McMINNVILLE, Ore.—Junior Mateo Maehara threw for two touchdowns in his first collegiate start at quarterback and senior linebacker Andrew Baum posted his first collegiate touchdown, but Lewis & Clark College's football comeback effort fell short on Saturday against host Linfield University.
 
THE BASICS 
 
Linfield 29, Lewis & Clark 21
(Lewis & Clark 5-3, Northwest Conference 2-3) 
(Linfield 5-2, NWC 4-1) 


HOW IT HAPPENED
 
Lewis & Clark trailed 12-0 early and 26-7 early in the second half, before mounting a comeback effort that fell just short. The Pioneers closed the deficit to one score with 8:11 to play and forced a Linfield punt, but Lewis & Clark turned the ball over on downs on their final possession of the game. 
 
Maehara became the third Lewis & Clark quarterback to start in the past three weeks. With sophomore Dashiell Weaver and graduate student Sam Simril both missing due to injury, Maehara earned his first start at quarterback since his senior year of high school (2022). He finished the game 17-29 for 142 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Maehara, who had been starting at wide receivers for most of the season, ran the ball 11 times for 16 yards. 
 
Senior running back Jordan Lahusky made the biggest play of the game on offense. He racked up five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown and tacked on five rushes for six yards. First year Sytyn Lasconia led the team in rushing yards (one carry for 34 yards) and added three catches for 24 yards. 
 
Sophomore Dante Washington chipped in four catches for 20 yards and his first collegiate touchdown. Junior running back Chili Stephens posted five rushes for 29 yards. 
 
Lewis & Clark's defense kept them in the game all afternoon long against the defending Northwest Conference Champions. 
 
Junior Jordan Delgado led the team with seven solo tackles and nine total stops. He posted one tackle-for-loss for two yards. Senior Darryl Scott chipped in six solo tackles and junior JT Chavez notched five solo tackles and one tackle-for-loss. Junior Charlie Murrin and senior Josh Arcayena tied for fifth on the team with four solo tackles apiece. 
 
Baum notched three solo stops and posted his second interception of the year and first collegiate touchdown. First year Maddox Maehara recorded his first collegiate sack – a tackle for a 12-yard loss. 
Linfield jumped out to a 12-0 lead after the opening 10 minutes. They scored on their first drive of the game with a 68-yard touchdown pass from Luke McNabb to Jayce Bareng. After a turnover-on-downs and a punt, Lewis & Clark committed a safety while attempting to punt out of their own end zone. Linfield would drive to the Pioneers 18-yard line on the ensuing possession and make it 12-0 with a 35-yard field goal. 
 
Lewis & Clark would immediately respond on the first play of their next drive. After a big 34-yard kick return from sophomore Westin Wade, Maehara found Lahusky in behind the defense for a 51-yard touchdown pass to cut the deficit to 12-7 with 4:45 to play in the quarter. 
 
The hosts used a nine-play, 73-yard drive to answer with a touchdown of their own. McNabb scrambled in for an eight-yard touchdown run to make it 19-7 at the end of the first quarter. 
 
The score would stay that way heading into halftime thanks to a big stop by the Pioneers defense. Linfield used a big play to set up First and Goal from the Lewis & Clark 8-yard line with two minutes to go in the quarter. On Third and Goal, Baum stopped McNabb at the one-yard line and Linfield missed the ensuing field goal to keep the game within 12. 
 
Linfield pushed their lead to 26-7 with a touchdown on their first drive of the second half. After a Lewis & Clark punt, it appeared the hosts had a chance to put the game away. They picked up one first down, but on the fourth play of the drive, Baum stepped in front of a McNabb pass and returned the interception for a 53-yard touchdown. 
 
Lewis & Clark recovered an onside kick from Joseph Yankosky but the Wildcats forced a turnover to get the ball back. Each team's next drive stalled out, so the game went to the fourth quarter with the Wildcats leading 26-14. 
 
Linfield would hit a 43-yard field goal to open the fourth quarter to push their advantage to 29-14.
 
Lewis & Clark responded with their best drive of the game. Maehara led the visitors on a nine-play, 55-yard drive to cut the deficit to 29-21. He connected with Lahusky for a five-yard gain on fourth and two to extend the drive. Maehara then found Lasconia for a 28-yard gain to put the ball inside the Linfield 10-yard line. On Third and Goal, Maehara connected with Washington for a four-yard touchdown pass to make it 29-21 with 8:11 to play. 
 
The Pioneers defense forced a three-and-out on the next Linfield possession. Maddox Maehara registered a 12-yard sack on second down and the Wildcats fumbled the ball but recovered it on third and 25.
 
Lewis & Clark would go four-and-out on their drive and Linfield would kill the final 4:19 of the clock to secure the win. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS 

• Baum is the first Lewis & Clark defensive player to score a touchdown since Makana LaBoy returned an interception for an 86-yard touchdown against the University of Puget Sound on October 23, 2021. 
• Wade posted four kickoff returns for 118 yards. He averaged 29.5 yards per return on the afternoon. 
• Sophomore kicker Trevor Koo moved into third all-time in program history for a single-season in made point after attempts. Koo is 38-39 on the season and just three behind Thien Hoang – who made 41 in 2023.
• Lahusky went over 1,500 career offensive yards (1,563) on Saturday. He is sitting on 954 career rushing yard and 609 receiving yards. 

WHO'S NEXT 
 
Lewis & Clark will honor their 17 seniors on Saturday when they host Pacific Lutheran University in their home finale. The Pioneers and Lutes will meet at Griswold Stadium at 1 p.m.