Sept. 12, 2009
(Greeley, CO) - The host Northern Colorado Bears (1-1) totaled 477 yards of offense in dealing the USD Toreros (1-1) its first loss of the young season. Behind 312 yards of offense in the first half the Bears jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead. UNC's first score came on an 80-yard pass play from QB Bryan Waggener to WR Alex Thompson for 80 yards at the 8:43 mark. They struck again early in the 2nd quarter when Andre Harris' 39 yard rush set up John Burnley's 34-yard TD sprint. They capped off their first half scoring with a 28-yard Michael York field goal.
The Toreros regrouped at halftime and came out in the third period with their best ball of the rainy, cold afternoon at Nottingham Field. With 4:53 left in the 3rd period, John McGough hauled in a 10-yard TD strike from QB Sebastian Trujillo that culminated a 10-play, 58 yard drive. The defense came up big the rest of the quarter, and the Toreros then pulled to within 17-12 early in the 4th quarter as running back Brendan Feliczak found the endzone from 2 yards out. Trujillo's two-point pass sailed high but the Toreros had some momentum on their side.
It was Waggener again that came up witJh a big passing play - this time a 65-yarder to Patrick Walker down to the San Diego 7-yard line. Andre Harris, who had 108 yards rushing in the first half, found the endzone to increase their lead to 24-12. Harris put the game out of reach with 7:59 to go on a 19-yard TD sprint that completed a 7-play, 39-yard drive. For the host Bears, the speedy Harris finished with 152 yards and 2 TDs on 20 carries. Waggener completed 10-of-20 passes for 221 yards and 1 score. WR Alex Thompson finished with 4 receptions for 106 yards and 1 TD.
For USD, Brendan Feliczak turned in a solid game with 16 tough rushes for 69 yards and 1 score. Trujillo completed 18-of-37 passes for 121 yards and 1 score, but had 4 passes picked off by the Bears. Sophomore WR John McGough caught 5 balls for 61 yards with 1 score, and RB Phil Morelli pulled in 5 balls for 11 yards. Kyle Negrete averaged 45.5 yards on 6 punts including a personal best 70 yarder in the 3rd quarter. JT Rogan returned 5 kickoffs for 100 yards with a long of 24 yards.
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Defensively the Toreros were paced by sophomore CB Al-Rilwan Adeyemi with 8 tackles, and 2 pass break-ups. Linebacker Loka Kanongatta chipped in with 6 stops, as did strong safety Derek Pilkington. Senior captain Derek Marten added 5 stops and collected one fumble recovery.
The Toreros return home next Saturday, Sept. 19th, for a 1 pm contest against Marist College. This will be USD's PFL opener as well.
