Box Score SALEM, Ore.-- After their first loss of the season the previous week, the George Fox football team bounced back, beating down the Willamette Bearcats, 27-10.

How It Happened
Fox traded turnovers early with the Bearcats before settling into their offensive rhythm in the first half. Bruin QB Haiden Schaan found success through the air. The senior threw for 217 yards and a touchdown with an incredibly efficient 87 percent completion percentage in the first half. 

The Bruin defense was equally efficient, holding the Bearcats to just 94 yards and four first downs in the half. Matthew Phillips added a crucial interception in the first quarter: following a fumbled handoff by Bruins, the Bearcats had the ball on the George Fox 49, when Bearcats quarterback Aiden Kuykendall missed his target high, Phillips pounced on the ball, leading to a Bruin score from Taylor Saben.

The one-yard run from Saben was followed later by a 24-yard touchdown pass from Schaan to Josh Hauenstein to go up 17-0. Going into the halftime break, the Bruins headed to the locker room with all the momentum.

The Bruins offense kept active in the second half, responding to a field goal by the Bearcats with a Leon Johnson III touchdown reception. A second field goal by Ethan Hoffman put the Bruins up 27-3. The Bearcats added a garbage-time touchdown to make the final score 27-10, the first Northwest Conference win of the season for the Bruins.

Coach's Thoughts
"We are very proud of the attitude and effort of our players in today's game against a continually improved Willamette program," Bruin head coach Chris Casey said, "The coordinators and assistant coaches prepared an excellent game plan and our players executed it well - especially being active with our defensive line and linebackers on defense and creating turnovers, being balanced on offense with our run and pass calls and reads, and on special teams, our blocking and how well we both and punted. Great job overall by our team and we want to keep becoming more consistent."

Top Performances
Leon Johnson III continued his senior season success, with seven catches for 125 yards, including a 34-yard catch and run. Haiden Schaan threw an efficient 297 yards on 20-26 attempts. On the defensive side, linebacker Nash Willie picked off Kuykendall in the fourth quarter, the second Bruins takeaway of the day.

What It Means
The Bruins have now won seven games in a row against the Bearcats and picked up their first conference win while improving to 4-1 (1-1 NWC). The Bearcats drop to 2-2 (0-2 NWC).

What Comes Next
The Bruins return to Stoffer Stadium next week as they play the University of the Puget Sound at 1:30 p.m.