SFU Heads Into Wolves’ Den

Burnaby, B.C. – Two weeks after the Western Oregon University Wolves handed the Simon Fraser University Clan football team a 38-0 opening day home loss in the Clan’s first ever Great Northwest Athletic Conference Game, the Clan and WOU are set to face off in game two of their home and home series this Saturday afternoon in Monmouth, Oregon (1 pm) at McArthur Field.

Live Stats: [URL]http://athletics.wou.edu/live/xlive.htm
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Last week:
A pair of costly mistakes by the Clan, bookending the first and second half, resulted in a 14-point swing, and handed Simon Fraser their second loss of the season as the Southern Oregon University Raiders defeated SFU 31-18. Southern Oregon running back Brandon Baldwin scampered for 181 yards on 35 carries, including two touchdowns, while Simon Fraser back Gabe Ephard (North Vancouver, B.C.) carried the ball 15 times for 152 yards. Both Southern Oregon (237) and Simon Fraser (211) rushed for over 200 yards.

Clan running strong:
While SFU is sitting at 0-2 on the year, the Clan’s rushing attack has been strong, and currently sits second in the GNAC averaging 186.5 yards per game. Junior running back Ephard leads the GNAC in rushing, averaging 108.0 yards per game, and is second in the conference averaging 7.4 yards per carry.

Pass attack struggles:
While the rushing attack has been a positive through two games for SFU, the passing attack has struggled, with SFU ranked last in the GNAC, averaging only 135.5 yards over their first two games in the air. SFU starter Quinton Agosta is ranked fifth in the GNAC, averaging only 90.5 yards per game, and has completed only 45.7 per cent of his passes. SFU’s top two receivers (Mathis Baumbach – 43.0, Taylor Wilkinson – 41.0) are eighth and tenth in the conference in receiving yards per game.

Health on defensive line:
In the Clan’s opener against Western Oregon, SFU lost three defensive lineman in the opening quarter. Aaron Rink is done for the season with two torn ligaments in his knee, Dan Martin is expected back in the latter half of the season, while Scott Puffer returned last week against Southern Oregon. Against SOU, the Clan watched as another lineman, Kyle Bridge, went down with a shoulder injury, and will not be in the lineup this weekend.

Defensive leaders:
Senior safety Marc DesLauriers is currently the team leader in tackles with 13 over two games, while middle linebacker Andrew Marshall is second on the team with ten. Defensive end Justin Capicciotti currently leads the GNAC with two sacks and is second with 3.5 tackles for a loss, while Nigel Palma leads the team with two interceptions.

A look at the Wolves:
Western Oregon’s AJ Robinson paces the GNAC in four offensive categories. He is first in total offense (269.5), total offensive yards (539), passing yards (263.5) and total touchdowns (five).

Demario Ballard leads the league with eight receptions and 111 yards per game. Justin Ore is also first in the GNAC with an average of 25.4 yards per catch.

As a team, WOU is atop the GNAC in scoring defense (15.5), total offense (404.5), passing offense (302.5), passing efficiency (77.4), kickoff returns (30.7), punting (40.6) and opponent third down conversion percentage (30.0)

A long-standing rivalry:
Even though this is first season Simon Fraser has been a member of the NCAA, the rivalry between WOU and SFU has long roots. These teams first met in 1966 in Burnaby, with SFU earning a 14-7 win. The Wolves did not get their first win in the series until their fourth try, as they defeated Simon Fraser 38-0 in 1971. The teams have met a total of 21 times, with WOU finally taking the series lead, 11-10, with its victory earlier this season.

SFU head coach Dave Johnson’s thoughts on the game:
“I’m excited for our guys to have an opportunity to play for the first time in this [American] environment, it will be a completely different experience from anything they have seen before.”

“Western Oregon did a good job last week against a Division I-AA school [Sacramento State], we know they are a tough team from what we saw in week one, and I know everyone in the locker room understands how we need to play to get a win.”

“Unfortunately we have some health issues at a couple of positions where we don’t have a lot of depth, but that translates into opportunities for different guys to show us what they can do.”

SFU Football 2010 Schedule
Sept 4 WOU Loss 38-0
Sept 11 SOU Loss 31-18
Sept 18 @WOU 1 pm
Sept 25 CWU 3 pm
Oct 2 Dixie 3 pm
Oct 8 @UBC 7 pm
Oct 23 @Dixie 6 pm
Oct 30 Humboldt 3 pm
Nov 6 @CWU Noon
Nov 13 @Humboldt 1 pm

Portions of release courtesy Western Oregon Sports Information

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