BETHANY, Okla. – Jeremy Rogers 15-yard touchdown catch propelled Southern Nazarene to a 17-10 double-overtime victory over Azusa Pacific in both teams’ regular-season finale.

Rogers’ catch highlighted a surprising victory for the Crimson Storm, which twice wiggled out of the grasp of defeat to post one of the young program’s most notable victories.

In the opening overtime frame, Azusa Pacific appeared to have scored a go-ahead TD on Marcus Lampkin’s run on fourth-and goal at the SNU 1-yard line. However, Lampkin’s knee was ruled down before the ball crossed the goal line, and the Cougars were shut out in their first attempt.

Azusa Pacific had a chance to put the game away back in regulation following Tommy Musa’s interception. The Cougars owned a 10-7 lead and the ball with 2:52 left in regulation. However, Azusa Pacific was unable to get a first down and punted possession back to Southern Nazarene with 1:08 left.

The Crimson Storm moved 48 yards in 62 seconds with quarterback Tyler Schneider completing a pair of passes, rushing for another 10 yards and Brandon Smith bowling downfield for 19 yards on 2 carries to put the ball at the Cougar 9-yard line. Brady Frenchak converted a 26-yard field goal with 6 seconds left to tie the game at 10-10 and pave the way for the Rogers-Schenider overtime heroics.

The Azusa Pacific defense was outstanding throughout the entire game and even accounted for the Cougars’ only end zone score. The Cougars took a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter when junior DE Casey Roel scooped a Schneider fumble off a sack and motored 23 yards for his first collegiate TD.

Southern Nazarene knotted the game at 7-7 when Smith blasted in from a yard out early in the second quarter to cap a 35-yard drive. The Crimson Storm was winning the field position game throughout the first half, taking advantage of a mistake-prone set of Cougars, who committed 6 of their season-high 11 penalties in the first half, oftentimes forcing Cougar punter Andrew Lutton to kick away with his back against the end zone.

A pair of second-half turnovers hampered Azusa Pacific’s attack after halftime, but behind the running of Lampkin, the Cougars finally put together a drive, moving 56 yards on 12 plays to start the fourth quarter. Lampkin tallied 25 yards on the drive to move the Cougars to the Crimson Storm 5-yard line for a third-and-2 play. However, Lampkin was caught behind the line of scrimmage for a 10-yard loss, and Azusa Pacific had to settle for a 32-yard Ben Hansen field goal, which nonetheless gave the Cougars a 10-7 lead.

Led by LB Scott Ellis and his game-high 12 tackles, the Cougar defense held Southern Nazarene to just 3 yards on its next 4 plays, ending 2 drives, including one with the Musa interception that seemingly wrapped up the victory for Azusa Pacific.

Azusa Pacific held Southern Nazarene to just 200 yards of total offense, but 73 of those yards came on the final drive in regulation and in overtime. The Crimson Storm defense was equal to the task, stuffing the Cougar offense to just 128 total yards while holding Lampkin, who had rushed for 271 yards combined in the previous 2 games, to just 28 yards on 25 carries.

With the victory, Southern Nazarene finishes its seventh season of intercollegiate football with a 6-4 record. The Cougars close the campaign at 3-7 for their first sub-.500 season since 2001.