TACOMA, Wash. --- The George Fox Bruins took advantage of Puget Sound mistakes and cashed in on seven trips inside the Logger red zone to run their Northwest Conference record to 3-0 with a 49-28 victory at Baker Stadium Saturday.

How It Happened
George Fox got out to a 14-0 first quarter lead, then put the game out of reach with five consecutive scoring drives from the second to the third quarter to take a 44-14 advantage into the final period.

The Bruins' special teams wasted no time in having an impact on this day. Leon Johnson III tackled UPS punter Alex Everett for a 12-yard loss to hand George Fox the ball at the Logger 11-yard line on their first offensive possession. Two plays later, quarterback Haiden Schaan raced into the end zone from six yards out to give Fox the early advantage.

Later in the period, Bruin punter Jason Santoni placed a 44-yard kick out of bounds at the Logger two. Held without a first down for the third consecutive drive, Everett had to punt from his own end zone. The nation's leading punt returner coming into the game, Justin Montijo returned it 15 yards to the Logger 22, setting up another short field for the Bruin offense. It took just three plays to get on the board again as Schaan connected with Elias Polanski for a nine-yard touchdown pass and a 14-0 lead. 

UPS responded with an epic 19-play scoring drive that carried into the second quarter, eating up nearly nine minutes of clock before quarterback Mason Rutledge found Liam Smith on a 3-yard TD toss to cut the lead in half. A Logger defensive hold and a rare shanked punt by Santoni had UPS in business with a chance to turn momentum, but a turnover on downs near midfield once again set the Bruins up with wonderful field position and they proceeded to run away with the game. Ethan Kassebaum's five-yard TD run capped a five-play scoring drive and was the first of 23 uncontested points for George Fox.

The Loggers had two 19-play touchdown drives and put the ball in the air 58 times in the game, compared to just 17 pass attempts by Schaan. The Bruins averaged nearly 10 yards per attempt, holding the Loggers under five yards per pass attempt. UPS had a decisive edge in first downs (26-17) and possessed the ball for nearly 11 more minutes, but the Bruin defense kept the lead secure by not surrendering big plays and even added a safety in the fourth quarter.

"They are a prolific passing offense and have been for the last several years," said Bruins head coach Chris Casey. "We allowed no deep routes, which means our defensive backs had good eyes and good discipline throughout the entire game. We also put good pressure on the QB throughout the game as shown by our three sacks." 

On offense, the Bruins made the most of their field position advantage throughout the game and finally erased the turnover problems that had plagued them early in the season, while turning two Logger fumbles into scores in the second quarter to improve their season record to 3-2. 

"We had a goal for this game of no turnovers and no sacks and we accomplished that goal," said Casey. "It is one thing to cause fumbles but another to recover them, which is something we work very hard at in our practice drills." 

Top Performers
Schaan passed for two touchdowns and rushed for 52 yards and another score. Faufano Autele led the Bruins with 60 rushing yards and a pair of TD's. Dillan Dobbins had two receptions for 73, including a 25-yard yard touchdown. Josh Poppleton and Justin Montijo led the Bruins with seven tackles and Lucas Schwin had five pass breakups to go with his four stops. 

Coach's Thoughts
"We left this field two years ago with a tough overtime loss, so this was a very good win by our team against an opponent that is much better than their record shows. They are an extremely difficult team to defend, they always play very hard, and they really play well at home. 

"Our players met every challenge today and overcame every obstacle ... outside of too many penalties our staff is very pleased with our team's toughness, effort, and that we got a lead early and maintained that lead throughout the game." 

What It Means
George Fox has won three consecutive Northwest Conference games and is tied with the Linfield Wildcats for first place following Linfield's 52-23 victory over Pacific.

Up Next
The Bruins and Boxers are set to meet in a Family Weekend showdown at Stoffer Family Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 23 at 1 p.m.