NEWBERG, Ore.—Senior backup quarterback Trey Morris led Lewis & Clark College football back from a 28-10 deficit to force overtime and Thien Hoang, Daryl Scott and Elijah McGee all made huge plays in the extra sessions to lead the Pioneers to their first win over George Fox University in over 75 years.
THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 37, George Fox 31 (2 OT)
(Lewis & Clark 2-2, Northwest Conference 1-0)
(George Fox 1-3, NWC 0-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Pioneers scored 18 points in the final 9:54 of regulation to force overtime and Morris connected with Elijah McGee for a 25-yard touchdown catch on the second play of Lewis & Clark's second possession to cap off the historic comeback. The win marked the Pioneers first over the Bruins since they restarted their program in 2014 (0-8 previously).
"I'm really proud of our players and coaches tonight," head coach Joe Bushman said. "Tremendous win for the program to beat a team we had never beaten before. Kids showed a lot of heart coming back in the 4th quarter behind by 18. Big plays at the end by Thien making the FG to tie in regulation, Daryl's interception in OT, and Elijah breaking 3 tackles to seal the deal."
Morris enjoyed the best game of his collegiate career. The senior went 17-21 for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns after coming on to begin the fourth quarter. He led Lewis & Clark to three touchdowns and two field goals in his five drives after taking the field.
Scott led a Pioneers defense that came up huge in the final quarter and overtime. After giving up 14 points apiece in the second and third quarters, Lewis & Clark forced back-to-back 3-and-outs and then a punt on the final possession of regulation. In overtime, the Bruins failed to score after having first and goal and Scott came up with a pick in the end zone on second and five on the second possession. Scott finished the game with a team-high nine tackles, five solo tackles and the Pioneers lone forced turnover of the day.
Elijah McGee was another hero on offense. McGee led the team with four catches for a team-high 74 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns. Fellow senior Devon Guest added eight catches for 71 yards and a score. Seniors Ben Burnham added four catches for 66 yards and junior Desmon Holton made his return from an injury last season to make five catches for 36 yards.
Senior running back Elijah Washington carried the ball 17 times for 85 yards. He tacked on six more catches for 35 yards to finish with 120 yards for the night.
Hoang had another big game for the Pioneers on special teams. The freshman kicker went 3-3 on a trio of clutch field goals. He hit a 41-yard field goal just before halftime to cut the deficit to 14-10. Hoang drilled a 39-yard field goal with no time left in regulation to tie the game and hit a 26-yard field goal in the first overtime to give Lewis & Clark it's first lead of the day.
Saturday's conference opener got off to a slow offensive start with neither time scoring in the opening stanza. After the host Bruins took the lead on a 64-yard touchdown pass early in the second, Lewis & Clark scored two possessions later to tie the score.
Senior quarterback Cruz Montana capped off a five-play, 71-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to freshman Aidan Owens. The touchdown marked the 50th TD of Montana's career and the first catch and touchdown for Owens.
The Bruins scored a touchdown on their next drive, but Lewis & Clark drove 55 yards in 2:40 before halftime to setup Hoang for a 41-yard field goal.
George Fox would dominate the third quarter. The Bruins scored touchdowns on both of their drives and limited Lewis & Clark to two drives for 44 plays which ended on a fumble and a turnover on downs.
The Pioneers defense began to change the momentum. George Fox went three-and-out on their opening drive thanks to a quarterback hurry from Jeremiah Bernal and a pass breakup from Thomas Reagan on a 3rd and 5 play.
Morris came in and sparked the offense on the Pioneers drive. He went 5-5 for 58 yards on the Lewis & Clark touchdown drive, with Guest grabbing a five-yard touchdown catch to cut the deficit to 28-17 with 9:45 to play.
After a second Bruins three-and-out, Morris led the Pioneers on an 11-play, 84-yard touchdown drive. This time Morris connected with McGee for a 16-yard catch to make it 28-23. Lewis & Clark converted on their 2-point attempt to pull within three with 4:10 to play.
George Fox's next possession nearly ended the game. After the Pioneers forced what should have been a third-consecutive three-and-out, the visitors were called for running into the kicker giving the hosts a new set of downs. Lewis & Clark forced another punt and McGee returned it into Bruins territory only for a holding call to push the Pioneers back to their own 30 with 1:05 left.
McGee connected with Holton for a seven-yard pass and then Guest for back-to-back first downs to put the Pioneers on the George Fox 35-yard line with 28 seconds left. After a George Fox penalty and a three-yard catch from Guest, the Pioneers were forced to kick a field goal. Hoang missed his first attempt from 44-yards out but the Bruins were whistled for offside. The freshman connected from 39-yards to tie the game.
Lewis & Clark started the first overtime with the ball. Morris connected with Burnham for a seven-yard catch on third down to get a new set of downs, but the Pioneers stalled out at the nine-yard line. Hoang stepped up and connected from 26 yards to make it 31-28.
The hosts had first and goal from the nine but quarterback Max Richey couldn't connect on third down and George Fox was forced to kick a field goal of their own.
The Bruins again had first and goal on their second drive but after a key stop from Logan Wacker on first down, Scott came through with his first collegiate interception, in the end zone, to end the George Fox drive.
Morris and McGee needed two plays to win it. After a rush for no gain on first down, Morris found McGee on a short pass to the right flat and McGee broke multiple tackles on his way into the end zone.
BY THE NUMBERS
- The victory marked Lewis & Clark's second-ever win over George Fox and first since 1946 (51-0). Since George Fox restarted their program in 2014, the Bruins had been 8-0 and had won every matchup by at least 14 points.
- Morris' single-game stats (17-21, 3 touchdowns, 185 yards) are all more than his previous career-best marks for a single-season. His previous single-game career-highs were nine completions, one touchdown pass and 94 passing yards (also against GFU).
- Lewis & Clark opened NWC play with a victory in their season opener for the first time since 2019. That season, the Pioneers went on the road and defeated Pacific Lutheran University 28-14.
- Sophomore Andrew Baum and Wacker tied for second on the team with seven tackles apiece. Nando Magallanes added a tackle for loss and Danny Orani III forced a fumble. Reagan posted a team-high three pass breakups.
- Montana finished 24-32 with 158 yards, one touchdown and one interception.
- Hoang finished the game with a career-high 11 points and three-made field goals. He is now 7-8 on the season on field goals and 13-13 on PATs.
WHO'S NEXT
The Pioneers will host #7/8 Linfield University on Saturday at 1 p.m. in their NWC home opener.