Box Score Surprise, Ariz.- Down 21 headed to the fourth quarter, No. 24 Arizona Christian outscored No. 16 OUAZ 31-0 in the final 15 minutes to pull off the 45-35 win on Saturday. For the Firestorm, 347 of their 527 yards came in the second half.
The balanced offensive attack saw the Firestorm pass for 273 yards and rush for 254 yards. Junior Shea Morales lead the air attack as he found nine different receivers. Junior Alex York accounted for a receiving and rushing touchdown. Junior Tyrese Gholar ran for 136 yards while averaging 22.7 yards per carry.
Sophomore safety Riley Tucker topped the Firestorm defense with 11 tackles and a 40 yard fumble recovery for a touchdown. Freshman Maurice Powell added eight tackles which included two sacks. Sophomore Dee Gallon produced seven tackles.
Game Info
- Game score: Arizona Christian - 45, OUAZ - 35
- Records: Arizona Christian- 6-1, 3-0 SAC, OUAZ - 0-1, 0-1 SAC
- NAIA Top 25 Rank: Arizona Christian - 24, OUAZ - 16
- Location: Spirit Field, Ottawa University, Surprise, AZ
Offensive Stars
- Shea Morales- 25-52, 273 passing yards, 2 touchdowns
- Alex York- 3 catches, 91 yards, touchdown, 6 carries, 34 yards, touchdown
- Jon Cole- 5 catches, 79 yards, touchdown
- Malik Patterson- 4 catches, 30 yards
- Tyrese Gholar- 6 carries, 136 yards, touchdown
- Cole Davis- 15 carries, 53 yards, touchdown
Defensive Stars
Inside The Numbers
- ACU turned the ball over (fumble, interception) on their first two drives leading to a touchdown and missed field goal for OUAZ
- York punched across a touchdown for a 7-7 tie
- The Spirit scored the final 21 points of the first half
- Despite the score differential, OUAZ only outgained ACU 224-180 in the first 30 minutes
- Davis found the endzone from a yard out with 4:02 left in the third
- Just 83 seconds later, OUAZ pushed out to a 21 point lead again at 35-14.
- The comeback started with a high snap on punt attempt that went out the back of the endzone for a safety
- On the next OUAZ possession, Powell dislodged the ball and Riley weaved through several tackle attempts for the touchdown
- With 3:42 remaining, Morales while getting snowed under managed to find Cole for the five yard TD
- Morales found a wide open York for a 49 yard TD strike to give ACU their first lead with 1:27 left to play
- After the defense held again with ACU looking to pick up a first down to ice the game, Gholar found daylight on the outside and raced in from 29 yards out.
- The Firestorm held the Spirt to just 70 yards of offense in the fourth quarter (including minus ten yards rushing)
Thoughts from Coach Bowen
"When you are down 35 to 14 not many teams can come back. I am so proud of the resiliency and character of our players today. What an amazing group that stuck together and pulled off one of the biggest upsets of my career as a head coach and the biggest come back in ACU history. Just amazing what can happen when you just trust in Jesus."
Up Next
Next Saturday, the No. 24 Firestorm will host Lyon at the ACU Football Field at 11:00 am.
