ARCATA, Calif. – Humboldt State football opened its 2014 home season with a bang Saturday, as it throttled No. 14 Azusa Pacific 30-10 in front of a packed Redwood Bowl.
"This is a great win for our program," said Head Coach
Rob Smith. "Anytime you can beat a nationally-ranked opponent that happens to be the defending conference champions, it's something to feel good about."
The Lumberjacks (2-0) scored 23 unanswered points through the first one and a half quarters of play and the Cougars (1-1) were helpless to respond.
Freshman running back
Ja'Quan Gardner and senior
Nick Ricciardulli led the charge for the Jacks and carried the ball a combined 52 times for 288 yards. Gardner carried the load early on and rushed for the game's first touchdown, a 54-yard scamper.
Gardner plowed into the endzone for another touchdown less than three minutes later and extended the Jacks' lead to 13-0.
APU's offense never found its footing and punted on four of its first six drives. On the other two drives the Cougars fumbled and threw an interception.
A Ricciardulli five-yard touchdown run and a
Matt Bruder 26-yard chip shot gave the Jacks a 23-0 lead with 10:39 remaining in the opening half. Ricciardulli finished the game with a team-best 146 rushing yards, a rushing touchdown and two receptions for 30 yards. Gardner also added his second consecutive hundred-yard performance on the ground. He carried the ball 16 times for 136 yards and two touchdowns.
The Cougars scored their first points late in the first half as Jaime Cacciatore split the uprights on a 26-yard field goal attempt with 5:13 left in the second quarter.
Leading 23-3 as the clock ran down to halftime, freshman quarterback
Robert Webber dialed up a 17-yard touchdown strike to senior receiver
Cass White.
HSU dominated the time of possession in the fourth quarter and neither team was able to convert offensive drives after the break. The Cougars added a late touchdown on a 36-yard pass, but were not able to rally.
The Lumberjack defense neutralized the reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week, running back Terrell Watson. Watson rolled for 202 yards on 42 carries in last week's upset of No. 2 Grand Valley State on national television, but HSU bottled up Watson and held him to just 51 yards on 18 attempts. The Oxnard, Calif., native ran for a total of 439 yards in two games against HSU last season. Saturday night he averaged only 2.8 yards a carry.
"With a back of his caliber, you don't think about shutting him down and you try and contain him," said Smith. "The best thing we did tonight defensively is that we never let him get started. If you let him get started he can pose some big problems for you."
The Green and Gold defensive front harassed APU quarterback Chad Jeffries. Jeffries had quick feet all night and was sacked three times. HSU brought the heat on the freshman signal caller and forced him to scramble out of the pocket on several occasions.
Senior
Jeremiah Maluia led the HSU defense with six tackles and junior
Nick Sharpe compiled 5.5 tackles. Sharpe also collected the only interception of the game.
The Redwood Bowl provided its own advantage Saturday as over 5,900 fans packed the stadium to cheer on the Jacks.
"It's fun to see the Redwood Bowl so packed," said Smith. "The atmosphere we have here is special and certainly fuels our kids to play like they did tonight."
HSU travels to St. George, Utah, next weekend for a non-conference meeting with GNAC foe Dixie State. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. PT.
