AZUSA, Calif. -- Every Homecoming game seems to bring out the dramatics for Azusa Pacific, especially in the program's NCAA Division II era under head coach Victor Santa Cruz, who tied Jim MIlhon as the program's all-time coaching wins leader with Saturday's 7-6 win over Western Oregon.
In 2012, the Cougars' first season of Division II competition, it was "the guarantee," when Santa Cruz guaranteed his team's first victory of the year at Azusa Pacific's annual Dinner Rally fundraiser the night before the Cougars delievered a stunning 24-17 upset of eventual GNAC champion Central Washington.
The very next year was the coming-out party for "Touchdown Terrell," when junior running back Terrell Watson led Azusa Pacific back from a 20-point halftime deficit with five second-half touchdowns and a 302-yard rushing performance to beat Simon Fraser, 44-36.
Perhaps the 2018 version will live in Cougar lore as "the great escape," after Weston Carr caught a nine-yard touchdown pass with 17 seconds to play, and Jacob Hall calmly knocked the extra point through after Western Oregon spent all three of its timeouts before the try to lift the Cougars to the 7-6 win.
It took Azusa Pacific's offense nearly the entire night to get rolling, but the Cougars' closing statement against a stingy Western Oregon defense was an efficient 12-play, 70-yard scoring drive with its two-minute offense. Quarterback Tyrone Williams Jr. completed his first six passes of the drive, covering 65 yards, including a fourth-and-six conversion for 16 yards to Gaige Allen to put the Cougars into Western Oregon territory.
Williams converted a third-and-four later in the drive with a five-yard run to the Wolves' 9-yard line, and put the ball in Carr's hands on third-and-goal from the nine to tie the game at 6-6 and set up Hall's game-winning kick.
With the win, Azusa Pacific improves to 6-3 overall and 5-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play to keep its conference title hopes alive. Western Oregon falls to 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the GNAC.
Historic Happenings: Now in his 13th season as head coach at Azusa Pacific, Victor Santa Cruz owns a career record of 81-59, tying the program's career coaching wins record held by Jim Milhon, who posted a career record of 81-69-4 from 1978-94.
How It Happened: Both teams were held to season-low scoring by outstanding defensive performances on both sides of the ball. Western Oregon had better success on the ground, rushing for 193 yards to Azusa Pacific's 53 yards rushing, but the Cougars generated 189 yards passing while holding the Wolves to just 82 passing yards.
Azusa Pacific produced the edge in turnovers, 2-1, which all came on three consecutive possessions to start the third quarter, although Western Oregon held slight advantages in first downs (16-14), total offense (275-242), and time of possession (34:22-25:38).
Western Oregon produced the only score of the first half with Adrian Saldana's 25-yard field goal less than a minute into the second quarter, and Saldana added a 31-yard field goal with 3:15 left in the third quarter to give the Wolves a 6-0 lead. That's when the Cougar defense dug in its heels, limiting WOU to two first downs and just 37 yards of total offense in the fourth quarter. The Cougars forced punts on three consecutive fourth-quarter possessions to give its offense a chance to win the game, and it paid off when Williams engineered the game-winning 70-yard touchdown drive.
Turning Point: Senior linebacker Adrian Shocks was in on a pair of crucial third-down stops in the fourth quarter, first teaming up with Aaron Berry to stuff Omari Land at the line of scrimmage on a third-and-3 in Cougar territory to force a punt with 8:40 to play. After Hall boomed a 56-yard punt to the Western Oregon 25, Shocks assisted on another third-down stop at the line of scrimmage on Ty Currie's third-and-five quarterback keeper. That three-and-out allowed Azusa Pacific to keep both of its remaining timeouts when it got the ball back at its own 30-yard line with 2:17 to play.
Azusa Pacific Standouts: Shocks finished with a team-high 11 tackles, with two tackles for loss including a sack. Six others registered at least seven tackles, including Quentin Frazier, who intercepted Currie on the Wolves' opening possession of the second half before knocking the ball loose from Currie on a quarterback scamper deep into Cougar territory.
Williams completed 19-of-36 passes for 189 yards with the game-winning touchdown to Carr and one interception, and Allen was his leading receiver with five catches for 53 yards, including the crucial fourth-and-six grab from the Cougars' 49-yard line on the game-winning drive. Brandon Jackson also had five catches for 41 yards, and Darrell Adams Jr. recorded four receptions for 52 yards. Carr's scoring reception was his only catch of the game.
Hall punted eight times, averaging 44.9 yards per punt including three punts inside the Western Oregon 20 and a long of 59 yards. Gavin McDaniel averaged 22 yards per kick return.
Western Oregon Standouts: Omari Land had a game-high 98 yards rushing on 18 carries, while Nico Jackson added 63 yards on 15 carries to lead the Western Oregon offense. Ty Currie completed 11-of-20 passes for 82 yards. Jaylin Parnell led the Wolves defense with a game-high 12 tackles, including one of WOU's three sacks. Bo Highburger had two tackles for loss, including a sack, in a nine-tackle effort, and Machiah Lee finished with 10 tackles.
What's Next: Azusa Pacific wraps up the regular season with a pair of road games. The Cougars visit Humboldt State on Saturday, Nov. 3, before taking on GNAC-leading Central Washington to close out the regular season on Nov. 10.
