BOX SCORE
ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Lewis & Clark football team scored in every quarter for the third consecutive game in its 37-28 defeat of Macalester College on Saturday afternoon in St. Paul, Minn.
The Pioneers improve to 3-0 for the first time since 1995, while Macalester falls to 1-3 after the loss.
Lewis & Clark owned every aspect of the game, putting together 593 yards of total offense compared to Macalester's 407. The Pioneers held more possession than the Scots, while running 77 plays to the Scots 57.
The Pioneers nearly put themselves on the board on their opening drive, moving down the field on a 10 play, 45 yard stint that saw them make their way into Macalester territory. With fourth and goal the Pios opted to attempt a field goal that was missed wide right.
Macalester took over pinned in its half of the field and steadily made its way to the Pioneers 19 yard-line. After earning a first-down, the Scots attempted to rush the ball, but quickly had that plan destroyed with a forced fumble by junior Logan Kotzian. Senior Louis Baltazar collected the loose ball recapturing possession for Lewis & Clark.
On thier next drive, the Pioneers made sure not to leave the field without putting points on the board, with Simon Monley earning the Pios three points with a made field goal.
The Pioneers opened the second quarter in style, finishing out a 78-yard drive with a rushing touchdown from quarterback Keith Welch. Monley followed things with a successful point after to put the Pios up 10-0.
Macalester would finally get on the board with a 30-yard touchdown pass to John Johnson.
Lewis & Clark would score once more before the half on a quick two-play drive. Taking over at their own five-yard-line, Joevonte Mayes carried the ball 65-yards to the Macalester end of the field. Freshman Curtis Shirey followed the Mayes rush with a 30-yard carry of his own that ended in the Scot end zone. Monley once again convert the PAT to put the Pios ahead 17-7.
On their first possession of the third quarter, the Pioneers kept their foot on the gas, increasing the lead to 24-7 on a Shawn Evans touchdown. Evan's collected the ball from Welch at the Pioneer 29-yard line and took the ball 71-yards for his first touchdown of the game.
The Scots cut the deficit to 24-14 on the next drive with a touchdown by Riley Koval. Macalester continued to battle, picking up a Pioneer fumble and eventually converted it into a scoring opportunity. After recovering the fumble at their own 49-yard-line, the Scots found the end zone two plays later, making the score 24-21.
Lewis & Clark settled down on their next possession and steadily moved the ball down the field. On the 11th play of the Pios five-minute drive, Welch kept the ball for a 10-yard scoring drive. Monley followed up with another made PAT to return the Pio lead to 10 points.
The Pioneer defense got aggressive on the next Scot drive, with Evaristo Laron and Baltazar stopping a rush with no gain and then Baltazar hitting Joe Loiselle for a one-yard loss.
Macalester attempted a field goal moments later that senior Chuck Krause jumped all over, blocking it into the hands of Chris Kelly at the Pios 17-yard-line.
Taking over deep in their own territory, the Pioneers attempted to rush the ball into Macalester's end but went on to turn the ball over as quickly as they had regained it. The Pioneer fumble, that the Scots recovered at the four-yard-line, turned into a short Macalester touchdown five seconds later.
With Macalester hot on their heels, the Pioneers found a way to score to in the closing minutes of the game. The Pioneers opened things with back-to-back rushes by Shirey that moved the Pios from their own 45-yard-line to the Macalester 39-yard-line. Welch then found Evans for a nine-yard gain, before short gain rushes by Welch and Mayes.
Facing fourth down and nine-yards to go, Welch found Evans down field for a 28-yard touchdown to put the Pioneers ahead 37-28. This time the Scots found a way to block Monley's point after, ending the scoring.
The Scots tried to put something together on their final possession of the contest, but junior Lamar Curry broke up the drive with an interception on Mike Snavely's pass.
Mayes led the Pioneers in rushing with 98-yards on 12 carries, while Shirey picked up 75-yards on nine rushes.
Welch was 26-36-0 for the Pioneers, passing for 337 yards, including the 71-yard pass to Evans. Evans was the Pioneers leading receiver, finishing the contest with 141 yards on nine catches.
Defensively for the Pios, Baltazar tackled the Scots 10 times, which included two tackles for losses. Matthew Lettunich earned nine tackles and Kelly finished with six.
Loiselle was the Scots leading rusher with 139 yards, while Koval had 58-yards receiving.
The Pioneers return to action on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 1:30 p.m. when they take on the Pacific Boxers in their Northwest Conference opener on the road.
