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Humboldt State football aims to celebrate homecoming with its second straight win over reigning Great Northwest Athletic Conference champion Azusa Pacific Saturday in Redwood Bowl. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
The Lumberjacks (4-0, 2-0 GNAC) lead the all-time series 19-10, and have won two of the last three meetings with the Cougars (3-2, 1-1 GNAC). In their early season meeting, HSU defeated a nationally-ranked Azusa Pacific squad 62-41 in Citrus Stadium.
 
"This game has everything you want in a college football game," said Head Coach Rob Smith. "You have an undefeated Lumberjack football team playing the defending champions and the only other Division II football program in California. Both football teams will have so much to play for, and we need that crowd behind us. We take a lot of pride defending our home turf, and our crowd helps us play at that next level."
 
Azusa Pacific is coming off a 24-21 home loss to Central Washington. The Cougars led by 14, 21-7, with 8:48 remaining in the first half, but surrendered 17 unanswered en route to their first conference loss. A 77-yard last-second heave from quarterback Chad Jeffries to running back Kurt Scoby put the Cougars one yard shy of a game-winning touchdown as time expired.
 
"It is tough because we just played this team three weeks ago," said Smith. "The task this week is to decide what changes to the game plan we make. We know how difficult it will be the second time around. Both of our losses last year were against teams we beat the first time around. We have a great respect for Azusa, they are the two-time defending champions until someone takes that from them. They will come here with an incredibly high level of determination. We will see Azusa Pacific at its best no doubt about it."
 
The Green and Gold return home following a road trip to South Dakota and a clash with one of the GNAC's top offensive teams – South Dakota Mines. HSU rushed for a GNAC record 498 yards in the victory and were led by two-time Offensive Player of the Week Ja'Quan Gardner. Gardner racked up 208 yards and five touchdowns on 22 carries. Richard Doctor (109), Blair Zerr (103) and Jabar Byrd (100) each surpassed the 100-yard mark.
 
"Ja'Quan is a special player, and we are so fortunate that he lines up in our back field," said Smith. "He is special in many ways. Obviously, he has been blessed with great talent, and he works hard at it. He does not want the attention. He wants the attention to go the offensive line and those around him. It is fun to call the plays knowing you can hand the ball off to No. 32."
 
HSU will have to shut down Azusa Pacific's rushing attack, spearheaded by Scoby, if it hopes to maintain its winning streak. The Fresno State transfer is picking up steam and has run for 150-plus yards in three consecutive games. Scoby also ranks second in the GNAC with 616 rushing yards.
 
"In order to stop Scoby we have to do two things. We have to play great assignment football and have to be great tacklers. He is a guy that can break tackles. We have seen it. We need to hold him in check and force them to go to other parts of their offense and not just hand off the ball to him."
 
On the other side of the ball, defensive back Josh Atkinson is the lynchpin of one the Cougar secondary. Atkinson is the conference leader with three interceptions, and he has 15 tackles and five passes defended. He had a pass breakup and three tackles against HSU in September.
 
Newcomer Drew Dubois continues to produce for the Green and Gold defense, a unit that ranks first in the GNAC in total defense and rushing defense. Dubois has filled the pass-rushing roll vacated by HSU grads Silas Sarvinski and Alex Markarian. The Broward County, Fla., product is the conference's best pass rusher and has a league-leading five sacks. Dubois had a sack and four tackles against South Dakota Mines.
 
"Drew is a very good football player," said Smith. "He is playing at a position that he had never played before – defensive line. Our goal as a coaching staff is to have the best 11 players on the field, and he is one of our top 11 players on the defensive side. He has produced and has been a great addition for our football team."
 
The Jacks lead the nation in scoring (54.0 points per game) and team passing efficiency (190.45)