AZUSA, Calif. – Azusa Pacific fell 42-36 to Western Oregon on Saturday night, as the Cougars' late attempt at a comeback fell short on their final drive of the game.
 
Western Oregon jumped out to an early 20-9 lead after the first quarter, as the Wolves found the endzone on three occasions over the first 15 minutes of action. Western Oregon opened the scoring with a 47 yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ty Curry to Marquis Sampson. Azusa Pacific would respond shortly after. The Cougars were forced to punt following a failed third-down conversion, however, the Wolves muffed the punt and Azusa Pacific's Fabian Marble recovered the fumble to give the Cougars the ball back.
 
Azusa Pacific would take advantage, as four plays later, Cougar quarterback Tyrone Williams Jr. ran for a touchdown from seven yards out. However, the ensuing PAT was missed and Western Oregon maintained the lead at 7-6.
 
Following a touchdown and a missed PAT for the Wolves, freshman kicker Ramzee Jaridly made the score 13-9, as he hit a 42 yard field goal with 3:25 remaining in the first quarter. Just two plays later, Western Oregon would score on a 31 yard rushing touchdown to increase its lead to 20-9.
 
In the second quarter, Williams Jr. found sophomore receiver Jasiah Richard-Lewis for a 10 yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit down to 20-16. The Wolves would answer on their next possession, as Western Oregon put together a six play, 81 yard drive that was capped off with a 19 yard rushing touchdown from Omari Land. Western Oregon took a 27-16 lead into halftime.
 
The Wolves took a 34-16 lead on their first possession of the second half, as Currie found Justice Murphy for a 38 yard touchdown connection.
 
Both offenses were fairly quiet throughout the majority of the third quarter, until Azusa Pacific found the endonze at the end of the quarter. The Cougars trimmed the Wolves' lead down to 34-23 when backup quarterback Anthony Catalano threw a 26 yard touchdown pass to Darrell Adams Jr. with 58 seconds remaining in the third.
 
Azusa Pacific maintained momentum heading into the fourth, as Catalano found Shane Hursh from nine yards out. Following a failed two-point conversion, Western Oregon maintained a 34-29 lead.
 
The Wolves would increase their lead to two possessions in the ensuing possession, as Land rushed for a four yard touchdown. Following a successful PAT, the score was 42-29 with 9:43 remaining in the game.
 
Azusa Pacific continued to fight its way back into the game, as the Cougars scored three minutes later when Catalano found the endzone with his feet from two yards out. Jardily converted on the PAT, as Azusa Pacific trailed 42-36 with 6:57  left.
 
The Cougars would get the ball back with just 1:13 remaining in the game, as Azusa Pacific had a chance to tie or win the game. However, Azusa Pacific was unable to find the endzone, as the Cougars turned it over on downs with three seconds left.
 
Statistically, Western Oregon dominated the ground attack, as the Wolves ran for 330 rushing yards, compared to just 70 yards for the Cougars. Azusa Pacific held the advantage through the air, as the Cougars threw for 293 yards and Western Oregon had 118 passing yards.
 
Individually for Azusa Pacific, Williams Jr. threw for 163 yards and a touchdown, while Catalano had 130 yards and two passing touchdowns. Both quarterbacks rushed for a touchdown in the game. Adams Jr. led the Cougars in receiving, as he had five receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, Ulysses Pickett and Micah Roth led the Cougars with nine tackles. Vince Rollins recorded seven tackles in the game, including a sack for eight yards. Ben Sukut had the lone turnover for Azusa Pacific, as he tallied his first interception of the season.
 
For Western Oregon, three different players rushed for over 100 yards, led by Land's 122 yards and three touchdowns. A trio of Wolves had a team high seven tackles, as Jaylin Parnell, Joey Sinclair, and Tyrell Cummings led the way defensively for Western Oregon.
 
Quotable: "We have a very young football team, and what I saw tonight was that we took steps to continue growing up … they showed a lot of effort tonight, but effort is not going to get it done. Now, we need to pay attention to details and understand our responsibilities." – Head Coach Victor Santa Cruz
 
"We are a competitive, tough football team, but we continue to have slow starts that put us in too deep of holes. It is something we need to fix, and something the coaches will help us fix." – Quarterback Anthony Catalano
 
"There are a lot of new guys on our team, and so what we need to do is continue to show up every day to learn and get better. Tonight, we just came up a little short," – Running Back Gil'Scott Jackson II
 
Up Next: Azusa Pacific, now 0-3 overall and 0-1 in the GNAC, will turn its attention to another GNAC opponent in Simon Fraser. The Cougars will be back on the road for week four, as Azusa Pacific and Simon Fraser will kick-off on Saturday, September 28, at 6:00 p.m. in Burnaby, British Columbia (Canada).