ARCATA – Every time Humboldt State appeared to be on the march toward possible victory, the Lumberjacks made the task more difficult on themselves by committing a costly error. The end result was a 27-17 loss to Azusa Pacific, spoiling the Jacks' homecoming game Saturday evening.
Humboldt State's problems included four turnovers and seven penalties, all of which contributed to the Lumberjacks falling to 2-5 on the season. Azusa Pacific improved its record 3-5.
"Key turnovers at key times were our demise," Humboldt State head coach Doug Adkins said. "You can't make the number of mistakes that we made and expect to win."
One pivotal error came when the Lumberjacks appeared ready for a comeback. Trailing 27-17 early in the fourth quarter, the Jacks marched the ball 79 yards to the Azusa two-yard line, but
Marcus Cox had the ball knocked loose by the Cougars' Jay York. APU's Andre Hunter recovered at the 5-yard-line, ending the drive.
Offensively, Azusa Pacific rode the arm of quarterback Rudy Carlton, who completed 19 of 25 passes for 274 yards and three touchdowns. His first scoring pass was an 8-yard strike to Jon Davis that tied the game at 7-7 with 4 minutes, 13 seconds remaining in the first quarter.
"Their quarterback had a long time to throw all night," Adkins said. "Combine that with poor pass coverage and it's hard to overcome. I'm very disappointed with our pass defense."
Azusa Pacific added two field goals by Ben Hansen - one from 48 yards and another from 25, before halftime to increase its lead. The Jacks'
Jeff Williams broke through to block a Cougar punt out of the endzone for a safety, making the score APU 13, HSU 9 at the break.
Early in the third quarter, a fumbled punt set up the Cougars' third touchdown. Azusa's Monti Sutton recovered the ball on the HSU 12, and two plays later Carlton hit Paul Hardiman with a 14-yard touchdown pass.
After receiving the kickoff, Humboldt State attempted a reverse to wide receiver
Edwin Henry on its first play from scrimmage. Not only did the Jacks lose seven yards on the play, but potentially Henry for the season due to a knee injury.
Azusa Pacific scored the clinching touchdown on its next possession, with Carlton's 31-yard pass finding Davis in the endzone again. Hansen's PAT kick tacked on the final point of the game with 5:17 remaining.
Hildebrand finished the night 14-of-26 for 156 yards, with two interceptions. His most successful receiver was
Richard Perkins, who caught seven balls for 79 yards. Cox had a solid game for the Jacks, rushing for 83 yards on 22 carries and scoring the lone touchdown.
Following three straight weekends at home, Humboldt State returns to the road, taking on Dixie College in Saint George, Utah, on Saturday.
Azusa Pacific vs Humboldt State (Oct 13, 2007 at Arcata, Calif.)
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
Azusa Pacific....... 7 6 14 0 - 27 Record: (3-5)
Humboldt State...... 7 2 8 0 - 17 Record: (2-5)
Scoring Summary:
1st 11:17 HSU - Cox, Marcus 15 yd run (Nelson, Nichola kick), 6-40 2:58, APU 0 - HSU 7
04:13 APU - Jon Davis 8 yd pass from Rudy Carlton (Ben Hansen kick), 11-75 6:58, APU 7 - HSU 7
2nd 12:00 APU - Ben Hansen 48 yd field goal, 9-46 4:53, APU 10 - HSU 7
03:37 APU - Ben Hansen 25 yd field goal, 7-31 2:19, APU 13 - HSU 7
00:33 HSU - Williams, Jeff safety, , APU 13 - HSU 9
3rd 09:30 APU - Paul Hardiman 14 yd pass from Rudy Carlton (Ben Hansen kick), 2-12 0:54, APU 20 - HSU 9
05:17 APU - Jon Davis 31 yd pass from Rudy Carlton (Ben Hansen kick), 8-84 2:45, APU 27 - HSU 9
00:30 HSU - Hildebrand, Bri 5 yd run (Anderson, Corey pass from Hildebrand, Bri), 11-77 4:41, APU 27 - HSU 17
APU HSU
FIRST DOWNS................... 18 18
RUSHES-YARDS (NET)............ 40-43 33-140
PASSING YDS (NET)............. 274 156
Passes Att-Comp-Int........... 25-19-0 26-14-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS..... 65-317 59-296
Fumble Returns-Yards.......... 0-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards............ 1-5 2-5
Kickoff Returns-Yards......... 3-51 7-191
Interception Returns-Yards.... 2-0 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg)............ 6-36.2 3-40.3
Fumbles-Lost.................. 0-0 3-2
Penalties-Yards............... 5-53 7-65
Possession Time............... 35:55 24:05
Third-Down Conversions........ 6 of 15 9 of 13
Fourth-Down Conversions....... 0 of 0 0 of 1
Red-Zone Scores-Chances....... 3-3 2-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards........ 0-0 1-9
RUSHING: Azusa Pacific-Alex Peltier 12-38; Darnell Dodson 13-11; Rick
Myra 5-7; Darrell Tupuola 1-2; Tyler Roach 1-1; James Webster 1-minus 2; Trevor
Love 1-minus 2; Paul Hardiman 1-minus 5; Rudy Carlton 5-minus 7. Humboldt
State-Cox, Marcus 22-83; Hildebrand, Bri 7-59; Thomas, Bobby 2-3; Perkins,
Richar 1-2; Henry, Edwin 1-minus 7.
PASSING: Azusa Pacific-Rudy Carlton 19-25-0-274. Humboldt
State-Hildebrand, Bri 14-26-2-156.
RECEIVING: Azusa Pacific-Jon Davis 6-104; Todd Wilson 3-44; Paul Hardiman
3-36; James Webster 3-22; Darnell Dodson 2-5; Alex Peltier 1-35; Jordan Farrell
1-28. Humboldt State-Perkins, Richar 7-79; Cox, Marcus 4-62; Anderson, Corey
1-12; Miles, Kevin 1-4; Henry, Edwin 1-minus 1.
INTERCEPTIONS: Azusa Pacific-Beau Leaman 1-0; Jay York 1-0. Humboldt
State-None.
FUMBLES: Azusa Pacific-None. Humboldt State-Cox, Marcus 2-1; Henry, Edwin
1-1.
Stadium: Redwood Bowl Attendance: 4283
Kickoff time: 6 pm End of Game: 8:42 pm Total elapsed time: 2:42
Officials: Referee: Ken Leffle; Umpire: Craig Lemster; Linesman: Carl Del Grande;
Line judge: Kurt Renstrom; Back judge: Greg Toler; Field judge: Richard Ross;
Side judge: Dave Curschman; Scorer: Ed Matthews;
Temperature: 54 Wind: 2 mph nw Weather: clear
