OUAZ defense stifles Firestorm early and often

Gila Ridge grads D'Angelo Jackson and Tyler Faber help guide Spirit to opening day win over rival Arizona Christian.

SURPRISE, Ariz. ( KYMA, KECY-TV ) - Ottawa University extended their all-time record against rival Arizona Christian to 4-2 on Saturday night with a convincing 37-7 win at Spirit Field.

"It was personal," Linebacker and Gila Ridge grad D'Angelo Jackson said. "It was personal, my first game last year was actually against Arizona Christian and we lost, so, yeah it was a good game."

Jackson recorded six total tackled, three for loss including two quarterback sacks. The Spirit tied a team record with seven sacks.

"Our tempo was pedal to the floor, nonstop," Jackson said. "We came out here, we knew it was going to be a big game, rival game. So, we knew it was going to be blitz all day, run to the ball as hard as you can. We knew what it was going to be like."

Another Gila Ridge grad, Tyler Faber, recorded an interception for the Spirit.

"It's like high school all over again," Jackson said. "I got about four or five guys from high school I used to ball with out here."

In fact, Ottawa University has close to a dozen players on the team from Yuma and Imperial Counties.

A big reason for that is defensive coordinator Jerry Dominguez. Dominguez spent 14 years at Arizona Western College as the Defensive Coordinator.

The Spirit will now hit the road for three straight weeks and not return to Spirit Field for over month when they host Wayland Baptist on September 30th.