NEWBERG, Ore. --- The stage is now set for a first-place showdown in the Northwest Conference on Halloween eve. The George Fox Bruins rushed for a season-high 203 yards and held the high-scoring Pacific Boxers to just a pair of touchdowns in a 21-14 victory at Stoffer Family Stadium Saturday. With the win, the Bruins are now on a collision course with Linfield, with both teams 4-0 in conference play heading into their Oct. 30 game in McMinnville.

How It Happened

Trailing 21-7 in the fourth quarter, the Boxers drove for a score and forced a George Fox punt, getting the ball back down seven with 2:07 to play and two time outs remaining. But, forced into 4th and 16 after a tackle behind the line and a holding penalty, Kenyon Harris' pass to Kyle Kern ended up a yard short of the line to gain and the Bruins ran out the clock on their fourth consecutive NWC win.

"Just a huge win for our team," said Bruins head coach Chris Casey. "I've been doing this 40 years and this was one of the top victories in my career. That's how important this victory was today."

The Bruins were 7 of 12 on third downs in the game and utilized big plays on all three of their offensive touchdown drives, while limiting Pacific's big-play potential. George Fox had four plays of 30 yards or more on offense--all on drives that finished in the end zone--while Pacific had just one play in excess of 20 yards.

Leading 14-7 at half, George Fox forced Boxer turnovers on the first two drives of the second half. Kenyon Harris threw deep down the right sideline looking for Jaden Ramos. Bruin cornerback Chris McCoy made an acrobatic play on the sideline, tipping the ball away from the intended receiver back toward the field into the hands of Justin Montijo, who returned it 27 yards to the Bruin 31. 

"I just saw them do a double move so I was running with it," said McCoy. "I realized I'm out of bounds if I try and catch it so I just hit it in. I figured someone would be there just because in practice there would be a free safety on top and no other receiving threat, so I just tipped it in and he made the play."

George Fox drove to the Boxer 37, where on 2nd-and-9, quarterback Haiden Schaan took the snap, rolled right and threw a screen pass back to the left to Ethan Kassebaum, who raced untouched all the way into the end zone to put the Bruins up 21-7.

"We've been repping that all week," said Schaan. "Coach Ingram did a great job with timing on the call. They just weren't expecting it. Something we hadn't shown before. We did a great job executing that."

On the Boxers' next possession, a long drive carried into the fourth quarter. Pacific kept the drive alive with a fake punt on 4th and 3, with up-man Kash Taylor taking the snap and running 14 yards to the Bruin 40. Later in the drive on 1st and 10 from the George Fox 12-yard line, Cameron Bennett busted into the backfield to sack Harris for a six-yard loss. On the next play, Harris kept the ball on an option run to the left, but Lucas Schwin poked the ball free from the Boxer quarterback and Jaron Marks recovered at the 11. 

"There were two turnovers in the second half that we caused," said Casey. "A lot of times that's just flat hustle and effort, besides guys doing things that are just super from a standpoint of technique and assignment." 

The Boxers got within a touchdown following a 14-play drive that took up nearly five and half minutes of clock. Joshua Harris punched it in from a yard out on fourth down--the Boxers' fourth consecutive fourth down conversion in the half--pulling Pacific to within 21-14. The senior All-NWC running back finished the game with 135 yards on 26 carries

After George Fox was unable to move the chains, the Boxers got the ball back with plenty of time on the clock to try and mount a tying drive. But on 2nd and 4, Joe James tackled Kerns for a two yard loss. A holding penalty forced the Boxers into 3rd and 16 and, following an incompletion, Harris connected with his favorite receiver Kerns near the first down marker, his 11th reception of the game. McCoy wrapped up and wouldn't let go until Josh Poppleton arrived to finish the tackle, bringing down the 6-5, 200 pound All-NWC wideout a yard shy of extending the game.

"[Defensive coordinator John] Bates said 'No plays deep,'" said McCoy. "So we didn't want anything on top of us. I just kind of sat on the sticks and just came up right when they threw it." 

The Boxers finished with 182 yards on the ground, but were limited to 117 yards passing on 17 of 26, an average of just 4.5 yards per pass attempt. Harris threw an interception for only the second time this season.

A handful of gash plays in the first two quarters led to the Bruins' best half of the season running the football.

Kassebaum went around left end for an 18-yard run down the left sideline on the opening drive of the game. On 3rd and 3, Schaan struck deep to Leon Johnson III, who made a diving catch for a 34-yard gain to the Boxer seven, setting up Schaan's four yard touchdown run two plays later and a 7-0 lead.

"That was huge," said head coach Chris Casey. "That was a huge start to the game and set the tone for us in the first half."

After both teams went three-and-out on their next possessions, Pacific marched 62 yards in nine plays with senior running back Joshua Harris running the ball on the final six, capped by a 2-yard plunge into the end zone.

The Bruins took a 14-7 lead on Josiah Schmidt's 36-yard touchdown run with 4:46 to go in the half. Earlier in the drive, Schaan broke loose for a 34-yard run. The Bruins rushed for 159 yards in the first half and had 10 first downs, holding the Boxers to just 100 yards total and seven first downs.  

Top Performers

Three different Bruins rushed for 50 yards or more. Kassebaum led the way with 77 yards on 18 carries to go with his 37-yard TD reception. Schaan rushed for a career-high 63 yards and a score and was 10 for 14 through the air for 144 yards and another TD. Schmidt rushed for a season-high 51 yards and a touchdown on just six carries, while adding two receptions for 12. Adam Hawker caught four passes for 45 yards and Johnson III added 50 yards on two grabs. 

Josh Poppleton's ten tackles led the Bruin defense. Kross Knoll had nine tackles with five solo stops and McCoy added five solo tackles, a tipped pass breakup for an interception, and combined with Poppleton on the biggest stop of the game on Pacific's final offensive play. In addition to Schwin's forced fumble, the senior corner had a pass breakup, giving him 11 passes defensed on the season which ranks second in the NWC.

Coach's Thoughts

"That's a heck of a football team," said Casey of the Boxers. "We know that. They were averaging 40 points a game going into the Linfield game last week, so we had to do it in all the phases. We ran the ball today. We were very physical. We took care of the football with no turnovers and one penalty on offense. Special teams was stellar as always. Ball control was much better this game than the last couple of games. Defense made plays all over the field." 

What It Means

The Bruins are 4-0 in the NWC for the first time in their history and are a game away from matching their longest NWC winning streak, which included the final two games of 2016 and first three conference matchups of the 2017 season.

Up Next

Undefeated Linfield also improved to 4-0 in conference with a 52-7 victory over Pacific Lutheran on Saturday. The Bruins travel to McMinnville next Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in pursuit of their first win over the Wildcats since football returned to the university in 2013.