AZUSA, CALIF.-- After being torched for 90 points and more than 1,000 yards in offense the past 2 games, the Azusa Pacific defense successfully answered a gut check and led the NAIA's No. 5-ranked Cougars to a 24-20 nonconference victory over Western Oregon, Saturday night in Azusa.
Azusa Pacific picked off a pair of Erik Davis passes and twice stopped the Wolves on key fourth down plays to preserve the win, Azusa Pacific's 10th straight at home.
Senior safety Brian Frisina set the tone early by picking off Davis' third pass attempt of the game. Sophomore cornerback Mike Cory then picked off Davis late in the second quarter at the Cougar 15-yard line to thwart a potential WOU score.
Early in the third quarter, with Azusa Pacific leading 14-10 at the time, Cougar defensive end Sean Hansen batted down a Davis pass on fourth-and-four at the Azusa Pacific 46-yard line.
Still the game came down to one final fourth-down play. With 2:28 left in the game, Western Oregon face a fourth-and-nine at their own 38-yard line, trailing by 4 points. A rushed Davis fired a 12-yard pass too early to Derrick Miles, who was unable to turn and scoop the ball, forcing WOU to surrender the ball and the game in one fell swoop.
"I think everybody realizes after this game that our defense isn't as bad as we had previously showed," said Cougar coach Peter Shinnick. "We've been in position but just didn't make the plays. Tonight, we made the plays."
The rest was up to quarterback Neo Aoga, All-American Jack Williams and the rest of the Cougar offense. Aoga completed 22-of-34 passes for 277 yards and a pair of TDs, while Williams rushed for 44 yards, scoring the other Cougar TD on a second quarter 15-yard run that gave Azusa Pacific a 14-10 lead that it would never relinquish.
"They gave us a lot of little things instead of giving up the big play," said Aoga. "Everybody is getting on the same page now. When we're on, we know nobody can stop us."
After Western Oregon's John Freeman converted a 31-yard FG to put the Wolves up 3-0, Aoga engineered a 7-play, 74-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard TD strike to tight end Willie Perryman in the back corner of the end zone.
Western Oregon answered on its next drive by going 75 yards on 10 plays, highlighted by Davis' push from 2 yards out to put the Wolves back up at 10-7 with 1:20 left in the first quarter.
Azusa Pacific came right back on the next drive, going 78 yards on 9 plays, finishing with Williams' 15-yard dance to paydirt.
"I feel like a leader out there on offense," said Williams, who also had 8 tackles from his safety position on defense. "I love to run the ball."
After another Freeman FG pulled Western Oregon to within 17-13 with 3:39 left in the third quarter, the Cougars came back to push the lead back out to 24-13 when Aoga hit a wide-open Jeremy Tortora over the middle for a 27-yard TD for Tortora's first collegiate score.
Western Oregon refused to roll over. The Wolves answered on their next drive, going 65 yards on 7 plays, finalized on Davis' 26-yard TD pass to Andrew Copeland in the endzone.
The Wolves kept themselves in the game, blocking Mike Spellman's 33-yard FG attempt with 4:26 left in the game. That's when the Cougar defense stepped up, stopping the Wolves on the following drive on 6 plays and that key fourth down attempt with 2:24 left in the game.
Western Oregon got the ball back one more time with 70 seconds left in the game but was unable to move the ball past its own 42-yard line.
The Cougars, who improve to 4-1 on the season, have now played 9 straight games that were decided by a TD or less and 13 in the past season-and-a-half. The ugars are 12-1 in those games.
"I love playing the close games," added Williams. "I play on both sides of the ball and I know we have to step it up on each play down to the end."
However, not all of Williams' teammates get such a kick out of the Cougars' cardiac capers.
"No one on offense likes the close games," countered Cougar wide receiver Deon Jordan, who had 7 catches for 83 yards on the night. "We always talk about putting it all together for a blowout, but either penalties or mistakes take us back."
Azusa Pacific piled up 371 yards in total offense, while Western Oregon tallied 324. Jason Taroli rushed for a game-high 79 yards on 19 carries. Davis finished the game 24-for-42 passing for 247 yards and the 2 interceptions.
"We knew that in the first 2 weeks of the season the defense took the load on their shoulders," said Frisina. "The next 2 weeks the offense took the lion's share of the load. We knew this week that we had to bring it all together to beat a team of Western Oregon's caliber. Plus, coming home for the first time in 3 weeks and playing in front of our crowd added to our expectations and excitement."
