Burnaby Ā – Turnovers proved to be too much for the Simon Fraser University ClanĀ SaturdayĀ afternoon, as the Central Washington Wildcats took advantage helping pace themselves to a 54-14 win on Terry Fox Field.
The Clan turned the ball over six times which allowed the Wildcats to have good field position and did not allow the Clan offence to have many sustained drives.
āOverall it was a really tough game,ā said tight end Jamal Kett (Orangeville, ON ā 6 rec. 54 yards). āWe came out with a fumble on the opening kickoff and it wasnāt a good start.”
āWe just couldnāt get the ball going (on offence) and I think that was the biggest challenge.ā
SFU fumbled the opening kickoff, which resulted in the Wildcats scoring a touchdown, but the defence bounced back on Central Washingtonās next drive as safety Travis Hayes (Vallejoa, CA ā 6 tackles 1 INT) intercepted Wildcat quarterback Jake Nelson on the SFU one yard line.
However, the offence gave it back on a safety which led to another Central Washington touchdown and 16-0 lead.
Down early, the Clan did battle back as quarterback Ryan Stanford (Phoenix, AZ ā 19/27 158-yards 2 TD 3 INT) completed a 43-yard pass to wide receiver Bobby Borcky (Orlando, FL ā 3 rec. 70 yards 1 TD) down to the CWU 19 yard line. Two plays later the two hooked up again as Stanford found Borcky in the back of the end zone for the score to make the score 16-7 for Central.
Defensive end Dylan Roper (North Vancouver ā 1 tackle 1 sack) sacked Nelson forcing a third and long on the Wildcats next drive, which ended with the Clan stopping CWU on fourth down. On second-and-three, running back Chris Tolbert (Silver Springs, MD ā 7-70-yards) broke free for 42-yards all the way down to the CWU 12 yard line. On the very next play Stanford threw a fade route to wide receiver Bobby Pospischil (Coquitlam, BC) 12-yards, who made the catch which brought the score to 16-14 for the Wildcats.
However on the ensuing kickoff, Jesse Zalk returned the ball 75-yards for the touchdown which began a string of 21 straight points for the Wildcats which gave them a 44-14 halftime lead.
āWe just didnāt make the plays that we needed to,ā said Hayes. āYou have guys in position to make plays and (Central Washington) made the plays and we didnāt.ā
Central Washington would score 10 more points in the second half which paved the way for their 54-14 win.
With the loss, SFU is now 2-4 on the season and travel to Monmouth, OR next week where they will take on the Western Oregon Wolves atĀ 1:00 p.m.
Photo credits: Ā Ron Hole
Written by Mackenzie Dagleish
Advocating for football prospects one story at a time.
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