PORTLAND, Ore. – Picking up their first Northwest
Conference win since 2003, the Lewis & Clark Pioneers knocked
off the Puget Sound Loggers, 30-27, in a Northwest Conference
football game on Saturday afternoon at Griswold Stadium in
Portland, Ore.
The Pioneers (2-7, 1-5 NWC) got on the scoreboard first with 9:44
remaining when Tucker Lawrence connected with Brandis Piper for a
40-yard touchdown pass that gave L&C a 7-0 lead following the
PAT by Andrew Foote. The Pios made it 14-0 with 1:20 remaining in
the first quarter when Tucker rumbled in from two yards out to cap
a 12-play, 54-yard drive.
The Loggers got on the scoreboard just before halftime when Kavin
Williams (Ocean Shores, Wash./North Beach) ran the ball into the
endzone from one yard out with just 16 seconds remaining and the
PAT by Peter Topolski (University Place, Wash./Covenant) was good
as the Loggers cut the L&C lead by half, 14-7, heading into the
break.
In the third quarter, Foote used his foot to boot a 30-yard field
goal with 9:34 left on the clock to give the Pioneers a 17-7 lead
but the Loggers answered back when Spencer Crace (Wilsonville,
Ore.) connected with Ross Zuhl (Issaquah, Wash.) for a 27-yard
touchdown that got the Loggers within three points at 17-14 heading
into the break.
Following another one yard scoring run by Tucker with 9:20
remaining, the Pioneers got a monster break with 6:21 to play in
the game when Chris Kelly recovered a fumble by Casey Larson
(Coupeville, Wash.) on the L&C nine-yard line and ran the ball
back 91-yards for a touchdown that put the Pios up by 16 points
following the PAT.
The Loggers attempted a comeback as Crace connected with freshman
John Martino (Redmond, Wash./Redmond) on a two-yard score that got
the Loggers back within 10 points following a missed two-point PAT
attempt. Crace and Martino connected again with 25 seconds left,
this time on a 21-yard score that got Puget Sound within three
points following the Topolski PAT but it was too little, too late
as Lewis & Clark collected the 30-27 victory.
The Loggers were led by a strong game offensively from Crace, who
connected on 25-of-43 passes for three touchdowns. Larson led the
Loggers on the ground with 79 yards on 15 carries while Zuhl led
the team receiving with 10 catches for 159 yards. Defensively,
senior Cory Dunn (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) had an
outstanding game, collecting 15 tackles on the day, including 1.5
for loss and 0.5 sack.
Lewis & Clark was led by a strong day by Laurence, who ran for
127 yards on 38 attempts with two scores and then connected on
nine-of-15 passes for 103 yards with one touchdown. The Pioneers
were led defensively by Brooks Patterson, who put together 13
tackles on the afternoon.
