RECAP: Clan second-half comeback, first home win [stats]

The Simon Fraser University Clan football team used a big second half to pull away from the South Dakota School of Mines Hardrockers Saturday afternoon, winning 53-31.

SFU trailed 31-26 at halftime, but the defence pitched a shutout in the second half, while the offence scored 27 straight points to cruise past SDSMT by a 22 point margin.

“I told the entire team, this game was going to be a bit of a statement game – especially the second half,” head coach Jacques Chapdelaine said. “How we answered the bell in the second half was going to determine how the rest of the season was going to go for us.”

The comeback started on the opening drive of the second half, as linebacker Jordan Herdman (Winnipeg, MB) forced a fumble on the first play from scrimmage and the ball was recovered by Kristian Lawrence (Ottawa, ON) at the SDSMT 23 yard line.

In his first start in two weeks, quarterback Ryan Stanford (Phoenix, AZ) connected with Justin Buren (Coquitlam, BC) two plays after the fumble for a six-yard score, which put the Clan up 32-31.

Herdman again came through on the next drive, as on third-and-eleven, he shot into the backfield and sacked Trenton McKinney for a 13-yard loss forcing a punt.

The Clan offence struck pay dirt again, as receiver Lemar Durant (Coquitlam, BC) rushed 14-yards on a fly sweep into the end zone, one play after Stephen Spagnuolo (Vancouver, BC) had busted off a 31-yard run in the Hardrockers red zone. This made the score 39-31 for SFU, and the Clan followed that possession by scoring on their next two drives as well.

On the opening kickoff to start the game, the Clan won the toss and elected to receive the kick, but SDSMT attempted an onside kick, which they recovered, leading to an early 7-0 deficit for the home team.

SFU responded on their first drive, as a 41-yard field goal by Tiernan Docherty (Richmond, BC) made the score 7-3.

From there the teams traded points before McKinney threw a 35-yard touchdown pass to put the Hardrockers up by eleven, 31-20.

But that was when things changed, as SFU scored a touchdown with under a minute to go in the first half, as Cole Tudor (Pickering, ON) punched it in from three-yards out.

From that point onward, the Clan outscored the Hardrockers 33-0.

“We were kind of disappointed in how the defence played in the first half and we challenged the young men and they responded,” Chapdelaine explained.

Tudor finished with a game high 93 rushing yards and two touchdowns, while Spagnuolo also added 83 yards on the ground.

Stanford ended the day 28-of-36 for 372 yards and four touchdowns and Buren led the team in receiving with 123 yards on nine receptions with two touchdowns. Durant also had two receiving touchdowns.

On defence, Herdman finished with a game high 15 tackles and two sacks, while also forcing and recovering a fumble. Defensive end Jamie Puffer (Verona, ON) added 2.5 tackles-for-a-loss and half a sack.

With the win, SFU’s record improves to 2-5 overall and 2-1 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

The team will be on the road next week for the last time this season, as they face the Western Oregon Wolves October 25 at 1:00 p.m. in Monmouth, OR.

PHOTO CREDIT: Ron Hole