By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director
SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University trailed 20-0 at halftime and 27-3 midway through the third quarter, but the Bearcats put up a fierce rally against California Lutheran University on Saturday, Sept. 19 at McCulloch Stadium. Willamette's comeback fell just short, as the Kingsmen held off the Bearcats, 27-24.
California Lutheran improved to 2-0 on the season. Willamette fell to 0-2. It was Willamette's home opener and the Bearcats' Homecoming Game.
The Kingsmen owned a 27-3 advantage after scoring with 6:10 left in the third quarter. Willamette rallied by scoring the game's final three touchdowns with 7:11, 3:15 and 1:49 left in the fourth quarter.
WU's final touchdown was a 31-yard wide receiver reverse pass from Jordan Fickas (So., WR, Gilbert, AZ/Campo Verde HS) to Ryan Foote (Sr., WR, Sherwood, OR/Valley Catholic HS) . The Bearcats, who successfully completed one onside kick, had another onside kick after Foote scored, but the ball sailed out of bounds.
It looked like the Bearcats might get momentum early in the game. After stopping CLU on three plays following the kickoff, Willamette took over at its own 32. Four plays later, Joshua Cabral (Sr./Fr., PK/P, Concord, CA/De La Salle HS) punted. Ricky Johnson of CLU signaled for a fair catch and dropped the ball. WU recovered the ball near the CLU 20, but an inadvertent whistle nullified the play.
Willamette's offense struggled throughout the first half with just 47 yards and one first down. On defense, the Bearcats gave up 282 yards over the first 30 minutes, but WU defenders made several key plays that kept the Kingsmen from cementing the game before halftime.
California Lutheran took a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by CJ Washington with 3:17 remaining in the first quarter. The touchdown completed a 58-yard drive on eight plays.
Ben Chavez, Jr., added a 6-yard rushing touchdown for the Kingsmen at the 14:08 mark of the second quarter to end a 35-yard drive that lasted four plays. The drive included runs by Washington of 11 yards and 18 yards. Chris Taylor kicked the extra points, giving CLU a 14-0 lead.
Paimon Jaberi (Jr., LB, Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) provided one of WU's key defensive plays when he forced a fumble by Isaac Seymour at the Willalmette 1-yard line with 9:03 left in the second quarter. Seymour rushed on 4th-and-goal from the WU 2, but Jaberi's hit jarred the ball lose. Nick Brickous (Jr./So., DB, Mesa, AZ/Perry HS) recovered for the Bearcats at the 1-yard line.
The next big play for Willamette's defense was on the next California Lutheran possession. On 3rd-and-3 at the WU 7-yard line, Conner Olson (Jr., LB, Tigard, OR/Tigard HS) stopped Ushali Ellison for a 2-yard gain. CLU settled for a 27-yard field goal by Taylor with 3:36 on the clock.
When the Kingsmen got the ball again with 2:05 left in the half, they drove from their own 40-yard line well into Willamette territory. On 2nd-and-2 at the WU 13, Jaberi tackled Ushali for a 1-yard gain. Quarterback Adam Friederichsen threw an incomplete pass on 4th down. Taylor kicked a 29-yard field goal with nine seconds on the clock.
Willamette's offense thrived in the second half, as the Bearcats accumulated 366 yards. WU rushed for 120 yards on 25 carries, passed for 246 yards and completed 15 of 23 attempts.
The Bearcats picked up their first points of the game on a 31-yard field goal by Cameron Coe (Fr., PK/P, La Puente, CA/Bishop Amat Memorial HS) at the end of an 11-play, 70-yard drive with 10:15 remaining in the third quarter. The field goal came one play after a bad snap at the CLU 1 led to a 13-yard loss on 3rd-and-goal.
Coe later kicked all three extra points for the Bearcats in the fourth quarter. The freshman became the starting place-kicker earlier in the week after previous starter Conner Mertens (Jr./So., PK/P, Kennewick, WA/Southridge HS) suffered an injury.
Following Coe's field goal, California Lutheran drove 71 yards on eight plays, ending with a 24-yard touchdown run by Chaveza. The Kingsmen claimed a 27-3 advantage.
The Bearcats put 21 points on the scoreboard in the final period. Damian Jackson (Jr., DB, Puyallup, WA/Rogers HS) got things going on the fourth play of the quarter when he intercepted a pas by Friederichsen at the WU 37.
Fourteen plays later, Trent Spallas (Jr., QB, Elk Grove, CA/Franklin HS) hit Mark Mulligan (Jr., DL, San Francisco, CA/Archbishop Riordan HS) with a 3-yard touchdown pass with 7:11 left. The drive featured a 15-yard pass from Spallas to Kevin Martz (Fr., WR, Salem, OR/South Salem HS/Claremont McKenna College) on 3rd-and-5 at the CLU 35. Three plays later, on 3rd-and-9, Spallas went out of bounds after a 7-yard gain, but a late hit created a first down at the 6-yard line.
On WU's next possession, the Bearcats moved from their own 37 to the end zone in seven plays, while taking just 1:53 off the clock. The drive included two big plays, a 26-yard pass from Spallas to Jimmy Sharpe (Jr., RB, Walnut Creek, CA/Northgate HS) and a 21-yard scoring pass on 4th-and-11 from Spallas to Austin Jones (Jr., TE, Oakdale, CA/Oakdale HS).
Coe's ensuing onside kick was misplayed by Alix Moise, Jr. of CLU and the ball was recovered by Taylor Livingston (So., RB, Ojai, CA/Nordhoff HS) of WU at the Willamette 40. On 4th-and-5, the Kingsmen were called for pass interference on a throw to Foote. On the next play Spallas rushed for 17 yards to the CLU 31. The following play was a reverse by Fickas, who passed to Foote for a 31-yard touchdown.
WU was within three-points, 27-24, with 1:49 remaining. After Coe's second onside kick went out of bounds, the Kingsmen ran off all but three seconds on the clock. The Bearcats took over at their own 13 following a punt. Jones caught a pass from Spallas and gained 29 yards, but time ran out.
Spallas finished 16 of 35 for 231 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions. Jones caught five passes for 123 yards and a score. Sharpe rushed 21 times for 106 yards.
For CLU, Chavez gained 132 yards on 22 carries. Washington had nine carries for 55 yards before leaving the game with an apparent injury. Friedereichsen was 8 of 18 passing for 162 yards and one interception. Johnson caught two passes for 91 yards.
Jaberi, Brickous and Henry Adelman (Sr., LB, Arroyo Grande, CA/Arroyo Grande HS) led the WU defense with nine tackles apiece. WU limited the Kingsmen to 110 yards in the second half. The Bearcats outgained CLU, 413 to 392 overall.
Ronny Camacho topped California Lutheran with 11 tackles. Trevor Roe recorded nine tackles.
The Bearcats do not play next weekend. They will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 3 with a home game against University of Puget Sound. Game time at McCulloch Stadium is scheduled for 4 p.m. (PDT).
