REDLANDS, Calif. -- The George Fox football team opened its 2022 campaign at the University of Redlands Bulldogs' home field and won the game in all three phases to claim its third win of the series.
How It Happened
Both teams had their share of miscues and showed some rust in the first half, but by the final snap the Bruins' veteran leaders put their stamp on a winning effort for Fox in a 38-31 victory.
"We have really good leadership on the team and you see that from the starters and the reserves that perform at a high level, whether they start or not," coach Chris Casey said. "That showed tonight in a game where things went wrong at different points, but [our veteran guys] got us refocused and allowed us to perform at a high level."
Redlands kicked off to start and forced a punt on the Bruins' first drive of the game before marching 70 yards in just under 90 seconds for a 7-0 lead. After the Bruins turned the ball over on their second drive, Redlands turned that takeaway into seven more points for a 14-0 lead after getting the short field look.
The Bruins found their rhythm on their fourth drive of the game and Haiden Schaan marched the team 75 yards in three minutes for a score, connecting twice with Dillan Dobbins for 55 of those yards before taking it in himself with 16-yard scramble to make it 14-7.
Fox forced another Bulldog punt on the next drive and drove 76 yards to tie the game at 14-14. Schaan made good use of his legs to escape the pocket and rushed for 45 yards on the drive before lofting a pass in the back of the endzone to second-year tight end Thomas McMillan for the tying score.
Fox forced another Redlands punt on the next drive and for a moment it looked like all the momentum was on the Bruins' side, but a muffed return gave the Bulldogs a short field and led to a 21-14 ball game at the half. Chris McCoy was able to intercept a late scoring attempt in the closing minute of the half to keep the score at 21-14.
On the opening possession of the second half, the Bruins snuffed a 51-yard drive and forced a fumbled that Keigan Schaan returned 55 yards to set up a 30-yard scoring strike from H. Schaan to Leon Johnson III as the senior wideout found himself completely open up the left side after a busted 'Dogs coverage.
Cooper Rogien made a key sack on the following drive to force a three-and-out, and the Bruins immediately scored with a 60-yard touchdown strike following that punt. H. Schaan stood in the pocket and absorbed a solid hit to give Johnson III time to get open up the right sideline. Johnson took that ball in for the score after out-jumping the 'Dogs corner at the Redlands 20 yard line for the first and only play of the drive and gave Fox the lead for the first time in the game with a 28-21 advantage.
The Bulldogs answered on their next drive with a field goal after the Bruins' defense held solid at their five-yard line to cut the lead to 28-24.
After the Bruin defense snuffed another Redlands drive – again with a timely Rogien sack – Fox pushed the lead back to seven with a field goal of their own from the right leg of Ethan Hoffman in the early seconds of the fourth quarter.
Both teams sputtered on their first drives of the fourth, but special teams came up big again for the Bruins after Hoffman boomed a 68-yard punt from his own endzone to flip the field.
The Bruins looked to have the Bulldogs stopped twice on the following drive, but a costly roughing the passer call gave Redlands new life and Redlands tied the game on a QB sneak from the one-yard line. The ensuing PAT was delayed by a pair of penalties, including an illegal man downfield on what was looked like a designed fake two-point try by the Bulldogs.
Johnson III beat single coverage – including a holding penalty on the play – and took the ball in for a 78-yard score to take a 38-31 lead with 3:40 remaining on the Bruins' next drive to put the Bruins in front again for good.
Kobe Andrews picked off the Bulldogs' QB on the Bulldogs' last drive to ice the game, and the Bruin backfield killed the remaining clock to cement the victory.
Top Performances
The elder Schaan was able to direct the Bruins' offense to a 399-yard performance on the ground and through the air, leading the team with 76 rushing yards and a touchdown while passing for 289 yards.and four more scores. Johnson III hauled in four catches for 174 yards and three scores, and McMillan caught his first collegiate touchdown pass.
On special teams, Hoffman was perfect on his five PATs and hit a 34-yard field goal try while also putting one punt inside the 20 with an average punt of 43.2 yards.
On defense, McCoy, Andrews, and Kross Knoll all created takeaways, and Rogien led the team in sacks (2), tackles for loss (2), and total lost yardage (13). Austin Canchola and K. Schaan led the team with seven tackles apiece and Schaan also nearly had a scoop-and-score on the fumble caused by Knoll in the third quarter.
Coach's Thoughts
"It was a great college football game," coach Casey said afterward. "We talk about perseverance all the time and for our guys to get blasted right at the start, playing in 100 degree heat, they showed tremendous resilience. This was heavyweight fight, give Redlands credit - they're well-coached, they're tough, and they have a couple guys who could be All-Americans by the end of the season.
This was a total team victory tonight – our defense was clutch at times, they won the turnover battle and toughened up in the red zone and the offense had some huge plays for us. Ethan Hoffman completely flipping the field for us was huge and he was perfect for us on his kicks. The coordinators and assistant coaches did a tremendous job to get us ready for this game, and it showed in how we performed on the field."
What It Means
Fox is 1-0 to start the year and improves to 3-4 all-time against Redlands while handing the Bulldogs their first season-opening loss since the 2016 season. The Bruins also won their first season opener in the revived program's nine-year history, snapping an eight-year streak of season-opening losses.
What Comes Next
Fox returns to Newberg to recover, reset, and refocus for the team's second-ever matchup with Howard Payne on Sept. 10 in Brownwood, Texas.