PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College football's 2025 Homecoming game will be remembered for a long time. Graduate student Sam Simril threw for five touchdowns in his first collegiate start, first year Sytyn Lasconia tied the program record for receiving touchdowns in a single-game (four) and the two teams traded touchdowns amidst a monsoon on Fred Wilson Field. In the end, visiting Whitworth University scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:56 to go and kept Lewis & Clark out of the end zone on their final drive to earn a thrilling 42-35 win. 
 
THE BASICS
 
Whitworth 42, Lewis & Clark 32
(Lewis & Clark 5-2, Northwest Conference 2-2) 
(Whitworth 5-2, Northwest Conference 4-0) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The Pioneers faced an uphill battle going into the game with five key starters missing due to injury and several others limited due to injuries. After falling behind 14-0 early, Lewis & Clark pulled out a variety of looks on offense and defense to give the NWC league-leaders everything they could handle in front of a crowd of over 1,300 people. 
 
Simril earned his first start in Orange and Black and only got better as the game went along. He finished with new career-highs in every category. The Portland native went 27-40 for 319 yards and five touchdowns. He added 20 rushing yards on six carries. Junior wide receiver Mateo Maehara was inserted as a wildcat option and helped Lewis & Clark on several drives. He carried the ball six times for 20 yards, went 1-2 for three passing yards, added two catches for 26 yards and posted 36.3 average on three punts. 
 
Lasconia proved to be Simril's favorite target and a constant thorn in the Pirates side. The first year posted new career-highs with 10 catches, 166 yards and four touchdowns. He's the third Pioneer in program history to post four touchdown catches in a single-game and the first to accomplish the feat since 1990. Sophomore Logan March caught the Pioneers fifth touchdown of the contest. 
 
Senior running backs Jordan Lahusky and Isaac Glover helped keep the Pioneers offense balanced. Lahusky rushed for 73 yards on nine carries and tacked on six catches for 143 yards. Glover had his best game of the season with 10 carries for 63 yards and one catch for 11 yards. 
 
Senior safety Jordan Delgado led Lewis & Clark with 10 tackles. Delgado posted four solo stops and 0.5 tackles-for-loss. Senior Andrew Baum and sophomore Jaden Mwendapole tacked on six tackles apiece. Baum notched the Pioneers lone sack of the day. Senior Daryl Scott finished fourth on the team with five stops and chipped in a team-high two pass break-ups. 
 
Junior JT Chavez recovered a pair of fumbles to go along with four tackles. Senior Jack Warren added two tackles (0.5 for loss) and a team-high five QB hurries. 
 
Whitworth looked they might break open the game early when they scored two touchdowns in the first 7:06 of the contest. 
 
The Pioneers responded with an eight-play, 84-yard drive to cut the deficit to 14-7. Simril connected with three different receivers to get the ball to the Pirates 20-yard line. On the next play, he rushed for 12 yards to get Lewis & Clark inside the 10. He found Lasconia all alone in the back corner of the end zone on First and Goal to make it 14-7. 
 
Whitworth was forced to punt on their next drive. With the rain coming down as hard as it would all afternoon and the wind whipping, both teams would fumble on their next drives. 
 
Lewis & Clark tied the game at 14 with 8:02 to go in the second quarter. On fourth and four from the Whitworth 42, Simril found Lasconia in behind the Whitworth defense for a 42-yard touchdown. 
 
Whitworth immediately responded with a two-play, 62-yard drive to retake the lead. 
 
Lewis & Clark and Lasconia connected for a third time to tie the score at 21 before halftime. Early in the drive, Lewis & Clark executed a hook-and-ladder on third and 15 to extend the drive. On fourth and two from the Pirates 36, Lasconia ran wide open behind the Whitworth defense and Simril found him for a 36-yard touchdown pass. 
 
Both teams would score on their first drives of the second half. After Whitworth scored to make it 28-21, Simril and Lasconia posted their fourth touchdown of the game with a 45-yard run-and-catch. 
 
Lewis & Clark would force a punt on the Pirates next drive, but Whitworth forced a three-and-out. 
 
Whitworth took a 35-28 lead on their next drive thanks to a 35-yard touchdown pass from Logan Lacio to Tyson Hoke. 
 
After punting the ball away, Chavez recovered his second fumble of the day to give Lewis & Clark the ball back. Four plays later the score was tied at 28-28 as Simril connected with March for a four-yard score. 
 
Lewis & Clark would have a chance to take the lead on their next drive. After a Whitworth three-and-out and a short punt, Lewis & Clark crossed midfield. The Pioneers had first and 10 from the Pirates 42 but a penalty and a short gain on third down forced one final Pioneers punt. 
 
Maehara pinned the Pirates on their own three-yard line with his best punt of the day. The Pirates went on an 11-play, 97-yard line drive that ate up nearly six minutes of the clock. Luis Salgado scampered in for a 34-yard touchdown run to make it 42-35 with 1:56 to play. 
 
Lewis & Clark would once again bring the ball across midfield but the clock ran out before the Pioneers could take a shot at the end zone. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Lasconia matched Bill Gassner (1971 vs College of Idaho) and Jeff Miller (1990 vs Western Oregon University) for the most touchdown receptions in a single-game in program history. 
• Simril more than doubled his career passing yards (195) and passing touchdowns (three) on Saturday. 
• Senior Dez Holton went over 1,000 career receiving yards (1,012) on Saturday. He posted two catches for 13 yards. 
• Lasconia's 166 receiving yards rank 20^th in program history for receiving yards in a single-game. 
• Sophomore kicker Trevor Koo moved into 12^th place in program history for points in a single-season with 38. He is 35-36 this year on PATs after going 5-5 on Saturday. 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will travel to Linfield University on Saturday at 1 p.m. The matchup will be head coach Brett Elliott's first contest against his alma mater.