Salem, Ore. - Bearcat Football returned home to McCulloch Stadium and Ogdahl Field on Saturday, falling 28-7 to visiting George Fox University. Willamette's defense provided the team's lone score and gave the Bearcats good field position on several drives throughout the game, but the Bruins' defense was able to control the line of scrimmage for the victory.
George Fox came out throwing early and Javi Rodriguez started the game for the Bearcat defense with a sack on the opening play for the Bruins. A pass interference penalty and a few short passes moved the visitors to midfield and a screen pass to Taylor Saben moved the ball down to the Willamette 6-yard line. Saben ran the ball into the endzone on the next play to put the Bruins up 7-0.
Willamette was unable to move the ball on their next possession and George Fox took over on their own thirty-nine after the punt by Nick Beswick-Seidl. An 18-yard completion on third down put the Bruins just outside the red zone and two plays later quarterback DeMontre Thomas II found River Osen in the left corner of the endzone to push the lead to 14-0.
While the offense continued to struggle for the Bearcats, the defense held strong for the remainder of the half and the second blocked field goal of the season for Sala Hill gave Willamette possession on the GFU 37-yard line to start the second quarter. The Bearcats were not able to move the ball but Beswick-Seidl was able to place his punt out-of-bounds at the 1-yard line and after another defensive stop the Bearcats got the ball inside George Fox territory again after forcing the Bruins to punt.
Willamette was forced to punt but got the ball back in Bruin territory for the third consecutive drive when Landon Waters picked off a Thomas II pass and returned it to the George Fox thirty. On their first play from scrimmage, the Bearcats tried to some misdirection and had seemingly found some space in the endzone, but the Bruins' Martin Nolan made an acrobatic interception in the endzone to stop the Bearcat drive.
The Bearcat defense continued to hold strong and a Kylan Keeler blocked punt set Willamette up at the GFU 34-yard line for their fourth straight drive starting on the George Fox end of the field. Willamette picked up a first down, but Rivera IV was stopped short on fourth down for a turnover on downs.
After recovering an on-side kick attempt to start the second half, Saben found the endzone again for his second touchdown, this time from just one yard out. After a series of punts by both teams, Saben ended the scoring for the Bruins with a 16-yard touchdown run, his third score on the afternoon.
As the fourth quarter began, Willamette's Noah Reese picked off the second pass of the day for the Bearcats and returned the ball to the Bruin five-yard line. Willamette's attempt to score was turned away again as Beswick-Seidl's field goal attempt from 33 yards was blocked. Just a few plays later, the Bearcats would find their way into the endzone as Corado picked off a pass along the right side and scampered thirty-five yards for the score.
Javi Rodriguez led Willamette in tackles with nine, including four tackles for loss and two sacks. Austin Payne added eight tackles with one for loss. As mentioned previously, Dominic Corado, Noah Reese, and Landon Waters all had interceptions for the Bearcats.
A trio of quarterbacks played for the Bearcat with Pres Juarez getting the start. Alex Rivera IV led the passing attack, completing 7 of 14 passes for 62 yards. Brandon Johnson, Austin Snodgrass, and Jerrick Little each hauled in two receptions. Gabriel Herrera led the Bearcats on the ground, running for 21 yards on 5 carries.
The Bearcats' next game is Saturday, November 2nd, at the University of Puget Sound. Willamette will play their final home game against Pacific University on Saturday, November 9th.
