TACOMA, Wash. — Puget Sound overcame an early deficit to pass by Pacific in the 2015 season finale for both teams on a wet and muddy track at Baker Stadium.
Logger quarterback Hans Fortune threw five touchdown passes to help lead his team to a third-place finish in the Northwest Conference final standings. UPS finished 5-2 in league, 6-3 overall. The Boxers claimed fourth place, wrapping up the campaign with a 4-3 record in the NWC and 6-4 overall.
Despite the loss, it was a record setting day for the Boxers on a number of individual fronts. Before the first half was over, tailback Bronson Barretto had established new Pacific single-season records in touchdowns scored (15), rushing touchdowns (13), points scored in a season (92), kick-off returns (31), kick-off return yardage (784) and all-purpose yardage (1,747).
Ditto for Nathan Suyematsu, who finished with school marks in single-season catches (73) and yardage (1,098). Senior quarterback Warner Shaw also set a new school record for touchdown passes in a season with 23.
All those records were broken in the first half, which is also when most Pacific's good news and production took place.
The Boxers jumped out to a 14-0 first quarter lead, after only six minutes had ticked off the clock. The Boxers took the opening kick-off and then marched 74 yards in nine plays with Barretto diving in the end zone from one yard out. On the ensuing kick-off, the Loggers fumbled the ball back to Pacific creating a short field and four plays later, Barretto found pay dirt again from three yards out.
But the tide turned shortly after that and only briefly returned to Pacific's side. Puget Sound scored with four minutes left in the first quarter on a Fortune to Brennan Schon pass of 57 yards, and then early in the second quarter, Fortune found Peter Bell for a 14-yard score to tie the contest at 14-14.
The Boxers would regain the lead with just over five minutes left before the end of the half on a Shaw pass to Suyematsu that covered 32 yards, but less than a minute later Fortune found Schon again, this time for 67 yards. That gave UPS a 21-20 lead and they would never trail again.
In all, it would be a 24-0 run for the Loggers on their way to the 38-20 final, as the home team coped with the wet, cold and muddy conditions much better than their visitors.
Fortune connected on 27 of 40 passes for 410 yards on a day where the rain never stopped falling and the field conditions worsened as the day went on. Shon caught six of those passes for a staggering 253 yards and two scores, averaging 42 yards a catch--most of those yards coming on runs after the catch. Bell caught 13 balls for 74 yards and two six-pointers.
The Boxers, who had 131 yards rushing in the first half, had just 14 on the ground after intermission. They finished with 358 yards of total offense, but no points in the second half.
Barretto finished with 73 yards rushing and 184 all-purpose yards. Kamana Pimentel had 68 yards on the ground in his final game. Suyematsu had nine catches for 110 yards and fellow senior James Berry had eight grabs for 54 yards.
Shaw hit on 22 of 41 passes for 213 yards and one touchdown, but was intercepted twice and sacked three times.
It was the final college game for 20 Boxer seniors.
"This is a terrific class that deserved to finish their careers with a win, so I am very disappointed for them," said head coach Keith Buckley. "They helped bridge the gap from a start-up program to a winning program during their time here."
Despite the loss, this was the third consecutive season that the Boxers finished with a winning record, the first time that has happened since the late 1940's and early 1950's.