NAIA PLAYOFFS

Montana Tech at
Azusa Pacific

Saturday (Nov. 19)

Cougar Stadium, 6 p.m. (PST)

Records:

Azusa Pacific – 6-3

Montana Tech – 8-3

THIS WEEK: By virtue of being the highest-ranked independent in the final NAIA Coaches Poll, Azusa Pacific has qualified for the 16-team NAIA Football Championship Series for the third consecutive year and for the sixth time in the past 8 years. The Cougars open first-round play against Montana Tech, Saturday (Nov. 19) at 6 p.m. in Cougar Stadium.

RADIO: The Azusa Pacific-Montana Tech football playoff game can be heard live on the Internet on Azusa Pacific’s student-run radio station KAPU. Andrew Wheeler, Alex Charles and Christen Buckner will call the action live beginning at 5:50 p.m. (PST). The game can also be heard via the Internet through KBOW of Butte, Mont., with Paul Panisko and Ron Hasquet calling the game for Montana Tech.

TICKETS: Tickets for the game are $7 for adults and $5 for students with ID. Tickets go on sale at the gate at 4:30 p.m. (PST), Saturday. No student passes are available for the contest.

NATIONAL RANKINGS: Azusa Pacific is ranked No. 9 in the final NAIA Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Cougars have appeared in 46 consecutive NAIA Polls dating back to Sept. 17, 2002.

Montana Tech is ranked No. 11 in the NAIA and has appeared in 19 straight NAIA Polls dating back to September of last year.

Click here to view the final 2005 NAIA Coaches Top 25 Poll.

THE FIELD: Azusa Pacific and Montana Tech are 2 of 16 teams playing in the NAIA Football Championship Series. This weekend’s winners advance to the quarterfinals on Nov. 26 which will be followed by the semifinals of Dec. 3. After a week off, the NAIA playoffs conclude with the title game on Dec. 17 in Savannah, Tenn. The following are Saturday’s first round pairings:

Pikeville College (Ky.) (7-2) at University of St. Francis (Ind.) (10-0)

Geneva College (Pa.) (8-3) at Georgetown College (Ky.) (8-2)

University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) (9-1) at St. Xavier University (Ill.) (9-2)

Evangel University (Mo.) (8-2) at McKendree College (Ill.) (8-2), 1 p.m.

St. Ambrose University (Iowa) (8-2) at Morningside College (Iowa) (10-0)

Dickinson State University (N.D.) (7-3) at Carroll College (Mont.) (10-0)

Graceland University (Iowa) (9-2) at Tabor College (Kan.) (10-0)

Montana Tech (8-3) at Azusa Pacific University (Calif.) (6-3)

SERIES NOTES: This is the first meeting ever between Azusa Pacific and Montana Tech. However, Azusa Pacific has played Tech’s fellow Frontier Conference mates and is 3-5 all-time against conference members (Rocky Mountain 2-1, Eastern Oregon 1-1, Carroll 0-3). The Cougars are 3-2 at home vs. Frontier schools.

POSTSEASON PLAY: Azusa Pacific is 8-4 in 5 previous NAIA playoff appearances, winning the 1998 national title and advancing to the semifinals in 1999 and again in 2004. The Cougars are 6-1 at home in the postseason, losing only the Georgetown (Ky.) in the 1999 semis.

Montana Tech is 2-5 in the NAIA playoffs, which includes a 0-5 mark away from Butte, Mont. The Orediggers first advanced to the postseason in 1971, losing a first-round contest at California Lutheran (34-6). They made return postseason trips in 1992, 1996, 1997 and again last year.

vs. NAIA: Azusa Pacific is 19-11 vs. NAIA teams since 1998 and has won 6 of the past 8 with both losses coming against national champ Carroll College.

SEASON REVIEW TO DATE: After dropping its first 2 games to start the season (a program first since 1997), Azusa Pacific has rebounded quite nicely to win 6 of its past 7 games, including wins over NCAA Division II Humboldt State (Cougars’ first win in Arcata since 1997) and Western New Mexico and victories over NAIA nationally-ranked Eastern Oregon (47-6) and Valley City State (34-31). The lone loss in that stretch was to NCAA Division I-AA Sacramento State.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Azusa Pacific head coach Peter Shinnick, son of former Baltimore Colt linebacker and UCLA All-American Don Shinnick, is now in his seventh season at the Cougar helm. He is currently 52-20 as a head coach, and is now second on Azusa Pacific’s all-time win list (Jim Milhon, 1978-94, leads with 81 Cougar victories). Shinnick just brought Azusa Pacific through its best 6-year span in program history, guiding the Cougars to victory in 47 of the past 65 games, which includes an impressive 28-6 record over the past 3 seasons. In Shinnick’s tenure the Cougars have appeared in 72 of 83 NAIA Coaches Top 25 Polls, including the past 46 in a row, which has translated into 4 NAIA playoff berths, 2 of which had the Cougars advance to the semifinals. Shinnick has coached 22 All-Americans, 11 scholar-athletes and 73 school records have been broken since his 1999 arrival.

Bob Green is in his 18th season at Montana Tech and has fashioned a 114-87-1 as the Oredigger mentor. He has guided Tech to 4 previous postseason appearances and 13 first- or second-place finishes in the Frontier Conference.

COMMON OPPONENTS: Azusa Pacific and Montana Tech have 2 common opponents this season. Both team lost to top-ranked and defending national champion Carroll College. The Cougars fell 27-7 in Helena, Mont., while Montana Tech dropped 45-3 (in Helena) and 21-16 (in Butte) decisions to the Saints.

The 2 split home decisions with Eastern Oregon. Azusa Pacific downed EOU, 47-6, on Oct. 29 while Tech fell to the Mountaineers, 24-10, in Butte on Sept. 24.

LAST WEEK: Azusa Pacific reserved its spot in the postseason with a come-from-behind 34-31 victory over No. 18-ranked Valley City State in a rare Thursday-night game. Played in the Fargo Dome for the Cougars’ first-ever indoor game, Azusa Pacific trailed 28-10 in the second quarter and found itself still down 31-17 at halftime after the Vikings parlayed 4 Cougar turnovers into 24 points. However, Azusa Pacific scored on its first 2 possessions of the second half to quickly knot the game at 31, and the Cougar defense held VCSU to just 73 yards total offense in the second half, setting table for senior PK Mike Betancourth, who kicked a 42-yard field with 3:36 left to play to lift the Cougars to the victory and bounce Valley City State from playoff contention

Josh Johnson’ 4-yard blast with 9:58 left in the game snapped a 24-all tie and propelled Montana Tech to 34-24 victory at Montana State-Northern, securing the Oregiggers’ berth into the postseason. Montana Tech’s running game was grounded to a mere 84 yards on 42 carries and 50-mph winds wreaked havoc on the ball in the air, including punts. Thus Montana Tech took advantage of turnovers and short-field situations to tally 4 TDs and 2 field goals.

WELL-RESTED: Azusa Pacific heads into the first-round of the playoffs well-rested and well-prepared. By kickoff time Saturday night, the Cougars will have played just 1 game in the past 20 days (vs. Valley City State Nov. 10), and since that game was last Thursday, Azusa Pacific has enjoyed an extra 2 days to prepare for the playoffs.

COMING AROUND: A year ago the Azusa Pacific defense was tops in the NAIA. However, with the graduation of 4 key personnel, it has taken some time for this year’s unit to reach a similar level of performance. They may be there now, however. In the Azusa Pacific’s 6 victories over the past 7 games, the Cougar defense has allowed just 9 TDs while holding the foe to 297 yards in total offense a game. The defense has forced 12 takeaways and registered a whopping 24 quarterback sacks (4 a game). All-American candidate Troy McPeak has excelled in that time, tallying 3 interceptions, 6 tackles for loss, including 2 sacks, and 41 tackles in all from the secondary.

GETTING HIS KICKS: Senior place-kicker Mike Betancourth, who a year ago led the NAIA with 19 field goals made, is likely the top place-kicker in the NAIA and one of the best in all of college football. He is this week’s NAIA Special Teams Player of the Week after making a pair of FGs, including the game winner, and then dropping 3 of his 6 punts inside the 20-yard line. On the season, Betancourth has made 13-of-16 attempts, including 11 of his past 12. He has 8 kicks of 41 yards or longer, including a 52-yarder, the second longest boot in the NAIA this year. He has converted 23 of his past 26 attempts, which included a school-record 12 straight that stretched from last year into this year’s season-opener at San Diego. He has a pair of 52-yard field goals, including the aforementioned one against Sacramento State earlier this year, just 2 yards shy of Brad Kramer’s 1974 school-record 54 yarder. For his career, he has 32 made field goals in just 23 games and is 4 field goals shy of All-American Devon Jones’ (1978-81) school career-record of 36 that he established over the course of 4 seasons. Betancourth is 32-for-42 (.762) for his career and his 150 points scored are eighth on Azusa Pacific’s all-time chart (he’s just 7 points shy of fifth). Additionally, he has made 49 consecutive PATs.

ALL-AMERICAN PLAY: Senior LB Stephen Holte, a 2004 NAIA All-American first teamer who has never missed a game in his Cougar career starting the past 42 games in a row, is playing the best football of his career and perhaps among the best of anyone in the NAIA this year. Last year, Holte averaged 7.1 tackles a game, but this season he is averaging a hefty 13.7 tackles per outings to become the first Cougar since All-American Jeremiah Beery in 1999 to record over 100 tackles in a season. Currently with 123 tackles, he is 13 tackles shy of Josh Henderson’s 1996 school season-record of 136 tackles (in 10 games). Against the NAIA’s No. 1-ranked Carroll (Sept. 10), he recorded 21 take-downs, just 1 shy of the school record. The following week against Willamette he registered another 18 tackles. Holte is also tops the team with 13 tackles for loss, 6.5 QB sacks, and 3 interceptions. His next pick will be the most by a Cougar linebacker since Greg Smith’s 5 interceptions in 1995.

LIGHTING THE LAMP: Junior RB Marcus Lampkin was a one-man wrecking crew at Valley City State, reaching legendary and sacred record levels in the annals of Cougar football. In leading the Cougars to the victory, Lampkin rushed for 248 yards on 40 carries (6.2 avg.) tying Christian Okoye’s 1986 single-game school records for most yards and carries in a game. Lampkin scored 1 TD on a 13-yard run and set up 2 others with runs to the 1 yard line. The 5-foot-6, 170-pound junior needs 102 more yards to become only the seventh Cougar ever to rush for 1,000 yards in a season and the first since NAIA Player of the Year Jack Williams did so in 1999. Lampkin currently tops the team in rushing (99.8 avg.) and all-purpose yards (130.8 avg.). The former walk-on transfer from Lewis & Clark has rushed for 843 yards in the past 7 games (120.4 avg.) and has 7 century-rushing efforts in his career (only 6 other Cougars have registered more), including 5 that he strung together earlier this year to join NFL Pro Bowler Okoye and Williams as the only Cougars to have that many 100-yard games in succession.

NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Azusa Pacific, which has won 7 straight at home, is 19-1 in Cougar Stadium since 2002 with the only setback coming at the hands of No. 1-ranked ranked and 3-time defending NAIA champ Carroll College (12-0 verdict last year). Over the past 20 home games, the Cougars are out-scoring the foe by an average score of 30-11. The Cougar defense is holding opponents to just 244 yards of total offense for each home game over the past 4 seasons and have produced 39 takeaways in those 20 contests. And for whatever reason, over the past 3 seasons at home, Azusa Pacific has allowed just 12 points scored in the second quarter, outscoring the foe 118-12 in the second quarter since 2003 (15 games)

ABOUT THE OREDIGGERS: Montana Tech has had a full slate of games this season with 11 contests already under the belt. The Orediggers opened their season back on Aug. 27 and have enjoyed just one week off (Oct. 29) in the meantime. They are 3-1 on the road this season, losing only to top-ranked Carroll (45-3) on Oct. 15.

Offensively, the Orediggers rely on a ground game that averages nearly 200 yards a game. Junior Josh Johnson (886 yards, 7 TDs) and sophomore Teague Eagan (744 yards, 5 TDs) have combined for 1,630 rushing yards and 12 TDs. Johnson has 4 100-yard games to his credit this season, including a season-best 179-yard effort against Montana Western. Egan has a trio of century games as well with his best also coming against Montana Western when he tallied 145 yards.

Junior Aaron Johnson and sophomore Justus Sheets (the lone Californian on Tech’s 52-man playoff roster – from Dixon, Calif.) share duties at quarterback. The Orediggers are averaging 108.5 yards passing. Senior WR Brian Styck is a do-everything player who is not only the Orediggers’ top receiver with 26 receptions for 332 yards and 3 TDs, but he has also rushed 22 times for 95 yards (4.3 avg.) and 2 more TDs. Plus, Styck is 15-for-26 passing for 152 yards.

The Orediggers have one of the top placekickers in the nation in Dan Kleckner, who has made 15-of-18 field goals this season, including an NAIA-best 55 yarder (vs. Montana State Northern, Oct. 1).

Defensively, Montana Tech is giving up 20 ponts a game but the Orediggers are 13th in the NAIA in rushing defense (105.0 avg.) and is led by sophomore LB J.J. Perino and his 13.5 tackles for loss. Senior DB Adam Cotton tops the Frontier Conference with 6 interceptions.

NEXT UP: Saturday’s winner advances to the quarterfinals which will be played Saturday (Nov. 26). Pairings and game times will be announced from the NAIA national office, Sunday (Nov. 27).