BURNABY, BC – Senior Trevor Kemp had a huge game on Seniors Day but Simon Fraser University lost 51-0 to NCAA No. 7 ranked Central Washington on Saturday afternoon in Great Northwest Athletic Conference football action on a cold afternoon on Terry Fox Field.
It was the fifth time this season that Simon Fraser has faced a nationally ranked opponent, and the No. 7 ranked Wildcats were as good as advertised. The Wildcats lead 21-0 after the first quarter and 35-0 at the half before piling up 504 yards of offence. With the win on Saturday, Central Washington clinched at least a share of its first GNAC football championship since 2012.
Central Washington, who moved up one more spot to No. 7 in the latest AFCA Division II Coaches Poll and assumed the No. 1 spot in this week’s NCAA Super Region 4 Rankings, faces nationally ranked Humboldt State in the final regular season game for both teams with a GNAC title on the line.
The Clan will play its final game on Saturday, Nov. 11 at Western Oregon.
Kemp, who is pursuing a degree in Communications, was the best defensive player on the field for either team. He had a game-high 14 tackles, one sack and a forced a fumble in his final home game. He registered six solo tackles and eight assisted tackles. It wasn’t enough to stop the Wildcats.
Running back Hasani Childs had 27 carries for 232 yards and three touchdowns.
Simon Fraser honoured all four seniors prior to the game – wide receiver Justin Buren, and linebackers
Deondre Townsend, Jordan Leech and Kemp. One of the reasons the Clan has struggled this season is its lack of upper classmen. Fifty-three of the 71 student-athletes on the team are in their first or second years.
Buren, a fifth-year senior and GNAC All-Conference Second Team in 2016, was held to one catch for seven yards and one run for four yards against the Wildcats. He currently leads the Clan with 37 catches, including an electrifying 91-yard TD catch in the season opener. But Buren faced tight coverage from the Wildcat secondary and quarterback Miles Richardson was under pressure all game from the nationally ranked Wildcats, making it challenging to move the offence.
Richardson, who was averaging over 200 yards passing per game, was 13-of-24 for 61 yards, his lowest total of the season. Richardson found Nathanael Durkan for two catches (21 yards), and Jalen Jana for three catches and 14 yards.
Defensively, SFU was led by Kemp, junior Gabe Lopes with eight tackles and freshman Isaac Evans with seven. Townsend, who transferred to the Clan for his senior season, currently ranks second on the team with 46 tackles after picking up four on Saturday.
Leech, a fifth-year senior who sits fifth on the team with 32 tackles, dressed but did not play on Saturday.
CWU quarterback Reilly Hennessey had another solid game, completing 10 of 15 passes for 131 yards and two TDs while also rushing five times for 36 yards. He ranks 28th in Division II in total offense, averaging 269.9 yards per game.
Source: Steve Frost, Sports Information Director, SFU Clan
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