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Pacific scored 28 unanswered points in the second half en route to a 41-13 win over host Willamette on Saturday in Salem.
The Boxers and Bearcats were tied at 13 at the halftime break before Pacific scored a touchdown on its first three drives of the second half. Senior Brandon Boyd (Gilroy, Calif) was responsible for two of the touchdowns as he ran 20 times tying a career-high with 184 yards. Boyd also had a receiving touchdown for the second three-touchdown game of his career. It is the fourth multi-touchdown game of the season for Boyd.
Pacific junior quarterback J.T. Greenough (Tigard, Ore.) had one of his best days as a Boxer, completing 20 of 24 passes for a career-best three touchdowns to three-different receivers and 276 yards. Ironically, Greenough's father Todde is a former Willamette quarterback and still holds a few marks in Bearcats annuals. His top targets were sophomore Kobe Williams (Las Vegas, Nev.), who had 10 receptions for 117 yards and Gavin Hettinger, who caught four passes for 52 yards and a touchdown.
Just as impressive as the offense, the Boxer defense held Willamette to 238 yards of total offense. The Bearcats converted just one of 11 third down opportunities. Joey Thurman was the top ground gainer for Willamette with 79 yards and quarterback Mathew Castaneda scored a pair of rushing touchdowns in the loss.
The win raises the Pacific record to 4-3 overall and 4-2 in the Northwest Conference, Willamette falls to 0-8 overall and 0-6 in conference play.
With the game tied at 13, on the Boxers first drive of the second half, Pacific went four plays and 46 yards for a go-ahead touchdown when Boyd ran over right tackle for his first touchdown of the day. The 46-yard drive was the shortest scoring drive on the day for Pacific. After a three and out by the Boxer defense, the fast-moving Boxer offense went four plays, 71 yards in 1:40 to extend its lead to 27-13 on a 16-yard touchdown run by freshman Ty Hargis (Lebanon, Ore.).
Another Boxer defense three and out set up a Boyd-intensive drive for the Boxers. Boyd accounted for 54 of the 65 yards including a 26-yard run for his third touchdown of the day. Earlier in his career, Boyd had three touchdowns in the Boxers' 55-0 win over Lewis & Clark, last year.
The final Pacific touchdown came when Greenough threw his third touchdown pass of the day. This time, his target was Preston Kime for his first touchdown reception in the Boxer Red and Black. The ground game behind Boyd, Austin Cardoza and Kash Taylor helped Pacific march down the field on the 7 play, 88-yard scoring drive. Senior kicker Alex Beekman added his fifth point-after attempt for the finishing touches on the win.
Next, Pacific will wrap up the season at home against Linfield at Ledbetter Field at Hanson Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. Prior to the game, Pacific will recognize its senior class.