Azusa Pacific University Athletics

Week 3: Azusa Pacific (0-2) vs. Western Oregon (0-2)

Location – Citrus Stadium, Glendora, California

Conditions – Game time is 6:30 p.m. PDT.  Game time temperature is projected to be 80 degrees, with clear skies and a light breeze from the west.

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Head Coaches – Azusa Pacific: Victor Santa Cruz (14th season, 83-62).  Western Oregon: Arne Ferguson (15th season, 83-70)

About Last Week – The Cougars continued their season-opening road trip with their first-ever matchup against Missouri S&T.  It was a day the Cougars would prefer not to remember as the Miners’ had their second-best offensive yardage output in program history, racking up 670 yards in a 51-17 win, handing the Cougars their first 0-2 start since 2012.  For the fourth straight game, going back to last November, an opponent was able to run for over 200 yards against the Cougars, with Missouri S&T finishing the game with 296 yards on the ground.  Missouri S&T scored on five of their six first-half possessions, putting any doubt of the result to bed early.  The Cougars’ offense did put up 412 yards of their own, though most of it came after the outcome was no longer in doubt.  Tyrone Williams threw for 263 yards and one touchdown while also rushing for a score. In the afternoon before this took place, Western Oregon played their home opener against 2017 national champion Texas A&M-Commerce, and played the 12th-ranked Lions close throughout, falling 34-27.  Western Oregon took the lead briefly in the 4th quarter on a 74 yard touchdown pass to Thomas Wright, but gave up two TDs in three minutes, sandwiching a costly interception, and their last gasp drive stalled out at the Lions 16-yard line.  Ty Currie threw for 226 yards and a touchdown, and three different Wolves ran for a score.

Cougars’ Defense:   – Azusa Pacific has been trying to replace a couple of key contributors in the linebacking corps, most notably all-American Aaron Berry.  Through two games, junior Lucas Olgiati is doing his best to fill the gap, leading the Cougars with 17 tackles through two games, including 2 in the backfield.  Tim Lee, who was an offensive lineman last season, has come in on the defensive side and recorded 12 tackles while breaking up three pass attempts.  Ben Sukut had the first sack for the team, while 2018 all-conference safety Josh Olave is back to his ball-hawking ways with the Cougars’ first interception of 2018.

Where There’s a Williams, There’s a Way – Junior QB Tyrell Williams has pretty much been the offense through two games, throwing for 516 yards and two touchdown passes over the first two games this season.  He has run for 36 yards, though the four sacks he has suffered have wiped out that yardage.  The Cougars have struggled to run the football thus far this year, as the leading rusher to this point is actually the backup quarterback Andrew Catalano, who gained 45 yards on the ground Saturday against Missouri S&T.  Brandon Jackson has been the primary target thus far, with 13 receptions for 154 yards and two touchdowns, while Jasaiah Richard-Lewis has come in and presented himself as a deep threat, with four catches in each game thus far, racking up 175 yards total.

Wolves’ Defense – Western Oregon’s defense is in search of an identity after graduating linebacker Bo Highburger last season.  The current linebackers are leading the way statistically in tackles so far this season behind the play of Tyler Wharf (16 tackles) and Nate Proctor (15 tackles).  Senior DB Derek Parnell has the only interception thus far this season, but the Wolves are still even in turnover margin through two games, while the Cougars are minus-three.    Up front, Blayne Burnett and Tyrell Cummings each recorded a sack against Texas A&M-Commerce last week.

Wolves’ Offense: Six if by Land – Western Oregon has primarily been a passing team in recent years, and current QB Ty Currie has continued that trend, as he has thrown for 428 yards over the first two games.  But Western Oregon has had some success rushing the ball in recent efforts, led by Omari Land, who had 788 yards on the ground last year to lead the Wolves, including a 130-yard effort at home against the Cougars in Week 3 last season.  Land has 102 yards on the ground and three rushing touchdowns through the first two games in 2019. Ten different receivers have already caught a pass from Currie this season for Western Oregon.  Redshirt sophomore Thomas Wright leads the way with seven receptions for 140 yards and a score, while the chief deep threat appears to be Oregon transfer Tyler Reid, who only has three catches, but is averaging over 37 yards per grab.

Welcome to the GNAC – This is the first conference game in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference this season, the league’s first with only four teams. The Cougars have won the GNAC championship four of the last six years, and are 41-15 in conference games since becoming a member of the GNAC in 2012.

History – Azusa Pacific leads the all-time series against Western Oregon, 11-5.  Since the Cougars joined the GNAC in 2012, Azusa Pacific has won 10 of the 12 matchups, including each of the last 6.  Western Oregon’s last win in the series was in 2015, a 17-14 decision in Monmouth, Oregon.

Home Sweet Home – Saturday night’s contest is the home opener for Azusa Pacific.  The Cougars have played all their home games at Citrus Stadium since 2011, and in that span are 36-11 (.766) at home.  Against Western Oregon, the Cougars are 5-1 at Citrus Stadium, with the Wolves’ lone win in Glendora coming in their first visit back in 2012 by a score of 20-7.  Two of the Cougars’ five wins have been by a single point, in both 2014 and 2018.

Last Meeting – Azusa Pacific 7, Western Oregon 6 (October 27, 2018, Citrus Stadium).  The Cougars’ offense was stymied for most of the evening on Homecoming night, but came through at the last-possible moment with a 12-play, 70-yard drive in the final two minutes that included a critical 19-yard reception by senior WR Gaige Allen on 4th and 6 near midfield, and was capped by a 9-yard TD pass to Weston Carr with 17 seconds remaining.  The win gave coach Victor Santa Cruz his 81st career victory at Azusa Pacific, tying Jim Milhon for the most in program history.

Up Next – The Cougars head right back out on the road, venturing north of the border to take on Simon Fraser in Week Four.  Western Oregon will stay on the road for the second consecutive week as they head to Ellensburg for their annual visit to arch-rival Central Washington.

GNAC Schedule for Week 3 (all times Pacific):
Central Washington at Western New Mexico (11:00 a.m.)
South Dakota Mines at Simon Fraser (6:00 p.m.)
Western Oregon at Azusa Pacific (6:30 p.m.)