PORTLAND, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College football senior Devon Guest scored three times and five others players found the end zone, as the Pioneers stormed past the University of Puget Sound 59-21 in both teams' 2024 season opener.
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 59, Puget Sound 21
(Lewis & Clark 1-0)
(Puget Sound 0-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
A year after Puget Sound stunned the Pioneers 42-38 in Tacoma, Lewis & Clark took the lead on a 65-yard punt return from Guest inside the opening two minutes and never looked back to improve to 2-1 all-time in the Northwest Scholar Series.
Lewis & Clark racked up 301 rushing yards and 570 total yards in their third-straight game scoring 59+ points. The Pioneers posted at least 14 points in all four quarters. The defense limited Puget Sound to two touchdowns and forced two huge turnovers in the red zone.
Guest made the most of his six touches. He opened the game with a 65-yard punt return for his first career return touchdown. He tacked on a team-high five catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Fellow senior Desmon Holton added three catches for 52 yards and Garrett Lee corralled a 56-yard reception.
Lewis & Clark dominated on the ground. Sophomore Chili Stephens made his first career start and posted a team-best line of 12 rushes for 111 yards and a touchdown. Junior college transfer Isaac Glover notched 10 rushes for 79 yards and one touchdown. Junior Anthony Hooker added five rushes for 54 yards and a score and senior quarterback JT Willis rushed in from 10 yards out on a QB scramble.
All three Pioneer quarterbacks who saw action enjoyed strong Opening Days. Senior Trey Morris got the start and went 7-10 for 86 yards and two touchdowns. Willis was the next quarterback to see time and he finished 7-9 for 139 yards and a rushing TD. First year Oa Kamakawiwoole went 5-6 for 44 yards and a late touchdown pass in his collegiate debut.
Graduate student Justin Hope led the Pioneers defense with three solo tackles, eight total stops, an interception and a QB hurry. Sophomore Solomon McDaniel added six tackles in his first collegiate start and Darryl Scott and Charlie Valencia pitched in five tackles apiece. Senior Ramsen Paz registered a forced fumble and a sack and Rylen Kahahawai picked up the fumble recovery. Junior Thomas Reagan led the team with two pass breakups and tacked on three tackles.
Sophomore kicker Thien Hoang followed up his record-setting first campaign with eight PATS and one field goal for the second-most points in a single-game of his career (11).
Lewis & Clark dominated the Loggers from start-to-finish as they never let their Northwest Conference foes get comfortable in the non-conference matchup.
After forcing a three-and-out on the opening possession, Guest watched a punt go over his head and picked it up on the bounce at the Pioneers 35, before weaving his way through traffic and then sprinting down the left sideline for a touchdown just 1:44 into the game.
The Loggers tried to respond and drove the ball down to Lewis & Clark's six-yard line. On first and goal, Henry Hernandez ran the ball up the middle but had the ball knocked out by Paz and Kahahawai jumped on to it.
Fourteen plays later Guest scored his second touchdown day on a nine-yard pass from Morris. Stephens was especially effective on the drive, as he rushed for 26 yards on five carries.
After the Loggers cut the deficit in half early in the second quarter (14-7 with 14:14 until halftime), the Pioneers responded with back-to-back touchdowns to go into the break leading 28-7.
Stephens capped off a four-play, 61-yard drive with a five-yard rushing touchdown to push the lead back to 21-17. Stephens and Jordan Lahusky combined for all 61-yards on the ground that drive, with Stephens breaking off a 41-yard drive on the first play.
The Loggers again worked their way down the field inside the red zone before another costly turnover. This time on 2nd and 11 from the 11, Hope came up with an interception at the five-yard line on a contested catch between him a Loggers receiver.
Eight plays later it was 28-7 as the Pioneers took advantage of some strong running from Glover and Lee's 56-yard catch. Willis capped off the drive with a 10-yard QB scramble where he evaded pressure in the pocket and took off to his left and found acres of space to run for the score.
Puget Sound's final possession of the half resulted in a third empty drive into the red zone. On second and 10 from the 11 with very little time on the clock, Paz brought down Puget Sound quarterback Mason Binning for a nine-yard sack to end the quarter.
Lewis & Clark dominated the second half outscoring Puget Sound 31-14.
Glover made it 35-7 with a five-yard rushing touchdown and Morris connected with Guest for an 11-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 35 (42-7).
Hooker scored his first collegiate touchdown to begin the fourth when he raced down the far sideline for a 24-yard rushing TD. The Pioneers added their lone field goal of the day with 7:07 to play when Hoang connected from 22-yards out.
Lewis & Clark closed out the score with 45 seconds left. Kamakawiwoole hit Aiden Wood across the middle and he scampered in for a 20-yard touchdown – the first collegiate score for both first years.
BY THE NUMBERS
- Guest came into his fourth season with the Pioneers with 12 career touchdowns and two career two-touchdown games. He matched his career-high for receiving touchdowns and added his first career return score on Saturday.
- The Pioneers rushing attack averaged 7.9 yards per carry (301 yards on 38 attempts). Lewis & Clark started the game with Ty Sheffler, Alex Litaea-Sniffen, Iggy Marquez, Nathan Lien and Max Atchison on the line but the team continued to have success as they cycled in younger linemen.
- Lewis & Clark improved to 2-1 on Opening Day under third-year head coach Joe Bushman. The Pioneers have now outscored the Loggers 138-78 in the first three Northwest Scholar Series games.
- Football's 59 points are tied for the 13th-most points scored in a single-game in program history. The Pioneers have recorded 125 points in their past two meetings with Puget Sound.
- Lahusky (21 yards), Andrew Beldi (16 yards) and Gio Borea (11 yards) all added to the Pioneers rushing totals.
WHO'S NEXT
Lewis & Clark will face off against another conference foe in a non-conference matchup. The Pioneers will travel to Forest Grove to play Pacific University in the Oregon Cup. Last season, Lewis & Clark defeated Willamette 38-7 in their first-ever Oregon Cup game.