AZUSA, Calif. -- Senior QB Neo Aoga threw for 317 yards and 4 TDs to lead defending NAIA national champion Azusa Pacific to a 31-12 victory over Doane College in the opening round of the NAIA football playoffs Saturday night in Azusa.

Aoga threw 3 unanswered TD strikes, 1 each in the second, third and fourth quarters, to lead Azusa Pacific back from a 12-10 second quarter deficit. The second of that trio, an 80-yard bomb to junior WR Deon Jordan put the Cougars up 24-12 with 4:39 left in the third quarter to seemingly put the final nail in Doane's coffin. Doane place kicker Mark Pentico had missed a 29-yard FG wide left to give the Cougars the ball on their own 29-yard line. On the first play, Aoga, operating out of the shot gun, lifted a pass downfield to Jordan at the Cougar 48-yard line. Jordan sprinted the final 52 yards down the Tiger sideline for the TD, giving the Cougars a 12-point cushion at the time.

"I didn't think they would give us anything deep," said Aoga, who completed 18-of-31 passes and posted his fifth straight 300-yard passing game. "Our receivers told me on the sideline that the Doane defensive backs were keying on the curls. They told me I needed to go deep just one time, and it worked."

The 2 teams traded leads early in the game with Azusa Pacific going up 3-0 when Mike Spellman capped the Cougars' opening drive with a 23-yard FG. Doane assumed a 9-3 lead when QB Chris Snyder hooked up with WR Lance Gerlach for a 20-yard TD pass with 10:42 left in the first half. The Cougars answered on their ensuing drive when Aoga found Caleb Willis for a 3-yard TD pass to give Azusa Pacific a 10-9 lead with 8:25 to go in the second quarter. Doane took its last lead of the game when Pentico converted a 38-yard FG that put the Tigers up 12-10 with 2:57 left in the half. Azusa Pacific came right back, going 67 yards on 5 plays, the big play being a 33-yard Aoga TD pass to NAIA All-American RB Jack Williams with 1:07 remaining.

From there the Cougar defense, led by linebacker Jeremiah Beery and his game-high 17 tackles, kept Doane out of the endzone on 6 second half possessions.

Williams, who was the 1998 NAIA Player of the Year, rushed for a game-high 152 yards on 25 carries (6.1 avg.) and caught 4 passes for 61 yards. He also completed a half-back option pass for 47 yards to Willis, a play that eventually set up Aoga's final TD strike, a 10-yarder to Willis with 4:23 left in the game.

"We had been running the toss all night and Coach (Peter Shinnick) said the Doane safeties were flying up on it," said Williams. "As I ran around the corner, I glanced up and the guy covering Caleb came up on my run, so I just tossed the ball up in the air."

Though hindered by a pair of Aoga interceptions and a blocked punt (Doane converted the miscues into 9 points), Azusa Pacific nonetheless amassed 540 yards in total offense. With his 317 passing yards tonight, Aoga went over the 3,000-yard passing mark and in the process broke Azusa Pacific's single season passing record (formerly 3,053 yards set last year by Geoff Buffum) and now has 3,100 yards in 10 games this season.

Additionally, Jordan finished with 4 catches for 125 yards. On his 80-yard TD catch, he broke Azusa Pacific's single-season reception yardage record of 1,187 established last year by Dexter Davis. Jordan now has 1,194 yards on 63 receptions (19.0 avg). On the season, he has 13 TDs, 5 of which have spanned at least 80 yards.

"We knew we could beat Doane with the vertical play," said Jordan, "we just hadn't run it yet. Neo put it right in the hole where it needed to be and I just out-ran everybody."

Doane was paced by tailback Raymonn Adams, who had 110 rushing yards on 27 carries. Snyder finished 18-for-37 passing for 204 yards and 1 TD. Gerlach had 8 catches for 90 yards.

"It was a great playoff game," said first-year Azusa Pacific head coach Peter Shinnick. "The first half played out like I thought it would because Doane wasn't going to give up much. Neo made a couple of bad decisions in the first half but he didn't really make any bad decisions in the second half and I think that was the difference."

Doane entered the game averaging 217 rushing yards a game. However, a Cougar defense that had been maligned throughout October was indeed impressive by holding the Tigers to just 124 yards on the ground on 39 attempts. Also, Azusa Pacific surrendered a season-low 12 points to Doane.

"I had so much fun," said Beery, who also had 1 of Azusa Pacific's 4 sacks of Snyder. "I guess this was probably my best game, but it wasn't just me. The defensive line kept guys off me and the defensive backs were covering guys, so coverage sacks were all over the place. It was just a big team effort."

With the win, Azusa Pacific, which is now 8-2 on the season and has won 5 straight NAIA playoff games dating back to last year, advances to next week's quarterfinal game. The Cougars host No. 3-ranked and undefeated Hastings (Neb.) College (11-0) on Saturday, Nov. 20, at 6 p.m. in Cougar Stadium.