NEWBERG, Ore. --- For the second consecutive week, the George Fox Bruins got a huge lift from their special teams, which accounted for three touchdowns, a 41-yard field goal and a 70-yard punt in a 44-14 rout of Willamette at Stoffer Family Stadium Saturday.

How It Happened
The Bruins opened the game with an explosive play that was only the first of many fireworks bursts. Quarterback Haiden Schaan launched a 49 yard bomb down the field to Leon Johnson III, setting up the Bruins at the Willamette 26. Five plays later, Schaan connected with Adam Hawker on an 11-yard TD pass.

The George Fox defense and special teams took over for the remainder of the half. After holding Willamette to three plays and out on the Bearcats' first possession, Justin Montijo returned the ensuing punt 61 yards for a score to put the Bruins up 14-0.

"It all comes down to the blocking," said Montijo. "Props to the other ten guys on the field because they block their butts off each and every week. Honestly, anyone could have made that play. I just happened to be the one there that was able to catch the ball."
 
Another three-and-out hold had the Bearcats punting from inside their own eight. Starting near midfield, the Bruins again opened with a long pass from Schaan to Johnson III, the 6-5 soph hauling in a 40-yard strike at the Willamette 15. Three plays later, backup quarterback Austin Davis came in to sneak the ball across the goal line on a first-and-goal snap from the one, giving George Fox a 20-0 lead.

"We really wanted to get Haiden off on a good note this week," said head coach Chris Casey. "We got good protection, guys ran good routes, he had good timing and accuracy. I liked the way we through the ball today and Haiden was a big part of that." 

A Bruin fumble just before the end of the first quarter gave Willamette a short field. Schaan was sacked by Bearcat linebacker Dylan Hall, who forced the ball free and fell on it at the Bruin 12. Joseph Castillo scored on a one-yard run with just seven seconds left in the period, making it 20-7 George Fox.

Willamette finally got some offensive momentum going in the second period, only to see a pair of drives stall. Punting from the Willamette 34 yard line, punter Sam Adams coughed up a low snap at the 12. Bruin sophomore safety Kiegan Schaan scooped up the loose ball in a crowd and dragged tacklers into the end zone to give the Bruins a 27-7 lead. 

Leading 30-7 after a Jason Santoni 41-yard field goal, the Bruins D forced another Willamette three-and-out drive and Montijo was off to the races again. Fielding the punt at the 19-yard line, Montijo got loose on the right sideline and rambled deep into the Bearcats' end where, about to be corralled, he lateraled the ball to teammate Lucas Schwin at the 11-yard line and Schwin took it the rest of the way as the clock hit 0:00 with George Fox in command 37-7 at half.

"Lucas Schwin is one of my best friends," said Montijo of his wing-man. "We have a great connection with each other and he was working his butt off to get all the way across to try to make a block for me and we just made that eye contact and it just happened. It was a surreal moment I always will remember because he is a great friend of mine and it was great to get him the ball and have him score. It was amazing."

"This is my fortieth year and I don't think I can recall a game where we've scored three touchdowns [on special teams]," remarked Casey. "For sure not three touchdowns in a half. It was excellent blocking and a good decision by Justin Montijo to lateral. Just instinctual. Today they were special."

Ethan Kassebaum capped the Bruin scoring with a 5-yard TD run to finish off a 10-play, 58-yard drive to open the second half. Leading 44-7 with 7:03 to go in the third quarter, the only remaining drama came when someone in a referee uniform took to the field between the 3rd and 4th quarter and stripped down to pink tights before being chased off the field by a couple Bruin players. 

The Bruins limited Willamette to 199 total yards and 11 first downs, holding the Bearcats to 3 of 16 on third down. The visitors had -13 yards rushing at halftime. George Fox finished with 283 yards of offense and 16 first downs, their offensive numbers limited by three lost fumbles.

Top Performers
It was a dominant special teams performance for the second consecutive week. Montjo finished with 131 yards on three punt returns and added an interception and three passes defensed from his free safety position.

"Our [special teams] coach, Coach Sanders, really gives it his all," said Montijo. "He really loves special teams and he knows we can make big plays out there. Our blockers do an amazing job each and every week. If we just come out and stick to the game plan like Coach Sanders says and we ended up with plays like we did."

Meanwhile, the Bruin cover teams limited Willamette to just 21 yards on its three punt returns. Punter Jason Santoni connected on his third field goal of 40-plus this season, averaged 56 yards on his three punts with a career-best 70-yarder in the second half and also had a tackle on a Willamette kick return. The fifth-year senior has found himself on the radar of the National Football League, with both the San Diego Chargers and Pittsburgh Steelers expressing interest in a player who watched very little football as a youth and played soccer in high school.

"The funny thing is, I didn't actually punt in high school," said Santoni. "I did a little bit as a backup punter, but I didn't really like it. I came to Fox not wanting to punt and then it just clicked."

Coach Casey pointed out that Santoni is more than just a punter. He is actually one of the better athletes and faster players on the team.

"I love tackling," said Santoni. "I love getting in there and getting a little piece of my action, too."

Johnson III had 112 yards on three receptions. Haiden Schaan was victimized by three fumbles, but was able to complete 12 of his 16 passes for 201 yards and a score. Joe James was a standout on defense with two sacks, three tackles for loss and a team-high nine total tackles.

Coach's Thoughts
"The total game was one of the strangest games in my 40 years of coaching," said Casey. "It was crazy. Three special teams touchdowns. You never feel like you're out of the woods even with a big lead. This guy coming out on the field. All around a wild deal. 

"I'm happy for our guys. You get confidence when you win and our guys played and prepared really hard. Again, it was a total team victory. We've just got to clean up some stuff, but I like where we're headed and I like what we're doing."

What It Means
The Bruins have now won two consecutive Northwest Conference games after two competitive losses to ranked teams from the Southern California Interscholastic Athletic Conference to open the season.

Up Next
George Fox travels to Puget Sound next Saturday before returning to Stoffer Family Stadium to take on the Pacific Boxers in a Family Weekend matchup on Oct. 23. Both games kick off at 1 p.m.