By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Aidan Kuykendall (Sr., QB, San Pedro, CA/Palos Verdes Peninsula HS/L.A. Harbor College) passed for two touchdowns while completing 11 of 14 attempts, but Willamette University fell behind early in the game and lost to Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, 44-21, in the season opener for both teams on Saturday, Sept. 3 at McCulloch Stadium. Kuykendall, who passed for a total of 167 yards also scored one rushing touchdown. Pomona-Pitzer moved to 1-0, while the Bearcats fell to 0-1.
Kuykendall's touchdowns went for 6 yards to Jared Paredes (Jr., WR, West Covina, CA/Northview HS) and for 72 yards to Tyler Epefanio (So., RB, Spokane, WA/Lakeside HS). Kuykendall's rushing touchdown was on a 1-yard carry.
The Sagehens jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and led 34-0 at halftime. Pomona-Pitzer's strong first half was led by quarterback Skylar Nobles, who threw passes for the first two touchdowns, then added three rushing touchdowns. During the half, Nobles completed 15 of 18 passes for 212 yards and ran with the ball 13 times for 128 yards. He did not play in the second half.
Pomona-Pitzer tallied the only touchdown of the third quarter. The Bearcats outscored the Sagehens 21-3 in the fourth quarter.
Each team had to punt on its first possession of the game, but Pomona-Pitzer got a break on the Sagehens' second drive. On the first play, a Willamette defender fell and Ryan Rosumny caught a pass from Nobles at the Bearcats' 48-yard line and went into the end zone for an 81-yard touchdown. Kyler Parris kicked the extra point to give the Sagehens a 7-0 lead with 9:49 left in the opening quarter. About eight minutes later, Nobles threw a 26-yard touchdown pass to Clark Baker for a 14-0 advantage. The scoring strike to Baker finished an 11-play, 99-yard drive by the Sagehens following a 51-yard punt by WU's George Wiles-Koehler (Fy., Monrovia, CA/St. John Bosco HS).
Nobles tacked on rushing touchdowns of four, six and nine yards in the second period. Parris converted two of the three PATs, as Pomona-Pitzer increased its lead to 34-0. At halftime, the Sagehens had 355 total yards and 16 first downs, while the Bearcats had one first down and 35 yards.
In the second half, Willamette added 10 first downs and ended the game with a total of 235 yards. Pomona-Pitzer completed the game with 521 total yards, but gained just 166 yards over the final two quarters.
The only score in the third quarter went to the Sagehens on a 1-yard pass from back-up quarterback Jackson Diaz to Jack Susank at the end of an 8-play, 49-yard drive. Parris kicked the extra point.
WU scored early in the fourth quarter when Kuykendall connected with Paredes on a 6-yard pass into the end zone near the left sideline. Paredes stayed in-bounds and Camdin Dirnberger (So., PK, Missoula, MT/Sentinel HS) kicked the PAT with 14:12 on the clock. The drive covered 74 yards and lasted 15 plays. Kuykendall completed 4 of 6 passes for 27 yards and carried the ball four times for 26 yards during the drive.
Pomona-Pitzer added a 20-yard field goal by Parris with 7:01 left. Willamette scored the final two touchdowns in a span of 47 seconds, as Kuykendall crossed the goal line on his 1-yard run with 2:51 on the clock and Epefanio hauled in the 72-yard pass from Kuykendall with 2:04 remaining.
The rushing touchdown was set up by a 28-yard reception by Paredes that led to Kuykendall scoring on the next play to complete an 80-yard drive. The long touchdown to Epefanio was on the first play after John Kenny (So., DB, Salem, OR/West Salem HS) of the Bearcats intercepted a pass near the sideline at the WU 28-yard line.
Paredes led Willamette with four catches on his way to 71 yards. Justin Genovia (Sr., WR, Aiea, HI/Iolani School) grabbed three passes, while Epefanio caught two passes for 77 yards. Quinten Wimmer and Domminick Norris each caught four passes for Pomona-Pitzer, with Wimmer gaining 38 yards and Norris earning 27 yards. Rosumny topped all players with 81 receiving yards.
La'Akea Like (Jr., LB, Littleton, CO/Columbine HS) registered seven tackles for the Bearcats, including six solo tackles. Dylan Hall (Jr., LB, Erie, CO/Peak to Peak Charter School) and Raymond Pasay (So., LB, Turner, OR/Cascade HS) each provided WU with six tackles. Dom Torres (Sr., DL, North Salt Lake, UT/Woods Cross HS) earned 1.0 tackle for loss and forced a fumble. Dominic Corado (So., DB, Lake Forest, CA/JSerra Catholic HS) broke up two passes.
The defensive leader for the Sagehens was Thali Cobb with seven tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback sack. He also forced a fumble. Nate Barewin and Thomas McConnell both recorded five tackles. George Cutting added four total tackles, with 2.0 tackles for loss and one quarterback sack.
Willamette will host the University of La Verne at McCulloch Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 10. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. (PDT).