PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College football recorded a pair of huge plays on special teams, but couldn't keep up with #6/8 Linfield University in a 57-15 loss on Saturday in the Pioneers Northwest Conference home opener.
THE BASICS
#6/8 Linfield 57, Lewis & Clark 15
(Lewis & Clark 2-3, NWC 1-1)
(Linfield 4-0, NWC 2-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sophomore
Jordan Lahusky returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and fellow sophomore
Thomas Reagan added a 90-yard return on a blocked PAT as part of a strong day for the Pioneers special teams.
Offensively, senior quarterback
Trey Morris made his first collegiate start. Morris was under constant pressure and finished 15-27 for 116 yards.
Senior
Elijah Washington led the Pioneers on the ground with seven carries for 33 yards. Freshman
Chili Stephens added four rushes for 29 yards and his first collegiate rushing touchdown. Lahusky tacked on eight rushes for 15 yards and junior
JT Willis rushed for 13 yards on two carries.
Senior
Elijah McGee led the Pioneers receivers with four catches for 49 yards. Sophomore
Lindell Betts tacked on two grabs for 29 yards and seniors
Devon Guest (four for 27 yards) and
Ben Burnham (two for 17 yards) each added multiple grabs.
Senior linebacker
Justin Hope led the Pioneers with seven tackles (two solo) and one tackle for loss. Sophomore
Daryl Scott added six tackles (three solo) and senior
Silas Ticeson and sophomores
Andrew Baum and
Mitchell Sarmento each posted five tackles. Reagan led the Pioneers with two pass breakups.
Lahusky helped the Pioneers get off to the best possible start on the opening play of the game. Lewis & Clark won the coin toss and elected to receive. Lahusky received the ball just inside his own 15 and ran straight up the near hash, he used his track speed to break through a hole and then raced past the kicker down the near sideline for an 85-yard score.
Linfield would answer with scores on each of their first four drives (three touchdowns, one field goal) to grab a 23-7 lead with 13:47 to go in the second quarter.
The Pioneers responded with their best drive of the contest. Morris led Lewis & Clark on an 11-play, 78-yard drive to over the next five minutes. Washington opened the drive with an eight-yard rush and then Morris connected with McGee (eight yards) and Burnham (seven yards) on back-to-back plays. After a four-yard rush from Morris, the senior found Guest for a nine-yard gain. With the Pioneers facing a fourth and three, Morris hit McGee in traffic and McGee bounced off a would-be tackler for a 12-yard gain. Washington would bring the Pioneers inside the red zone on back-to-back rushes (10 yards). With the Pioneers at the 12-yard line, Stephens powered through the hole and contact inside the two for a 12-yard touchdown run to make it 23-13.
Lewis & Clark scored their final points in the third quarter. After a Wildcats touchdown, junior
Nando Magallanes blocked the point after attempt and Reagan scooped up the loose ball and went 90 yards the other way to make it 36-15.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Lahusky's return for a touchdown was the first by a Pioneer since senior Desmon Holton returned a kickoff 84-yards on October 9, 2021 against Pacific Lutheran University. It's the Pioneers first return for a touchdown in the first quarter since at least 2011. Linfield avoided kicking the ball long to Lahusky for the rest of the game.
- Senior punter Huxley Richardson punted six times for 225 yards. His first punt carried 51 yards and put the Wildcats inside their own 20-yard line.
- Sophomore Clash Orsborn (1-1) and redshirt freshman Luke Coleman (0-1) each saw their first collegiate action at quarterback. Lewis & Clark used five different QBs in the contest. Willis went 2-4 for 26 yards.
- Hope is now sitting on 125 career tackles (66 solo). The senior, who's in his third season, leads the Pioneers with 26 tackles (13 solo).
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark will travel to Pacific University on Saturday at 4 p.m. for the Boxers Homecoming Contest.
