ARCATA — One of Humboldt State's most consistent rivals in the past two decades offers the opposition this week when the Jacks travel to face Azusa Pacific at 6 p.m. Saturday. The game marks the 19th consecutive season the Cougars and Lumberjacks have faced one another, and the 21st time in 22 years.
Alumni/Friends Tailgate
Humboldt State Athletics will host a tailgate alumni reception prior to the game in Azusa. Beginning at 4 p.m. and continuing until 6 p.m., the get-together is open to all Lumberjack football fans, with a special invitation to Southern California-based alumni. Soft drinks and a variety of snacks will be provided. The location is the field adjacent to the parking lot outside Cougar Stadium.
On-the-Air
Every Lumberjack football game is broadcast live over the local airways on KATA, 1340 AM, beginning with the pregame show 15 minutes prior to game time. Longtime sports broadcaster and former Southern Oregon sports information director Tag Wotherspoon sits in for Bicoastal Media Sports Director J.B. Mathers to describe the action this week, and HSU Hall of Fame inductee Burt Nordstrom adds commentary. …Audio is also streamed live over the Internet through the hsujacks.com web site. The new UStream format allows an interactive chat between listeners during the webcast. The specific URL for access is located at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/humboldt-state-athletics.
Live Stats
All Lumberjack football home games can be tracked online by using the Live Stats feature on hsujacks.com. Real time statistics, drive progress and other information are featured on the game viewer. The feature can be found at http://www.sidearmstats.com/humboldt/football/.
Lumberjacks Links
2009 Schedule
2009 Roster
Two-Deep
Head-to-Head
Maintaining its lead in the series, HSU earned a hard-fought 24-17 victory over Azusa Pacific in Redwood Bowl last year. The Jacks are now 14-7 all-time vs. the Cougars. …Azusa Pacific's most recent win over HSU came during the 2007 season, when the Cougars claimed a 27-17 win on their home turf. …Twelve of the 21 games in this series have been decided by a touchdown or less. Eight games have had a margin of four points or fewer separating the squads.
Weekly Awards
HSU's coaching staff has selected the following players for weekly honors: Offense – Dirk Dallas; Defense – Chris Holmes; Special Teams – Edwin Henry; Offense Scout – Nick Kurland; Defense Scout – Thomas Haney. …Captains for this week's game against Azusa Pacific will be Riordan Gomez (offense), Jacob Taylor (defense) and Kyle Shierholt (special teams). Season captains are Taylor Boggs for offense and Bubba Reynolds on defense.
Lumberjack Notes
For the third time in three weeks the Jacks pack their bags, taking their 2-2 overall record and 0-2 league mark to Southern California for a non-conference game. While travel is always a factor for the Jacks, three straight trips has left the staff and players road weary. "By the time we return from Azusa, I'm guessing we'll have spent more hours on the road this year than any program, at any level of football," HSU head coach Rob Smith said. "But that's what we have to deal with, so we'll take it as a challenge that we must overcome." …Despite being limited by injury two weeks ago, and by the Dixie defense last week, senior running back Bobby Thomas continues to lead the GNAC in rushing with an average of 78 yards gained per game. Other Jacks topping the league are quarterback Mike Proulx, in quarterback efficiency (147.5), and Kyle Schierholt in kicker's scoring (30 points), field goals (6) and field goal percentage (87.5). Defensively, Elzie Gatson leads the GNAC in passes defended, averaging 2.0 per game, and Wes Montgomery leads in interceptions, 0.75 per game. …One category the Jacks are even with opponents in is turnovers, with nine on each side. Smith would much prefer to see the Jacks gain a greater advantage in that area, with the impetus on the offense giving the ball away with less frequency. "Our defense was able to force some turnovers, and Guy Ricciardulli had a big forced fumble that came at the right time," But our own mistakes keep catching up with us." …Among those mistakes are several penalties, which again proved costly in the loss to Dixie State. For the season, the Lumberjacks have been whistled 43 times for 389 yards while opponents have been called 24 times for only 245 yards. "Offensive penalties put us in situations where we are facing long yardage downs at critical moments in the game," Smith said. "We have to eliminate those tendencies if we hope to win close games."
Injury Report
No new injuries resulted from the Dixie game, which is particularly good news since many Jacks are still in recovery mode from the previous two games. …Senior defensive lineman Justin Hornsby remains on the inactive list, with his status determined on a weekly basis. He will undergo further examination this week. …Linebacker Bubba Reynolds played the first down of Saturday's game, but left the contest and was unable to return because of his own lingering injury. Reynolds is expected to make progress this week and the coaching staff hopes to have him ready to go Saturday. …Offensive lineman John Hughes sustained a shoulder injury that leaves him doubtful for Saturday's game. … Defensive lineman Derrick Garrett is recovering from an ankle injury that leaves him questionable.
Cougar Notes
Coming off its first win, a 23-7 victory over NAIA No. 16 ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Azusa Pacific brings a 1-4 overall record into this week's action. All four losses have been dealt by formidable opponents, including a 42-10 rout by GNAC leader and NCAA Division II No. 5 ranked Central Washington. …Azusa Pacific's season-opening loss was to another ranked opponent, NAIA No. 2 Carroll College (35-13). …Chris Brown has been a reliable running back this season, averaging 73.6 yards per game. He's also scored a team-high five touchdowns. …Quarterback John van den Raadt has completed 64 of 123 passes for 845 yards, with two touchdowns and three interceptions. …Defensively, Jay York's 57 tackles are more than double that of any other teammate. Four have been for lost yardage, and York also has an interception with a 72-yard touchdown return.
Smith Says
“I fully expect that Azusa Pacific will play its best game of the season this week. They have built some momentum now, and after the difficult early schedule have to be looking at this as the second part of their season." … "It's always a tough game between Azusa Pacific and Humboldt State. They are traditionally a very strong NAIA program."
