Clan head to Utah in search of first conference win (VIDEO)

Burnaby, B.C. –Three weeks removed from their last game of NCAA football, the Simon Fraser University Clan head to Sandy, Utah, this week for a rematch with the Dixie State College Red Storm on Saturday (12 pm Pacific).

The Clan, who two weeks ago won Shrum Bowl decisively over the University of British Columbia, are rested after enjoying a bye week, but are still in search of their first Great Northwest Athletic Conference win.

The last time Dixie State (1-6) and SFU (1-5) met, on October 2, the Clan’s miscues handed Dixie State a 28-21 win on Terry Fox Field. Since that time DSC has lost twice, dropping a 40-27 contest to Western Oregon before falling 28-3 to Humboldt State last weekend.

The Clan last week:
Before heading into a bye-week, SFU defeated UBC in Shrum Bowl XXXIII for the third straight year. Former Windsor High School teammates Bo Palmer and Gabe Ephard combined for 239 rushing yards and two touchdowns to SFU to a 27-20 win. The win improved the Clan to 17-15-1 in the All-Time Shrum Bowl series.
Ephard registered most of his yardage in the first half, putting up 111 total rushing yards while scoring the Clan’s first touchdown of the game on a 12-yard draw play before leaving in the second half with a sprained ankle. Palmer gamely stepped up in Ephard’s place, scoring a touchdown in the first quarter on a one-yard plunge, and finished the night with 128 yards on 21 carries including a 60-yard run that set up a field goal in the second half.

Two-headed rushing monster:
Heading into Saturday’s game, and in spite of missing half the Shrum Bowl with an ankle injury, Gabe Ephard is still the GNAC rushing leader, averaging 113.5 yards per game over six games. Humboldt State’s Lyndon Rowells is hot on Ephard’s heels, averaging 111.3 yards per game over seven contests. Despite the injury to Ephard, Palmer gamely stepped up in his place during Shrum Bowl, and was named GNAC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts. Accordingly the Clan have the GNAC’s best rushing attack, averaging 197.3 yards per game on the ground.

Bowcott’s opportunity:
Greg Bowcott, arguably B.C.’s top high school passer in 2009-10 when he tossed for Rick Hansen, is making the trip to Sandy and when the whistle blows will be lining up under centre for the Clan. SFU’s passing attack this season has struggled, and head coach Dave Johnson giving the freshman from Mission an opportunity to get the passing attack moving in a positive direction.

Rock solid up front
The main reason for the Clan’s outstanding rushing attack in 2010 has been SFU’s offensive line and in particular their consistency. While other personnel units have seen significant time on the trainer’s table, the lineup of Brad Erdos, Matthias Goossen, Kris Gluppe, Tom Basso and Ben Thompson have started every game this season across the board for the Clan.

Berger at Axe
Due to injuries, the Clan’s rotation at linebacker continues, and this weekend Adam Berger will play the AXE LB spot for SFU in place of Kevin Semenowich, who is out with a concussion. Andrew Marshall and Casey Chin will start at the other two linebacker spots. Semenowich is currently tied with Marshall for second on the team in tackles.

Defensive leaders
Marc DesLauriers enters Saturday’s game seventh in the conference in tackles, averaging 7.7 per game, while Marshall and Semenowich each average 6.7 per outing. Nigel Palma is third in the GNAC with three interceptions, while Justin Capicciotti, another player who has started every game this season, is fifth in the conference with 2.5 sacks, and Palma and Chris Seminoff are tied for fifth in the conference with five passes defended.

The Red Storm last week:
Patrick Gondkoff took the first offensive play from scrimmage to the end zone and later returned a kickoff to the same locale aiding the Humboldt State University Lumberjacks to a convincing 28-3 victory over Dixie State College in conference play at the Redwood Bowl last weekend.

Rushing attack?
The Red Storm have the lowest rated rushing offence in the GNAC, averaging only 74 yards per game. The Clan have the lowest rated rushing defence in the GNAC, allowing 227 yards on the ground per game. The last time these two teams met, Dixie State put up 193 yards on the ground, with Jesse Ence rushing for 150.

Freshman prowess
As the Clan saw in their 28-21 loss to Dixie State, freshman quarterback Cody Stevenson is no slouch. Currently second in the GNAC in passing, averaging 196 yards per game, Stevenson three for 194 yards and three touchdowns against SFU.

Head coach Dave Johnson’s thoughts on this weekend:
“I’m impressed with how hard our guys have been working during the bye-week, I liked the intensity I saw during practices, particularly during an intra-squad game last Thursday. The Shrum Bowl was a positive for this team, it’s a good feeling to win, and it’s a contagious feeling.”
“[DSC] played hard against us when we were at home, but I also thought that we made a number of mistakes in that game that cost us a win. If we can limit our mistakes, I feel we can be very successful on Saturday.”

SFU-DSC Highlights:
You can watch the highlights from the last time SFU played Dixie State below:

Following Saturday’s game:
Dixie State will have live stats, audio and video of Saturday’s game online. Links are available here:
[URL]http://www.dixieathletics.com/schedule.aspx?path=football