Week 9: Azusa Pacific (1-6, 1-3 GNAC) vs.
Central Washington (4-4, 3-1 GNAC)
Location – Citrus Stadium, Glendora, California
Conditions – Game time is 6:30 p.m. PDT. Game time temperature is projected to be 73 degrees, dropping into the mid-60s during the second half, with clear skies and light winds from the west.
Livestream --
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/cwu (free)
Head Coaches – Azusa Pacific: Victor Santa Cruz (14
th season, 84-66). Central Washington: Chris Fisk (1
st season, 4-4)
About Last Week – Before a homecoming crowd of just over 3,000, the Cougars gave the 9
th-ranked team in the country a good fight for three quarters before fading, falling 49-27 against Colorado School of Mines. Making his first start since week 3, Tyrone Williams threw for a season-high 328 yards and 3 third-quarter touchdowns as the Cougars put up the most points any team has been able to against the Orediggers this season. Junior RB Gil’Scott Jackson had his best day in a Cougar uniform, recording 156 yards of total offense, including turning a screen pass into a 77-yard touchdown reception, and freshman K Ramzee Jaridly earned GNAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors for the second time this season by making all three extra points and a career-long 45-yard field goal in the second quarter. Unfortunately, the Cougars issues stopping the run came back to bite them, as Mines RB Michael Zeman had 298 yards and three rushing scores of his own as the Orediggers improved to 8-0 on the season.
Central Washington was at home Saturday night, jumping out to a big lead against Simon Fraser and never looking back, routing the Clan 62-10 in Ellensburg. GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Michael Roots ran for 221 yards and three scores on only 14 carries, while QB Christian Moore threw for 219 yards and four touchdowns. Defensively, the Wildcats had 5 sacks, an interception, a fumble recovery, and held Simon Fraser to just one third down conversion in 18 attempts.
Cougars’ Defense: – The Cougars have spread the wealth around in terms of tackles, to the point that with three games left no one player has recorded 50 stops. The three players leading the way in the category are cornerback Quentin Frazier (46 tackles), linebacker Ben Sukut (45 tackles, 2 interceptions) and cornerback Siaki Alualu (44 tackles, including 4.5 for loss). Josh Olave also had his second interception of the season last week, returning it 39 yards.
Cougars’ Offense – Tyrone Williams had a very good day at the office on Saturday, re-establishing himself as the starter with 328 yards passing and throwing for three scores. On the season, the junior has completed 52.8% of his passes for 1,151 yards and six touchdowns. Gil’Scott Jackson had his best rushing day for the Cougars this season, with 64 yards on the ground to go with 92 yards on three receptions. Jasaiah Richard-Lewis is the leading receiver on the season for the Cougars. The freshman has 24 receptions for 400 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Central Washington Defense – Junior LB Hamilton Hunt is the leader on the Central Washington defense, having recorded 56 tackles on the season. Senior DB Jeremiah Vasquez is a force in the secondary, with 47 tackles and 5 pass break-ups. Up front, the Cougars’ offensive line figures to have its hands full with Billy Greer and Isaiah Carbajal, who have 19 tackles for loss and 10 sacks between them.
Central Washington Offense – The Wildcats lead the GNAC with over 500 yards of offense per game. Junior RB Michael Roots is the main cog of the Central Washington offense. He has six 100-yard rushing games this season, including a season-high 221 yards against Simon Fraser last week. Roots has also caught 18 passes for 186 yards and has 12 total touchdowns on the year (11 rushing, 1 receiving). Christian Moore took over as the starting quarterback for the Wildcats the last time they played Azusa Pacific and has held the job ever since, throwing for 1,313 yards and 17 touchdowns over the past four games, rushing for 171 yards and a score over that same span. Sophomore WR Tyson Rainwater has been Moore’s favorite target with 28 catches over the past four weeks, and is coming off a 6-reception, 94-yard effort against the Clan.
History – This is the 19
th meeting all-time in this particular cat fight. The Wildcats lead the series 11-7, the only team in the GNAC with a winning record all-time against the Cougars. Central Washington is also the only Division II opponent who boasts a winning record at Citrus Stadium, as the Wildcats have won four of the six meetings in Glendora since the Cougars joined the GNAC in 2012.
Last Meeting – Central Washington 44, Azusa Pacific 6 (October 12, 2019, at Ellensburg, WA). The Wildcats stormed out of the gate to a 17-0 lead and never looked back in front of a raucous home crowd. Making his first start, quarterback Christian Moore had a breakout game, throwing for 423 yards and five touchdowns. Tyson Rainwater had a career day at receiver, catching 10 passes for 177 yards and three scores as the Wildcats ran up 677 yards of total offense.
Up Next – The Cougars will head out on the road for the remainder of the season, wrapping up conference play next week at Western Oregon. Central Washington will play their home finale next week in a non-conference game against Southwest Baptist (MO) from the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
GNAC Schedule for Week 4 (all times Pacific):
Western Oregon at Simon Fraser (1:00 p.m.)
Central Washington at Azusa Pacific (6:30 p.m.)
GNAC Standings through Week 5
- Western Oregon (5-3, 3-1)
- Central Washington (4-4, 3-1)
- Azusa Pacific (1-6, 1-3)
- Simon Fraser (1-7, 1-3)
