FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Willamette's fly offense proved very efficient against Pacific Saturday as the Bearcats compiled 579 yards in a 69-7 victory over the Boxers in Northwest Conference football action at Lincoln Park Stadium.
The Bearcats (3-2, 1-1 NWC) scored six touchdowns in the first half to secure the rout and did most of their damage on the ground, running for 357 yards and six scores. Willamette also went 8 of 13 on third-down conversions, including a number that came on big passing plays in the opening half.
Pacific (0-4, 0-3 NWC) finished with 171 yards of total offense, including 111 yards on the ground. The Willamette defense, however, limited the Boxers to just 26 yards in the first half and a total of eight first downs for the contest.
Davis Jacobs (Fr., Tigard, Ore.) led Pacific with a net of 45 yards on the ground, which included a long run for 48 yards in the third quarter. Drew Steindl (Jr., Newberg, Ore.) had 40 yards receiving while Kelson Kawai (Fr., North Kohala, Hawaii) netted 87 yards on six kick returns. P.J. Minaya (Fr., Wahiawa, Hawaii) led four Pacific quarterbacks to play in the game, going 3 for 6 for 50 yards and a touchdown.
Terrell Malley led Willamette in total offense, rushing for 78 yards and two touchdowns. He was one of 24 Willamette players credited with rushing yardage. Scott Schoettgen finished with 76 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Kevin Ramay led five Willamette quarterbacks in the game, completing 5 of 7 passes for 98 yards while starter Brian Widing threw for 67 yards and two touchdowns.
A Pacific three-and-out led to the first Willamette touchdown of the game, with Widing's 5-yard pass to Schoettgen putting Willamette up 7-0 at the 8:52 mark of the first quarter. The Boxers turned the ball over on downs on their next series and Malley needed just one play to go 49 yards to give the Bearcats a 14-0 lead.
Mikey Lemon scored the first of four Willamette touchdowns in the second quarter, taking a 9-yard pass from Widing into the end zone with 27 seconds gone in the stanza. Malley scored his second touchdown on the Bearcats' next drive, running for 12 yards and a 28-0 lead at the 11:15 mark. The Willamette defense then got involved when Cody Pastorino blocked a Pacific punt deep in Boxers' territory. Brent Turner recovered the ball in the end zone to make it a 35-0 lead.
Willamette added the fourth touchdown with 23 seconds left in the half when Ramay found Schoettgen for a 23-yard reception to put the Bearcats ahead 42-0.
The Willamette defense came up big again early in the second half when Lemar Griffin recovered a fumbled punt return to set the Bearcats' up on the Pacific 15-yard-line. Marcus Woo hit pay dirt five plays later on a 2-yard run for a 49-0 lead. The Boxers used Jacobs' long 48-yard run to drive deep into Willamette territory, but turned the ball over on a fumble at the Willamette 17-yard line. The Bearcats converted that into an 11-play, 87-yard drive, culminating on a 3-yard run by Woo for the 56-0 edge.
Willamette led 62-0 before Pacific finally scored. A Willamette penalty and a 40-yard passing play to Steindl set up Minaya to find Will Marchbanks (Fr., Brownsville, Ore.) for a 5-yard pass to the corner of the end zone, scoring Pacific's first touchdown since Sept. 18. Joseph Harman closed scoring with 4:09 to go, earning the touchdown with his eight-yard run.
Bryan Mills (Imbler, Ore.) and Josh Beck (Jr., Prosser, Wash.) led Pacific defensively with four tackles each. Mills had one of two Pacific sacks in the game while Beck led the Boxers with 1.5 tackles for loss. Walter Robinson's four tackles led the Bearcats, which included 2.5 tackles for loss.
Pacific renews their rivalry with Linfield next week, traveling to McMinnville to face the Wildcats on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Willamette returns home to face Puget Sound.