MONMOUTH, Ore. -- Azusa Pacific turned around a 17-0 first-half deficit with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns, but the Cougars' final drive ended with under a minute left when Andrew Elffers lost his footing on a quarterback keeper on fourth-and-three in a 17-14 defeat to Western Oregon.
With the defeat, Azusa Pacific drops to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the GNAC, while Western Oregon retains second place in the league after improving to 6-3 overall, 4-1 GNAC.
"I'm proud of our guys, who played a great second half, but I have to give credit to Western Oregon, which is a very good football team," Azusa Pacific head coach Victor Santa Cruzsaid. "I'm proud of this group, and I love this group, and we're going to continue to work hard and finish the season right."
Elffers came into the game as a second-half reserve, bringing the Cougar offense to life with the wind at its back in the third quarter. He finished with a team-high 44 rushing yards on 11 carries, and he completed seven-of-11 passes for 79 yards including a 14-yard TD pass to junior WR Ethan Zeidler which cut the Western Oregon lead to 17-14 with 2:00 left in the third quarter.
Earlier in the fourth quarter, Elffers had converted a fourth-and-two from the Cougars' own 21-yard line when he reached the ball ahead and gained the first down by inches.
"Mental toughness is the lifeblood of our program, and I reminded the team that from the opening game at West Texas A&M when we fell behind early, that we've been in these situations before," Santa Cruz said. "Our guys don't back away from a challenge, and they made the adjustments they needed in the second half."
Western Oregon took a 17-0 lead with a second-quarter scoring outburst, which started with a short field goal before Phillip Fenumiai punched in a one-yard TD to cap a 59-yard scoring drive. The Wolves put another TD on the board with 33 seconds left in the half, when Paul Revis caught a 16-yard TD from Trey Shimabukuro to finish off an 11-play, 54-yard scoring drive.
The Cougars answered on their second possession of the third quarter, turning a 17-yard Tarik Myles punt return into a short field and a five-play, 33-yard scoring drive capped by Kurt Scoby's two-yard TD with 9:36 left in the third quarter. The defense delivered another three-and-out, which set up the 10-play, 59-yard drive which finished with Zeidler's scoring grab from Elffers to cut the lead to 17-14 late in the third quarter.
Four of Western Oregon's five second-half drives were three-and-out, and Billy Tanuvasablocked Correa's 46-yard field goal attempt in the first minute of the fourth quarter to keep Azusa Pacific within three points. The Cougars held WOU to just 68 yards of total offense in the second half and limited the Wolves to just 285 yards for the game.
Junior rover Jonathan Thropay led the defensive effort, registering a team-high eight tackles, while five others finished with at least five tackles.
COUGARS' UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Saturday, Nov. 14, 6:15 pm vs. Simon Fraser
