BOX SCORE
PORTLAND, Ore. - The Lewis & Clark football
team celebrated Senior Day prior to the start of its Northwest
Conference match-up against #12 Linfield College on Saturday
afternoon at Griswold Stadium. The Pios honored departing seniors
Curtis Smith, Shawn Kelly, Harrison Keller, Disan Suarez and Devon
Baker, as well as public address announcer Jack Venables who has
been the voice of the Pios for the last 40 seasons.
The game belonged to the Wildcats (8-1, 6-0 NWC), who were able
to get out early with a fast paced offense and several Pioneer
errors, taking down the Pios 52-0. Linfield will learn its
first-round NCAA playoff opponent Sunday at noon Pacific time when
the 32-team playoff field is revealed on ESPNews. The Pioneers
conclude their season with a 4-5 overall record, which is their
best since the 1996 season, while also finishing 2-4 in conference
action.
Without freshman quarterback Keith Welch, the Pioneers played
three different quarterbacks, with freshman J.P. Ortega getting the
start. Ortega ended the day 4-of-10 passing with one interception,
while junior Tucker Laurence completed 5-of-22 with an
interception.
Junior Joevonte Mayes led the Pioneers in rushing with 43 yards
on 11 carries, while freshman Alex Pursel ran for 18 yards on four
carries. Junior Shawn Evans finished the day with 26 yards on five
receptions.
Sophomore Andrew Frisina returned the ball five times for a
total of 54 yards and Logan Kotzian finished with 53 yards on two
returns.
Defensively, Dan Curtin finished with 12 tackles, including a
tackle for loss. Junior Louis Baltazar ended his day with eight
tackles, while both Chris Kelly and Kade Peden had five.
