AZUSA, Calif. -- Senior Corey Taylor rushed for 130 yards and scored four touchdowns as No. 1-ranked and undefeated Georgetown (Ky.) College rolled over Azusa (Calif.) Pacific University, 66-35, in the semi-finals of the NAIA football playoffs Saturday night. The victory puts the Tigers (13-0) into the NAIA national championship game where they will meet No. 2-ranked Northwestern Oklahoma State University (12-0) on Saturday, Dec. 18, in Savannah, Tenn.
Azusa Pacific, the reigning NAIA champion, led 14-7 after the first quarter. However, Taylor took over the game, spurring a 38-7 Tiger run over a quarter-and-a-half by scoring on runs of 2, 6, 29 and 2 yards again to give Georgetown an insurmountable 45-21 lead with 2:44 left in the third quarter.
The 2 teams combined for 101 points and 1,168 yards of total offense. Azusa Pacific, which trailed by just a 24-14 margin at halftime, could not stop the Tiger offense in the second half. Georgetown scored touchdowns on its first five second-half drives to keep Azusa Pacific at bay. The Tigers didn't punt until 7:44 left in the game when they held a comfortable 59-35 cushion at the time.
Sophomore quarterback Eddie Eviston led a Georgetown attack that accumulated 619 yards in total offense and scored the most points ever against an Azusa Pacific team. Eviston threw for 190 yards on 10-of-23 passing and ran for another 95 yards on just 10 carries. Senior Creed Gann added to the Georgetown rushing attack with 124 yards of his own on just 10 carries. In all, the Tigers accumulated 425 rushing yards.
Georgetown, which won its first 2 playoff games by 38-0 (vs. St. Francis – Ind.) and 55-3 (Taylor – Ind.) scores, recovered an Azusa Pacific fumble on the opening kick off of the second half at the Cougar 29-yard line. Two plays later Josh Cairns bounced in from 6 yards out to give Georgetown a comfortable 31-14 margin just 35 seconds into the second half.
Georgetown is making its second appearance in the NAIA title game. The Tigers won the 1991 NAIA crown with a 28-21 victory over Pacific Lutheran (Wash.). Northwestern Oklahoma is making its first-ever appearance in the national championship game after defeating the University of Mary (N.D.), 21-6, earlier today.
Azusa Pacific was paced by senior All-American Jack Williams, who rushed for 176 yards on 20 carries, including 149 yards in the first half. Senior QB Neo Aoga completed 27-of-46 passes for 347 yards and 4 TDs.
The Cougars hurt their chances for a tenth come-from-behind victory this year with 4 turnovers, all coming in the second half.
"We knew they were productive," said first-year Azusa Pacific head coach Peter Shinnick, "but anytime you help them out like that, surely you put yourself with your back up against the wall."
After Taylor's first TD tied the game at 14-14 just 46 seconds into the second quarter, the Cougars marched right back down field into a fourth-and-inches situation at the Tiger 6-yard line. However, Azusa Pacific was penalized for an illegal shift while trying to convert the fourth down and then had to go for a field goal, which subsequently was blocked. Georgetown took the opportunity and scored another 17 unanswered points before the Cougars could recover.
"I thought we matched them and tried to make a little bit of run," said Shinnick, "but they over-powered us in the end, and really took advantage of some of our weaknesses that we've had all year long."
Williams finishes an outstanding 2-year career, which includes the 1998 NAIA Player of the Year honor, with 2,737 career rushing yards, second only to the legendary Christian Okoye on Azusa Pacific's all-time rushing chart.
"Going into the game we felt good," said Williams. "The defense played well in the first half, but the offense couldn't put up a lot of points. By the time the offense stepped up and started scoring, our defense was beginning to run out of gas."
Azusa Pacific closes out the past 2 seasons with a fine 21-5 record and 2 NAIA semifinal appearances, which also includes the 1998 national championship.
