Azusa Pacific at Southern Nazarene

Saturday (Nov. 11)

SNU Stadium, 6 p.m. (PDT)

Records:

Azusa Pacific – 3-6

Southern Nazarene – 5-4

THIS WEEK: It is only fitting that road-warrior Azusa Pacific, a team that will travel over 15,000 miles this year, caps the 2006 season on the road, far from home. The Cougars close out the season with a first-ever visit to NAIA-member Southern Nazarene of Bethany, Okla. (Oklahoma City suburb) for a 1 p.m. (CST, 11 a.m. PST) kickoff on the SNU campus.

RADIO: The Azusa Pacific-Southern Nazarene game will be broadcast live on Internet radio by the Southern Nazarene radio team of Mike Patredis and Scott Quiring. Click here to view options to follow the game live.

TICKETS: Tickets for the Southern Nazarene game can be bought at the gate for $6 for adults and $4 for students.

ABOUT SOUTHERN NAZARENE: Southern Nazarene is a longtime NAIA member of about 2,200 undergraduate students located in Bethany, Okla., 10 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. Like Azusa Pacific, Southern Nazarene was founded in 1899. Traditionally an NAIA power in both men’s and women’s basketball, Southern Nazarene added football to its 15-sport intercollegiate program just 7 seasons ago in 2000.

SERIES NOTES: This is the first-ever gridiron meeting between Azusa Pacific and Southern Nazarene. In the past, the 2 schools have met in men’s and women’s basketball as well as men’s soccer with Southern Nazarene taking 7 of 8 previous contests in those sports combined.

vs. NAIA: Azusa Pacific is the only NAIA school in California that sponsors football and is 1 of only 2 west of the Rockies (Southern Oregon is the other). Opportunities to play NAIA members are relatively rare. Since 1998, the Cougars are 21-13 vs. NAIA foes. They have won 8 of their past 12 verdicts vs. NAIA teams with 3 of the losses coming to playoff teams.

TOUGH FOES: Of Azusa Pacific’s 10 opponents this season, 8 currently sport a winning record heading into the final week of the regular season. In fact 4 of Azusa Pacific’s foes this season are currently ranked in the Top 10 of their respective coaches’ polls and 3 (San Diego, Wisconsin-Whitewater and Whitworth) are still undefeated at 9-0. Six Azusa Pacific opponents (San Diego, Malone, Whitewater, Whitworth, Wisconsin-LaCrosse and Humboldt State) are a combined 49-5 this season.

THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD: By the time Azusa Pacific returns from Oklahoma this weekend, the Cougars will have traveled over 15,000 miles during the course of playing their 6 road games this season. No school, perhaps on any level of competition, has traveled as much as Azusa Pacific this season. The Cougars have ventured to San Diego, Calif.; Canton, Ohio; Whitewater, Wis.; Spokane, Wash.; Ashland, Ore.; and now Bethany, Okla. Azusa Pacific is 1-4 on the road this season

ABOUT THE COACHES: Both Azusa Pacific and Southern Nazarene feature new coaches this year -- Victor Santa Cruz for the Cougars and Mike Cochran for the Crimson Storm.

Santa Cruz, 34 and a former 4-year linebacker at the University of Hawaii, was named Azusa Pacific’s ninth head coach Dec. 14, 2005, after spending the previous 5 seasons on the Cougar staff. He came to Azusa Pacific in 2001 after spending 5 seasons as an assistant for at El Camino High in Oceanside, Calif. Santa Cruz has been the overseer of the Cougar defense the past 2 years, including the 2004 squad that ranked among the best defensive units in the NAIA that season.

Cochran was named Southern Nazarene’s head coach last December after spending the 5 previous seasons at the helm of the SNU’s sister school MidAmerica Nazarene in Olathe, Kan., where he fashioned a fine 46-12 record. He was an assistant coach on the Pioneer staff that downed Azusa Pacific, 27-21, in the opening round of the 2000 NAIA playoffs.

LAST WEEK: On his final carry at home Marcus Lampkin sprinted up the middle from 11 yards out with the game-winning TD with 34 seconds left to lift Azusa Pacific to a 21-14 victory over Webber International of Florida, crushing the Warriors’ already dim hopes for an NAIA playoff berth. Lampkin’s TD capped a 6-play, 65-yard drive in which the Cougars successfully responded to a WIU TD that knotted the score at 14 with 4:19 left in the game. On the game-winning drive, Lampkin used a 9-yard scamper to go over the 2,000-yard rushing mark for his Cougar career and post the eighth 100-yard rushing game of his career, but it was the final rush at home of his 3-year Cougar career for which he will be remembered. The Cougar defense held Webber to 110 rushing yards on 38 carries, thanks in part to 3 quarterback sacks. Azusa Pacific took advantage of a mistake-prone Webber which turned the ball over 3 times, missed a field goal and committed 8 penalties, including a crucial personal foul that moved the Warriors from inside the Cougar 10-yard line to beyond field goal range in the second half.

Southern Nazarene picked up its fourth win in the past 6 games with its first shutout of the season, a 30-0 decision at home over Haskell Indian Nations of Lawrence, Kan. Branden Smith rushed for 128 yards on 15 carries and scored 2 TDs, including a 70-yard run to cap the scoring with just under 3 minutes left in the game. Brock VanCleave collected his team-leading fourth interception of the season and returned it 20 yards for the Crimson Storm’s second TD of the game. The Southern Nazarene defense limited Haskell Indian Nations to just 146 yards of total offense and sacked the quarterback 4 times.

FINISHING STRONG: Only 3 previous Cougar teams in the program’s 41-year history have closed a season with at least 3 straight victories. This year’s set of Cougars can become the fourth to accomplish such a feat if Azusa Pacific can knock off Southern Nazarene. Indeed, it would be a sweet finishing touch on a dramatic turnaround for a team that was 1-6 at one point. The first Azusa Pacific team ever to close a campaign with 3 consecutive wins was the 1984 Cougars, who after losing the first 4 games, won the final 6 of the season. Of course, the 1998 NAIA championship Cougars are on the list after finishing that season with 10 straight wins. The 2002 Cougars won their final 4 of the season and finished 9-1 only to have the postseason door slammed on their face and be denied a berth into the NAIA playoffs.

AN ELITE RUNNER: After a slow start to his 2006 senior campaign, RB Marcus Lampkin is putting an exclamation point on his outstanding 3-year career at Azusa Pacific. A transfer from DIII Lewis & Clark at the start of the 2004 season, Lampkin has appeared in 30 of the Cougars’ past 33 games, starting 18 of the past 19. Against Webber International, he rushed for a game-high 111 yards on 18 carries with 2 TDs, and in the process became only the sixth Cougar ever to eclipse 2,000 yards in a career. Lampkin now has 2,012 rushing yards for his career, sixth best in program history, and has averaged 4.6 yards a carry while scoring 18 TDs. His best game ever came in last year’s regular-season finale at Valley City State (N.D.) when tied legendary Cougar Christian Okoye’s single-game rushing record 248 yards on 40 carries in a 34-31 Azusa Pacific come-from-behind victory.

A SPARKPLUG: His numbers aren’t dazzling but his play has been inspiring. Junior QB Chris Lamkin has led the Cougars to 2 victories since being inserted into the starting line-up 3 games ago, and he nearly got that third victory which instead was a last-minute 31-24 defeat to 8-1 Humboldt State. Lamkin has completed 20-of-38 passes over the past 3 games for 283 yards and 3 TDs. Yes, he has been sacked twice and thrown 5 interceptions. Still, he has sparked a team that is now averaging 28 points and 260 yards in the past 3 games, a vast improvement from the 12 points and 205 yards the Cougars were averaging over the first 6 games. It is perhaps Lamkin’s skill at running the option that has ignited the Cougars. Not only has RB Marcus Lampkin collected his only 100-yard games of the season with Lamkin calling the signals, but Lamkin himself has rushed for 125 yards on 45 carries.

HERE COME THE SACKMASTERS: Heading into this season, Azusa Pacific owned a well-earned reputation as a relentless, pursuing defense. In 2004 the Cougars accumulated 55 quarterback sacks (second best in the NAIA) in 14 games (3.9 avg./game), and came back last year to tally 28 in 10 games (2.8 avg.). The Cougars had been struggling this season until recent weeks. Over the past 2 games, Azusa Pacific has registered 11 of their 23 QB sacks on the season, including a season-high 8 vs. Dixie State. Junior DE Casey Roel has led the charge with 4 sacks in the past 2 games. Sophomore LB Travis Bengard has tallied 3.

BY THE NUMBER: The Cougar offensive line has allowed just 3 sacks on 168 pass plays this season ... Sophomore WR Jon Davis, who had never played football in his life until last year, is Azusa Pacific’s leading receiver this season with 27 catches for 297 yards (11.0 avg.) and 3 TDs ... Led by linebackers Scott Ellis and Clint Shamblin, who top the team in tackles with 66 and 65, respectively, the Cougar defense has allowed just one opposing back to rush for 100 yards this season (Southern Oregon’s Shane Van Zant tallied 107).

ABOUT THE CRIMSON STORM: Southern Nazarene comes into this week’s game with Azusa Pacific looking for its first 3-game winning streak since the close of last season when the Crimson Storm posted a 6-4 record. SNU is paced by a good defense that is yielding just 14 points and 243 yards per contest. The Crimson Storm defense has produced 19 takeaways this year, including 11 interceptions. While tallying 23 QB sacks, SNU’s defensive front is the main reason the Crimson Storm is holding opponents to just 66 rushing yards a game (fifth best in the NAIA) and only 2.2 yards a carry. Senior DE John Praeuner leads the team with 9 QB sacks.

Offensively, all-conference QB junior Tyler Schneider, who holds the school season records for completions, yards and TDs, leads a balanced attack that averages 142 rushing yards and 160 passing yards a game. Schneider is 117-for-248 (.472) passing this year for 1,438 yards, 8 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. His favorite target is Brett Armstrong, who has 32 grabs for 440 (13.8 avg.) yards and 3 TDs. Junior Branden Smith, who came to SNU this summer as a linebacker, now leads the Crimson Storm ground game, averaging 73 rushing yards per outing to go along with a hefty 6.2 average per carry. Smith has rushed for 235 yards on just 28 carries (8.4 avg.) over the past 2 games, both SNU victories. Sophomore Jacob Smith (no relation) adds a nice diversion, averaging 58 yards and 5.2 yard a carry for his work.

Southern Nazarene is 5-2 vs. NAIA teams this year, beating Belhaven (21-14), Bacone (31-3), Peru State (30-27), Southwestern Assemblies of God (37-7) and Haskell Indian Nations (33-0). The Crimson Storm lost to Northwestern Oklahoma State (20-0) and Texas College (32-16). Their other losses have been on the road to NCAA DIII Howard Payne (7-0) and DII Missouri-Rolla (17-14).

SANTA CRUZ SAYS: “We value winning, and the importance of winning the game,” said Azusa Pacific head coach Victor Santa Cruz, “and yes, while it would be great to end the season on a 3-game wining streak, we just want to win this game. We take it one game at a time, and this just happens to be our next game. Obviously, we’re going in a positive direction right now, and we’re getting more comfortable with our system. My wife and coaching staff had to remind me that there’s just one week left in the season. I still want to put in new things in our system. We’re just getting geared up, and it is unfortunate there’s only 1 game left.

“Defensively, we’re playing some of our best football in quite sometime. We’re playing with passion. This is a defense that is built upon the assumption that every guy plays with ‘his hair-on-fire’ passion. I’m not sure we were consistently doing that earlier in the year. The challenge went out during our bye week (Oct. 21) about where their DNA came from. We showed the defense cut-ups of the 2004 team and reminded the guys that this is where they came from. The coaching staff has done a great job of challenging our defense and holding them accountable. You could tell the light went on, and the guys have responded.

“One of my coaching mentors challenged me a few years back by saying everyone has the answers on Sunday, but a coach has to know his team well enough to have those answers at halftime. What you saw against Webber were players who know themselves well, and the adjustments we told them made sense to them.

“Southern Nazarene is well-coached, and they’ll come up with a great game plan against us. Their defense is something you have to take note of, but as I’ve always said, it comes back to how we play, not who we play. I anticipate their best shot because I know we will give our best shot.”