PORTLAND, Ore.—First year quarterback Oa Kamakawiwoole threw for 425 yards and five touchdowns in his first collegiate start, but Lewis & Clark College football fell 56-39 to #3/4 Montana Western on Saturday afternoon at Griswold Stadium. 
 
THE BASICS
 
#3/4 Montana Western 56, Lewis & Clark 39
(Lewis & Clark 1-2)
(Montana Western 3-0) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Kamakawiwoole finished 29-42 and posted new career-highs in passing yards and touchdowns to help the Pioneers stick with one of the top teams in the NAIA. Despite being under duress from the Bulldogs pass rush, Kamakawiwoole connected with seven Pioneers receivers and five of them finished with 50 or more yards. 
 
Senior Ben Burnham caught a career-high 11 receptions and finished over 100 yards for the second time in his career. Burnham led all players with 122 receiving yards and added a touchdown catch. Fellow senior Desmon Holton finished with five catches for 55 yards and two scores. Senior Devon Guest notched four catches for 52 yards and sophomore Chili Stephens added two catches for 50 yards and a score. Sophomore Julius Walker tacked on four catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. 
 
The Pioneers struggled to run the ball against Montana Western all afternoon. Junior Lindell Betts led the team with 17 yards on an end-around and added a team-long 79-yard reception. 
 
Defensively, graduate student Justin Hope was everywhere. He racked up team-highs with five solo tackles and seven total tackles and chipped in a 22-yard sack, a pass break-up and a quarterback hurry. Junior Mitchell Sarmento notched six tackles to finish second on the squad and seniors Silas Ticeson and Ramsen Paz and graduate student Wil Powell II all added four stops. Junior Jack Warren notched a sack for a loss of seven yards and Andrew Baum, Paz and Powell II all added tackles-for-loss. Senior Nando Magallanes registered a forced fumble. 
 
Montana Western used their running game to control the time of possession and play on Saturday. The Bulldogs rushed the ball 40 times for 266 yards and seven scores. Jake Humphrey (140 yards), Pete Gibson (75 yards) and Michael Palandri (-19 yards) each scored twice. Palandri who came in as the National NAIA Player of the Week finished 17-25 for 289 yards and one touchdown. 
 
A year after falling to Montana Western 49-13 in Montana, the Pioneers put together a much stronger showing as they were tied 14-14 after the first quarter and trailed 21-17 at the half. Even in the second half when the Bulldogs built a 17-lead on three occasions, Lewis & Clark fought back and cut the deficit to within 10 twice. 
 
Lewis & Clark needed just six plays on the opening drive of the game to take the lead. Kamakawiwoole found Burnham all alone along the far sideline at the four-yard line and Burnham raced in for a 7-0 lead. 
 
After the visitors tied the game on a two-yard rush, the hosts retook the lead with a nine-play, 75-yard drive. Kamakawiwoole found Guest for a 21-yard catch to bring the Pioneers inside the 10-yard line and then the first year found Stephens on a pass into the flat for a six-yard touchdown. 
 
Montana Western tied the game 14-14 with an 11-yard run from Humphrey with 1:23 to go in the first quarter. Lewis & Clark drove to midfield but on the first play of the second quarter Lewis & Clark lost a fumble to give the Bulldogs the ball back near midfield. Eight plays later the visitors took their first lead of the game (21-14) with a DJ Kirven one-yard rushing touchdown. 
 
The visitors would force a second Pioneers fumble on the ensuing drive but Lewis & Clark's defense came up with a huge stop to keep the game in reach. Montana Western had a first and 10 from the Pioneers 13 yard line but back-to-back penalties pushed them back to the 28-yard line (1^st and 25). After a strong tackle from Paz and Thomas Reagan on first down, Lewis & Clark forced an incomplete pass and then a swarm of Pioneers defenders pushed Palandri back towards midfield, where Hope eventually finished off the play with a sack for a loss of 22-yards. 
 
Lewis & Clark took advantage of the Bulldogs having to punt. Guest returned the punt out to the 37-yard line and the hosts ate the final 4:10 on the clock. Kamakawiwoole and Burnham connected for three first-down catches on third down to extend the drive and sophomore Thien Hoang hit a career-long 45-yard field goal as time expired in the half to make it 21-17 at the break. 
 
Montana Western pushed their lead to double-digits (28-17) on the third play of the second half but Lewis & Clark wouldn't be deterred.
 
Stephens came up with a huge 44-yard catch on third and four and Holton posted his first of two touchdown catches on the next play (15-yards) to cut the deficit to 28-23. The Pioneers elected to go for two and Kamakawiwoole found Jordan Lahusky in the flat to make it a three-point game (28-25). 
 
Montana Western would score on each of their next two possessions and forced the Pioneers lone punt of the game to push their lead out 42-25 with 4:25 left in the third. 
 
Lewis & Clark started the drive with great field position after a 42-yard return from Isaac Glover. The Pioneers made it 42-32 on Walker's 16-yard touchdown catch that included two other players touching the ball - before Burnham lateraled it back to Kamakawiwoole. 
 
Montana Western added a score to start the fourth quarter, but Lewis & Clark had an answer. Facing their worst field position of the game, Kamakawiwoole found Betts streaking down the field a 42-yard pass in the air and then Betts weaved his way around two defenders, before being tackled at the three-yard line for a 79-yard catch. On third and goal from the three, Kamakawiwoole found Holton for a low-diving catch to make it 49-39. 
 
The Bulldogs would add one final score and force a turnover on downs, after the Pioneers drove the ball inside the red zone, to escape Griswold Stadium with the victory. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Glover led Lewis & Clark with four returns for 130 yards (32.5 yards per return). As a team, the Pioneers posted eight returns for 203 yards (25.4 yards per return). 
• Kamakawiwoole is the first Pioneers quarterback to throw for over 400 yards since October 2019 and the first L&C quarterback to pass for five touchdowns since September 2013. 
• First-year punter Damon Perez posted a 33-yard punt for his first collegiate punt. 
• Lewis & Clark went 5-6 on red zone scoring chances and 6-10 on third downs. 
• Hoang moved into fifth-place in program history in career points (90) and is now tied for fourth overall with his 12 career made field goals. 
• Guest (1,571 yards) and Burnham (1,401) are continuing to move up the program's all-time receiving list. Guest currently sits 14^th and Burnham is in a tie for 17^th overall. 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will be off next weekend, before opening conference play when they host George Fox University on Saturday, October 5 at 1 p.m.