Turnovers and mistakes proved to be too costly for the Simon Fraser University football team, as they fell 33-17 to the Humboldt State Lumberjacks at Swangard Stadium last Saturday.
SFU turned the ball over on their opening drive, which led to a touchdown by the Lumberjacks to go up 6-0 after a missed point-after attempt.
The Lumberjacks extended their lead to 9-0 early in the second quarter off of a field goal, before throwing a touchdown to increase the score to 16-0.
SFU got on the board before halftime, as safety Josh Jackai intercepted a pass and returned it 42-yards down to the Humboldt 22-yard line.
On the first play following the turnover, quarterback Ryan Stanford scrambled for 16-yards, before Tiernan Docherty kicked a 27-yard field goal as time expired to make the score 16-3 at halftime.
The Clan defence held Humboldt State to 342 total yards of offence, 100 yards less than their average as they kept SFU in the game throughout the afternoon.
“Defensively we battled really hard and did a lot of nice things against one of the better offences,” head coach Jacques Chapdelaine said in a prepared release.
Linebacker Jordan Herdman finished with a game-high 27 tackles, while defensive end Keenan North added eight tackles – three being for a loss including one sack.
Just passed the midway point of the third quarter, the Clan offence found its rhythm, marching 67 yards on seven plays and ending with a five-yard touchdown pass from Stanford to Justin Buren to cut the deficit to 19-10.
Humboldt State responded with a touchdown drive of their own, to put them up 26-10.
But SFU would not give up, as running back Stephen Spagnuolo rushed for 29 of the team’s 80 yards on their ensuing drive, capped off by a one-yard touchdown run to make the score 26-17.
That would be as close as the Clan would get however, as the Lumberjacks tacked on another touchdown to win by sixteen.
Lemar Durant led the team with 60 yards on five receptions, while Spagnuolo ended with his second straight 100-yard game, finishing with 106 yards rushing and a touchdown.
With the loss, SFU’s record falls to 2-7 and 2-5 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play. The Clan will be back at home next weekend, as they face the Azusa Pacific Cougars at Swangard Stadium at 1 p.m. Nov. 8. For ticket information, please email [email protected]
