Simon Fraser dominated the first half and likely would have won the game, if it hadn’t missed on four field goals and an extra point.
BURNABY – Senior quarterback Joey Sweeney led Humboldt State to a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to steal a 23-16 victory away from Simon Fraser University in the final game in the 91-year history of the Lumberjacks football program at Terry Fox Field on Saturday.
Simon Fraser dominated the first half and likely would have won the game, if it hadn’t missed on four field goals and an extra point. The loss dropped the Clan to 1-9 overall and ended the first season under head coach Thomas Ford. Humboldt State finished 2-10.
SFU freshman kicker Kees Metselaar had an afternoon he would likely rather forget, after missing field goals from 32 and 42 yards and having another blocked in the first half, and then missing the go-ahead field goal from 38 yards with 7:54 to play in the game.
Heartbreaker 23-16 today, but this season was FAR from a failure. We changed the culture, expectation & will to continue to honor these 8 young men as we keep building the program. These guys laid the foundation and am forever in debt to them. #RepTheLeaf ??#MoreThanFootball pic.twitter.com/ASDOx1kyud
— Thomas Ford?????????? (@CoachTFord) November 11, 2018
Sweeney, who was injured in HSU’s previous game and didn’t play Saturday until the second half, limped onto the field with 7:54 to play and orchestrated the game-winning drive. The Jacks devoured clock as they took 11 plays and 4:57 to go 79 yards. HSU’s offense stalled in the red zone, and lined up to kick a short field goal. But Simon Fraser jumped offside prior to the snap which led to a 5-yard touchdown run for Tyree Marzetta.
HSU forced a turnover on downs in Simon Fraser’s final possession. Freshman quarterback Justin Seiber led the Clan to the HSU 39 yard line, but after picking up six yards on first down, he threw three straight incompletions.
Simon Fraser trailed 3-0 for most of the first half despite dominating action and third-string freshman quarterback Brenden Davies. The Clan defence gave Davies problems, holding him to three completions, five first downs and 27 yards passing in the half.
SFU freshman defensive back Shea Carstens stepped in front of a Davis pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown with just over two minutes to play in the half. Carstens leads the Great Northwest Athletic Conference with five interceptions.
Metselaar then kicked a field goal from 27 yards with no time on the clock after a 9-play, 33-yard drive that started in HSU territory after a poor punt. Simon Fraser took a 10-3 lead into the lockeroom.
Davis was replaced by the injured Sweeney in the second half.
Sweeney led HSU to 13 points in the third quarter while SFU running back Jason Nelson scored from 1 yard, capping a 12 play, 75-yard drive. A pair of big first-down catches from Rysen John helped sustain the Clan third quarter scoring drive that set up the 1-yard run from Nelson for the go-ahead touchdown. A missed extra point made it 16-13 Clan midway through the third.
HSU connected on a 40-yard field goal on the next possession to tie the score 16-16 with 4:54 to play in the third quarter.
SFU had two drives in the fourth quarter. The first started at their own 14 yard line. Seiber took the team 65 yards over 15 plays, chewing up almost seven minutes off the clock, to set up a 38 yard field goal attempt that missed. That would have been the go-ahead score.
Humboldt State answered back with the game-winning drive to clinch the 23-16 victory, the last in program history.
John, who leads the GNAC in pass receptions and receiving yards, had another monster game with 14 catches for 182 yards, as SFU quarterbacks Seiber and senior Miles Richardson threw for 413 yards. Devin O’Shea also passed the 100-yard mark with six catches for 106 yards.
The Simon Fraser defence, led by 10.5 tackles from Griffin Barrett, held the Jacks to 142 yards along the ground and 169 in the air.
Source: sfu.ca
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