OLIVER KIMOKEO | sports editor
courtesy | APU ATHLETICS
Head coach Victor Santa Cruz gives a thumbs-up for the 2008 season.


This past weekend, the football team failed to reach the NAIA No. 20 ranking necessary for a seed in the national tournament. The 6-5 Cougars reached a tie at No. 21 with Nebraska Wesleyan.

Still, there was a 51-point deficit between the No. 20 and No. 21 teams. So, the Cougars still had ground to make up to rise in the rankings.

The transformation from a 1-4 team at midseason to No. 21 in the rankings is astounding. The Cougars are close to returning to the national recognition they enjoyed in 2005.

As reported in The Clause on Nov. 9, the Cougars needed four games in their favor in order to have a decent shot at reaching No. 20. Three games worked in their favor but current No. 19 Sterling easily won their game against unranked Ottawa, 28-0.

16 teams advanced to the NAIA Football National Championship while the Cougars will have to wait until 2008 to get another opportunity for a playoff run.

It is tough to pinpoint which game damaged their 2007 playoff aspirations but the 14-13 loss against Southern Oregon is a popular scapegoat for coaches and players alike.

In that game, the Cougars had a surefire touchdown called back and Southern Oregon scored the winning point off a botched field-goal play.

Based on national consensus, the Cougars really needed to have a 7-4 record to be included for the playoff race.

The Cougars struggled through the first half of their season but started to find their groove after their 38-7 victory against Southern Nazarene on Sep. 22. After the loss against Southern Oregon, the Cougars won the final four games of the season with three away from the friendly confines of Cougar Stadium.

The legacy left behind for the 2007 season is of a football team that takes a while to warm up but thrives when the game is on the line. The Cougars scored 180 of their 323 points in the second half.

Junior wide receiver Jon Davis made an incredible impact with 1258 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns off 73 receptions. He averaged 114.4 yards and 2 touchdowns a game. Davis is in the running for NAIA National Player of the Year but will likely be denied the award based on the Cougars not making the postseason.

Senior quarterback Rudy Carlton finally had a full season with no injuries. He flourished with Davis as his go-to receiver and finished with 2605 passing yards and 28 touchdowns.

Junior running back Alex Peltier was solid for the running game with 486 yards as was senior running back Darnell Dodson with 218.

On the defensive front, junior linebacker Travis Bengard was the leading tackler while senior defensive end Casey Roel led the Cougars with eight sacks.

Sophomore placekicker Ben Hansen was 16 for 17 in field goals including five beyond the 40-yard mark. His lone miss occured in the game against University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Head coach Victor Santa Cruz has built a strong nucleus of players for the 2008 season with key players Davis and Peltier returning for the Cougars. Freshman quarterback Rodney Trimm has been groomed as Carlton’s replacement and is set to be the No.1 quarterback next year.

The Cougars finished with a winning record for the seventh time in the past nine seasons and had their longest winning streak since 2004.