Mistakes cost Simon Fraser University a win in its varsity football home opener.
The Clan gave up a last-minute touchdown to Menlo College to fall 31-24 in a non-conference matchup in the team’s return to Swangard Stadium on Saturday.
Late in the third quarter, Lemar Durant scored a go-ahead 21-17 touchdown on a 43-yard scoring pass from quarterback Ryan Stanford, who threw for 260 total yards and three TDs. Stanford was also sacked on two occasions.
But Menlo continued to rally, eventually tying the game 24-24 early in the fourth quarter before getting into the end zone for the game-winning score.
“This is our first game of the year, and I think that mistakes will happen. Obviously, we want to minimize that and we are dealing with a situation where kids are anxious,” said first-year head coach Jacques Chapdelaine in a Clan press release.
Chris Tolbert rushed for 83 yards for the Clan, while Durant had 151 yards through the air.
Kyle Kawamoto opened the scoring early in the first quarter on a 29-yard strike from Stanford that was set up by an interception by Eric Murphy. Ante Milanovic-Litre also scored a touchdown for SFU in the first half.
Later in the first half, Tobert fumbled on two separate occasions and Menlo capitalized on one of them, eventually scoring a touchdown to lead SFU 17-14 at halftime.
“At the end of the day, if we play a little smarter, a little bit better, we can go toe-to-toe with anyone in our conference,” Chapdelaine added.
The Clan will get its chance this Saturday against the Western Oregon Wolves in a Great Northwest conference matchup at Swangard. Game time is 1 p.m.
