NEWBERG, Ore. -- George Fox football picked up its fifth win of the season with a 51-7 dismantling of the visiting Puget Sound Loggers at Stoffer Stadium. The Bruins scraped 455 yards of offense together with 335 through the air and four airstrikes for touchdowns against the Loggers.

How It Happened

The first quarter flew by and somehow felt like slow motion for both teams, ending with a 7-7 draw after the opening 15 minutes. Fox used an 80-yard pass to Dillan Dobbins for its opening score on their first play from scrimmage and then sputtered on its following drive. That possession ended with a blocked punt that gave the Loggers the ball at the Bruins' three for an easy score to tie the game. 

Fox did move the ball well on its last drive that bridged the first quarter into the start of the second, going 71 yards on seven plays for its second score and a lead it would never surrender. The Bruins started the second quarter with the ball on the nine yard line of Puget Sound and punched it in with a six-yard leaping grab on the endline from Leon Johnson III.

Johnson III made more magic soon afterward. The Bruins' defense forced a punt near midfield on the Loggers' next drive, and Johnson III came unguarded off the left edge for his fourth career blocked kick. Kiegan Schaan scooped up the ball at the Loggers' 34-yard line and took it the rest of the way for six. Ethan Hoffman hit his third PAT of the game for a 21-7 lead.

Fox forced another punt on the following Loggers' possession and Justin Montijo fielded it at his own 20-yard line, slashing through a crowd before finding daylight up the left sideline for his second career return score. Johnson III was in on the play as well, making the final block to open up daylight on the Loggers' 10-yard line.

Now ahead comfortably with a 28-7 lead, Fox was content to sit back and play bend-don't-break defense on the Loggers' last possession of the half. UPS marched the ball to the Bruins' six-yard line, but a goal line stand with key pass breakups held up and UPS turned it over on downs after coming up empty on its fourth-down pass attempt. The Bruins killed the clock with 27 rushing yards on three plays to take a 28-7 lead into their locker room at halftime.

Fox got the opening kick of the third quarter and used two Haiden Schaan completions to Johnson III for another Bruin touchdown and a 34-7 lead. The PAT try was no good, but Fox forced another three-and-out on the following drive to kill another UPS possession.

The Bruins' defense forced another turnover, this time via fumble, after K. Schaan made a crushing tackle on a Logger receiver at midfield and Kobe Andrews pounced on it. Fox gave it right back, however, after a would-be touchdown pass to Josh Hauenstein took an unlucky bounce and fell into the arms of an opportunistic Logger. Fox snuffed that possession too with back-to-back sacks from Kobe Andrews and Silas Kincaid, and two more completions from H. Schaan to Tom McMillan and Gabe Johnson made it 41-7 with a 74-yard drive in two plays.

Fox began to pull its starters and get developmental time for its roster in the fourth and the Bruins' backups continued to deliver as well. Max Richey marched the Bruins to the Loggers' 24 before Hoffman connected on a 36-yard field goal, and on his next drive Richey took advantage of a short field for another Fox touchdown and the final score of the afternoon. Two passes to Cobey Aldrich from Richey moved the Bruins to the Loggers' 14-yard line, and then Richey took in himself on a designed keeper for the 51-7 final.

Top Performances

Johnson III kept his 100-yard game streak alive with a team-high 108 receiving yards and a score, G. Johnson and Dobbins each had at least 61 yards receiving, and the Bruin backfield combined to gain 120 yards with one score on the ground.

As a unit, the defense made life miserable for the Loggers all day. The Loggers' all-conference lead back, Silas Washington, was held to 42 yards and an average of 2.8 per touch, while the Loggers' QBs were under siege all day. UPS allowed five sacks, 12 QB hurries, and eight tackles for loss on the day. Nash Wylie led the way with eight tackles, half a sack, and three QB hurries while Chris McCoy was close behind with seven tackles and three pass breakups, including two in the endzone.

Coach's Thoughts

Soon to come.

What It Means

Fox improves to 5-1 on the year with a 2-1 Northwest Conference record while the Loggers fall to 0-5 on the year, 0-3 in conference, and 1-14 since the COVID pandemic disrupted the fall season of 2020.

What Happens Next

Fox will travel to face rival Pacific (Ore.) on Saturday, Oct. 22, in Forest Grove with a 1:00 pm kickoff in Hanson Stadium. Both teams are tied for third in the conference with 2-1 records, so the stakes are high against an opponent that traditionally plays the Bruins close.