Dixie State opened up its final season of GNAC play on a sour note as the Red Storm came out on the wrong end of a 34-5 decision to Azusa Pacific on Homecoming Saturday night at Hansen Stadium. The loss dropped the Storm to 1-3 on the year, 0-1 in league play, while the Cougars improved to 3-1, 1-0 in the GNAC.

Both teams battled through a scoreless first quarter, though Dixie State had its chances early in the contest as the Storm forced a turnover on the Cougars opening possession. Senior defensive lineman Benson Laumatia (Seattle, Wash./Mountain View HS) sacked and stripped APU quarterback Chad Jeffries off the ball, which was scooped up by Donovan Williams (San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei HS) and returned seven yards to the APU 45-yard line. However the Storm could not capitalize as the Cougar defense forced a three-and-out on DSU's first drive.

DSU had another chance to take advantage of a Cougar miscue, this time coming on APU special teams as punter Manny Meza had a kick go off the side of his foot for a net 9-yard boot, which gave the Storm the ball deep inside APU territory at the Cougar 28 yard line. But again the APU defense denied Dixie State as Storm QB Blake Barney (St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) was intercepted at the Cougar 11 yard line to halt the drive.

After another Barney interception on DSU's first possession of the second quarter, APU capitalized as Jeffries found receiver Tarik Myles for a 25-yard touchdown pass to spot the Cougars a 7-0 lead. Azusa Pacific struck again just before halftime as Jeffries found Myles again in the end zone from 17-yards out, though the DSU defensive unit thought it had an interception, but Myles was able to wrestle the ball away to help extend the Cougar advantage to 14-0.

Azusa Pacific scored again on its first possession of the third quarter when tailback Kurt Scoby scored from 15-yards out to give the Cougars a three-touchdown lead. APU looked like it was going to put the game away as its defense forced a third turnover on the Storm's ensuing possession. However the Dixie State defense rose to the occasion and stuffed Cougar rusher Ryan Adams on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line.

Dixie State took advantage as senior running back DeJon Coleman (Los Angeles, Calif./Arleta HS) busted loose for a 60-yard run to flip the field position and put the Storm in business at the APU 39 yard line. Despite a personal foul call that gave the Storm a first and goal situation, the drive resulted in just three points as Alex Giordani (West Jordan, Utah/West Jordan HS) connected on a 22-yard field goal to get the Storm on the board at 21-3.

APU then used a pair of big fourth-quarter running plays to put the game away as Scoby scored from 49-yards out to push the Cougar lead to 28-3. Then after the DSU defense got a Williams sack and intentional grounding call in the end zone for a safety, Cougar backup QB Andrew Elffers scampered 70 yards on a keeper, which after a block PAT, provided the final margin.

Dixie State was held to 236 yards, with 216 of those yards coming on the ground, including 101 rushing yards from Coleman. However, DSU was held to a Division-II era low of 20 yards passing. APU picked up 355 of its 457 yards of total offense on the ground, led by Scoby who finished with 157 yards.

"We've got to be able to throw the ball. We've got a lot of things to figure out, and we'll have a lot of evaluation on a short week," Head Coach Scott Brumfield said. "It's going to be tough. We've got to figure out what's going on offensively and get it fixed or it's going to be a long season."

Dixie State will look to rebound this Friday as the Storm welcomes Western Oregon to Hansen Stadium for a GNAC showdown. Kick-off is slated for 6 p.m.