NEWBERG --- Playing in front of a packed house on Homecoming night, the George Fox football team put a tally in the win column after a hard-fought 26-15 final result against the Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer.

Recap

The Bruin defense set the tone early and helped carry the day for George Fox with some key stops in the opening quarter. After a three-and-out series to start the game on offense, the Bruins' defense produced an 83-yard interception by Daniel Campos to the Sagehen 17 yard line. The Bruins' offense stalled again, however, and Pomona-Pitzer stopped the Bruins short on fourth down to prevent a score.

On the ensuing Sagehen possession the Bruins' defense came up with another stop and forced a punt after a three-and-out series. The Sagehen punter bobbled the snap in the endzone, however, and Leon Johnson III was able to corral the punter for a safety to break up a 0-0 tie with 3:32 left in the opening quarter.

After a fumble on their ensuing drive gave the ball back to the Sagehens, the Bruin defense stepped up again to force another punt. A 59-yard strike from Jaden Sheffey to Johnson helped set up a field goal by Jason Santoni to make it 5-0 with 8:03 left in the half.

Another stop on defense and a Sagehen punt gave the Bruins' offense a possession at their own 24 yard line, but a quick strike to Kenny May down the middle for 59 yards put the ball on the Pomona-Pitzer 27. Two plays later, the Bruins found the end zone with a 23-yard scramble by Sheffey for a 12-0 lead.

The Sagehens put together a final drive to close the half and got on the board with a touchdown toss with 15 seconds left in the opening half, but the Bruins kept their momentum out of the break.

The first four possessions of the second half burned seven minutes of game clock and all ended in punts, but Anthony Garcia broke things up by returning the fourth punt of the half for a score.

An electrifying, 87-yard dash to the endzone after fielding the ball on his own 13 yard line ended in a footrace at the opposite end for a 19-7 lead with five minutes to go in the third.

Both teams came up empty on their next possession, giving the Sagehens the ball to start the fourth on their own 14. A second-and-eight for Pomona-Pitzer turned into a pick-six for the Bruins after a great read by Justin Montijo turned into a 27-yard scamper to the endzone for the touchdown.

The Sagehens put together a final scoring drive with seven minutes left in the fourth, but the Bruins held strong after that. The final series of the game featured a handful of pass breakups by the Bruins secondary that iced the game on Homecoming night with a 26-15 final.

Top Performers

Sheffey finished with 159 yards of offense, passing for 139 yards and rushing for 20 more and a score. May and Johnson led the receiving corps with 120 yards between them, while Garcia tallied 36 yards as a tailback and the 87-yard sprint to the endzone on his punt return TD.

Defensively, the Bruins forced four turnovers, including three picks, and 20 pass breakups. Campos led the team with nine tackles, including one for a loss, and his 83-yard interception, while Montijo produced two picks and a pick-six in the secondary.

What It Means

The Bruins improve to 1-2 on the season to conclude non-conference play before turning their attention to Northwest Conference opponents.

What Happens Next

The Bruins can rest and reset for NWC play with an upcoming bye week before resuming play on Oct. 5 at Puget Sound with a 1:00 pm kickoff.