Box Score TACOMA, Wash. – A strong showing in the second half fell short of a comeback as the Puget Sound football team fell 49-31 to Willamette on Saturday. Preseason All-American Adam Kniffin had 11 catches for 164 yards and Braden Foley threw for 324 yards, one TD and five interceptions in his first career start.
Willamette (3-3, 2-1 NWC) built a quick 28-0 lead and held a commanding 35-14 lead at the half and held off the Loggers (0-6, 0-3 NWC) in the second half for the victory. Jake Turner led the Bearcats with 10 rushes for 81 yards and two TDs. Both of his touchdowns came in Willamette's initial surge in the first quarter, giving the Bearcats a 21-0 lead.
After falling behind 28-0 on Brian Widing's 34-yard pass to Jake Knecht, the Loggers got on the board with the first of three Kupono Park scores from the 1-yard line. Park scored twice in the second quarter from one yard out but Dylan Jones also scored his second touchdown for Willamette for the 35-14 advantage.
Park led the Loggers on the ground with 52 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He scored again from one yard out in the 4th quarter to close the gap to 42-31. The Loggers had a season-high 136 yards rushing. Willamette totaled 186 yards on the ground.
Taylor Wyman broke the second half scoring silence halfway through the third quarter to give the Bearcats a 42-14 lead. Kniffin hauled in the Loggers only score through the air late in the third when Foley found him in the corner of the end zone to close the score to 42-21.
The Loggers gained 340 yards through the air to hold the total offense advantage over Willamette 476-368. Thiesen Chang hauled in seven passes for 92 yards to help the Loggers in the aerial attack. However, Willamette forced five turnovers to the Loggers' one forced turnover.
In the fourth quarter, a Foley interception turned into points for the Loggers. His pass was picked off in the end zone by Michael Del Real. However, Del Real tried to return the interception by tossing the ball to a teammate, which resulted in an illegal forward pass in the end zone. The result of the penalty was a safety since it occurred in the end zone and the Loggers tallied two points on the board.
On the ensuing drive, Foley found Kniffin for a 30-yard pass which appeared to be a touchdown before a shoestring tackle brought down Kniffin at the one. Park punched it in for his third and final score of the contest and the Loggers completed a two-point conversion to narrow the gap to 42-31.
The Loggers came up with a big stop on Willamette's next drive and the team's traded turnovers on the next two drives to give the Loggers the ball on Willamette's 20.
The defense limited Willamette's offense to seven points in the second half to aid in the Loggers comeback attempt. Tyler Vlasak led the Loggers with 14 tackles while Nasser Kyobe added 10 tackles and Casey Coberly came through with two big tackles for loss in the second half. Connor Savage caught his third interception of the year in the fourth quarter as well.
With the Loggers driving, Alex Holland returned an interception 40 yards to put the game away and give the final score of 49-31.
The Loggers will head back out on the road next week when they face Lewis & Clark in Portland, Ore. Last year, Lewis & Clark beat the Loggers in a marathon 68-64 contest in Baker Stadium.
