By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications
SALEM, Ore. -- Trajan Clark (So., WR, Davis, CA/Davis HS), who arrived at Willamette University as a quarterback, moved to wide receiver this year. On Saturday, Oct. 28, he caught his first two passes for the Bearcats and scored touchdowns on both plays against the University of Puget Sound in Northwest Conference action at McCulloch Stadium. His first touchdown covered seven yards in the second quarter on a pass from Alex Rivera IV (Fy., QB, Laveen, AZ/Trevor Browne HS). Clark's second touchdown was a 54-yard strike from Rivera IV in the third quarter.
The Bearcats trailed 26-7 at halftime, but both teams scored 14 points in the second half. Puget Sound won the game, 40-21, to improve to 3-4 on the season, 2-3 in the NWC. Willamette dropped to 1-7 overall, 0-5 in the NWC.
Clark provided lots of excitement as his two catches, especially the 54-yarder, gave Willamette momentum. Later, Clark narrowly missed on two or three long passes that were just out of his reach. Rivera IV completed 9 of 27 passes but threw for 254 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. He showed control, accuracy, and a strong arm while completing at least one pass to seven players.
Tyler Epefanio (Jr., WR, Spokane, WA/Lakeside HS), who scored Willamette's final touchdown on a 27-yard reception in the fourth quarter, led WU with three catches overall for 90 yards. Clark's two catches allowed him to gain 61 yards.
Rivera IV opened the game with a 38-yard pass to Epefanio that brought the Bearcats to the Puget Sound 25-yard line. The Loggers took over on downs four plays later and drove 77 yards on 19 plays to score the game's first points. The lengthy drive included fourth down conversions four times, including a 4-yard pass from quarterback Mason Binning to wide receiver Izaiah Jerenz to the touchdown with 3:07 left in the quarter. The drive took 10:50 off the clock. Liam Smith missed the extra point kick, leaving PS with a 6-0 lead.
Jerenz grabbed a 12-yard touchdown pass from Binning with 12:56 left in the second quarter. JohnJohn Nelson caught a two-point conversion pass from Binning for a 14-0 advantage. The Loggers added a third touchdown 31 seconds later, when a bad snap led to a blocked punt by the Loggers. On 4th-and-10 at the WU 42-yard line, Warren Sisneros-Barber blocked the punt and Steven Anaya picked up the ball for the Loggers and ran 25 yards to the end zone. PS led 20-0 following a missed two-point try.
Clark's 7-yard touchdown pass with 8:57 to go in the half, reduced the Loggers' advantage to 20-7 following the extra point by Camdin Dirnberger (Jr., PK, Missoula, MT/Sentinel HS). Puget Sound added a touchdown pass from Binning to Liam Smith at the 5:44 mark for a 26-7 lead.
The next three scores occurred in just over a minute in the third quarter. Tommy Milton scored for PS on an 8-yard pass from Binning with 10:20 on the clock. Just 17 seconds later, on Willamette's first play after the kickoff, Clark scored on his 54-yard catch. He was wide open and dashed the final 40 yards untouched. Dirnberger kicked the PAT to cut the margin to 34-14. Puget Sound answered with a 68-yard pass from Binning to Jerenz on the Loggers' second play. A two-point conversion pass was incomplete.
Epefanio tallied the game's final touchdown with 6:33 left in the third quarter to end a 6-play, 55-yard drive for the Bearcats. He scored on a 27-yard pass thrown by Rivera IV. Dirnberger was successful on the extra point. Neither team scored again.
Binning was 45 of 62 passing for 482 yards and five touchdowns. He threw one interception to WU's Dominic Corado (So., DB, Lake Forest, CA/JSerra Catholic HS. Jerenz caught 22 of passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns. Nelson hauled in 12 passes for 101 yards. Running back Henry Hernandez rushed 15 times for 74 yards for the Loggers.
Linebacker Raymond Pasay (Jr., Turner, OR/Cascade HS) topped the WU defense with 10 total tackles and added one quarterback hurry. Corado finished with nine tackles, including six solo tackles, in addition to his interception. Caydin Webb (Fy., LB, Sparks, NV/Spanish Springs HS) and Judah Ali'ifua (Fy., DB, Salem, OR/West Salem HS) each made eight tackles. Earning sacks for Willamette were Peyton Zampko (Fy., LB, Redmond, OR/Ridgeview HS) and Trevor Goldman (Fy., DL, Salem, OR/South Salem HS) with 1.0 each, along wiith AJ Conrad (Sr., DL, Temecula, CA/Murrieta Valley HS) and Michael Valtierra (Sr., DL, Culver City, CA/Brentwood HS) each with 0.5.
Anaya led the Loggers with seven total tackles, including six unassisted tackles. Amarian Culpepper provided four tackles, all unassisted. Mason Brubaker earned three solo stops and one assist, while breaking up two passes and recording one quarterback hurry.
Willamette will play at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon, on Saturday, Nov. 4. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. PDT.
