarter (Micky Dockery kick)
AP - Elbert Baker 16 int. return, 10:00 3rd q.(Daichendt kick)
TU - Pete Brummund 53 pass from Jon Jenkins, 8:18 3rd quarter, (Dockery kick)
TU - Ben Godfrey 38 pass from Chad McBeth, 4:23 4th quarter, (Dockery kick failed)
TU - Chad McBeth 34 pass from Jenkins, 3:34 4th quarter, (Jon Jenkins pass)
AP - Jim Daichendt 27 FG, 0:08 4th quarter

	
PASSING
Geoff Buffum (AP) 26-35, 342 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
Jon Jenkins (TU) 11-21, 180 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Chad McBeth (TU) 1-1, 38 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT

RUSHING
Quinn Hirschy (TU), 17 att., 118 yds
Jack Williams (AP), 25 att., 99 yds
Chad McBeth (TU), 4 att., 72 yds
Jon Jenkins (TU), 14 att., 51 yds

RECEIVING
Dexter Davis (AP), 10 rec., 120 yds
Jack Williams (AP), 4 rec., 104 yds
Ben Godfrey (TU), 4 rec., 92 yds
Pete Brummond (TU), 2 rec., 63 yds
Justin Duarte (AP), 5 rec., 56 yds
           TEAM STATISTICS
               APU          TU
FIRST DOWNS     19          12
TOTAL YARDS   459 yds     460 yds
RUSHING       117 yds     242 yds
PASSING       342 yds     218 yds
FUMBLES/LOST    2-2         4-4
FORCED FUMB.     3           0
PENALTIES/YDS   9-59        1-10
3rd DOWNS       8-17        5-12
4th DOWNS       0-2         0-2
TIME OF POSS.  36:04       25-36

ATTENDANCE = 2,124