RECAP: Clan fall just short in loss to WOU

The Simon Fraser University football team lost a hard-fought battle against the Western Oregon Wolves on Saturday, falling 27-16 on the road.

Trailing 7-0 after the first quarter, the Clan offence woke up in the second as quarterback Ryan Stanford (Phoenix, AZ) connected with receiver Lemar Durant (Coquitlam, BC) for a 60-yard gain deep into Wolves territory. Six plays later, Tiernan Docherty (Richmond, BC) kicked a 26 yard field goal to put SFU on the board, the Clan down 7-3.

Later in the quarter, linebacker Jordan Herdman (Winnipeg, MB) intercepted Ryan Bergman’s pass and immediately following the change of possession, Stanford went to Durant again, this time for a 51-yard touchdown.

This allowed the Clan their first lead of the game, putting SFU ahead 10-7, a score that would stand at halftime, due in part to three-missed field goals between the two teams.

On Western Oregon’s first possession of the second half, Bergman threw a touchdown pass to reclaim the lead for the home team at 14-10 for the Wolves.

On the ensuing SFU possession, however, the Clan offence marched 51 yards on eleven plays ending with another Docherty field goal, cutting the deficit to a single point, 14-13.

The SFU defence then forced a three-and-out, highlighted by Jamie Puffer (Verona, ON) recording a tackle-for-a-loss on the second down.

The Clan continued moving the ball downfield, culminating with another Docherty field goal giving the Clan the lead once again, 16-14.

Simon Fraser continued to press, but a Stanford pass attempt was picked off in the end zone early in the fourth quarter, changing the momentum in the Wolves’ favour.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Western Oregon scored another touchdown to regain the lead, and then added another score late to win by eleven.

“I thought we a good chance of winning this football game,” said head coach Jacques Chapdelaine. “I was pleased with some of the running effort we had. I really didn’t think we would produce as much in the running as we were able to do.”

Running back Stephen Spagnuolo (Vancouver, BC) rushed for 132 yards on 24 attempts, while Stanford finished 23-of-52 for 299 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

Durant led all receivers with 10 receptions for 184 yards and a touchdown.

“The weather was a factor and with the lead at halftime that we had, I really thought we could take the extra possession in the second half and try to build on our lead, which we did not do unfortunately,” Chapdelaine continued. “If we could have built on our lead that would have made them play one dimensional football in the fourth quarter.”

On defence, Herdman recorded 10 tackles, along with his interception, while his brother Justin Herdman (Winnipeg, MB) was a menace in the backfield finishing with three tackles-for-a-loss and three deflected passes near the line of scrimmage.

With the loss, the Clan’s record falls to 2-6 overall and 2-2 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play.

The team will now return home for the final three weeks of the season, hosting their next game on November 1.

Kick-off against the Humboldt State Lumberjacks will take place at 1:00 p.m. at Swangard Stadium, and for ticket information, fans can email [email protected] .