GLENDORA, Calif. -- Every championship season seems to have magical moments, and No. 24-ranked Azusa Pacific delivered two memorable ones in the closing minutes of its 19-18 win over Western Oregon Saturday night as the Cougars clinched at least a share of their second consecutive Great Northwest Athletic Conference title.

With under three minutes to play, senior tailback Terrell Watson took a handoff up the middle into a crowd of Western Oregon defenders. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound senior somehow stayed on his feet along the line of scrimmage before bursting outside down the right sideline for an 80-yard touchdown run that got the Cougars outside their own 30-yard line for the first time since their opening second-half drive and pushed Azusa Pacific back in front, 19-18, with 2:32 left in the game.

The late score still left Western Oregon QB Ryan Bergman and the Wolves offense plenty of time to get into field goal range for a chance to regain the lead with less than a minute left with a 41-yard field goal try. The Cougar defensive line penetrated the gaps, and junior defensive end Matthew Hackett got a hand on the potential game-winner, knocking it safely down to the turf for another miraculous play that allowed Azusa Pacific to escape WOU's upset bid.

With the win, Azusa Pacific has now won 12 straight conference games and is 22-3 overall in its past 25 games dating back to 2012. Watson, meanwhile, went over 200 yards rushing for the game on his final carry, the 80-yard score, and he also reclaimed the national college football rushing lead for all divisions by extending his season rushing total to 1,687 yards with a 202-yard, two-TD rushing effort on 27 carries.

After opening the second half with a 12-play, 64-yard touchdown drive, the Cougar offense sputtered deep in its own territory the rest of the half. Azusa Pacific's next four possessions never advanced past its own 32-yard line until Watson's 80-yard dash, including three consecutive punts followed by a safety when the Cougars were backed up inside their own one-yard line for a fourth down with less than five minutes to go.

The defense did its part, forcing a three-and-out from the Western Oregon offense, and the Cougars took over at their own 12-yard line with 3:18 to play. An eight-yard pass from redshirt freshman QB Chad Jeffries to sophomore TE Josiah Thropay set up the opportunity to hand the ball off to Watson in a second-and-short situation from its own 20. What ended up transpiring was the change of direction and subsequent dash to paydirt.