PORTLAND, Ore. (GFU Athletics) For the third time in three weeks, the George Fox football team picked up a victory. This time, the Bruins won on the road, their first victory away from the friendly confines of Stoffer Family Stadium, downing Willamette after a standout second half, 31-9.
For the second straight week, Fox dealt with rain on gameday and for the second straight week, they started by emphasizing the run. The Bruins ran just one pass play on their opening 12-play drive, with the first 11 on the ground. Taylor Saben, Brody Snyder, and Mason McBride all recorded a carry, with Saben and Snyder each totaling a run of 15-plus yards. The drive ended with a kick from the defending NWC Special Teams Player of the Week, Ben Rembisz, who showed why he earned the award with a 39-yarder to put the Bruins up, 3-0.
Fox had nearly taken the entire first half of the first quarter on their opening drive, and the defense quickly halted the Bearcats. The teams traded punts from there, with a 20-yard punt return by Willamettes Elijah Romero giving the home team the ball in GFU territory. A roughing the passer helped move the Bearcats 15 extra yards, and a 28-yard field goal from Nick Seidl tied up the game, 3-3.
Once again, the teams traded punts before the Bruins embarked on their most productive drive since the early stages of the game. Fox, who hadnt picked up a first down since the eight-minute mark of the first quarter, got one on a pass from JJ Leman to Sheyden Iokia and thanks to an unnecessary roughness penalty on the Bearcats that prevented another punt, the Bruins were off to the races. A 13-yard pass on 3rd & 10 to Tucker Land and a 26-yard rush by Saben had Fox knocking on the door to end the half. It was Saben who punched the ball in from one yard out, giving the Bruins a 10-3 lead that they would take into the break.
Headed out of the locker room, GFU seemed eager to prove that they could pull away from the Bearcats and it was Jacob Erickson who set the tone early. Erickson, who had recently set the program record for sacks in a career, set the single-season sack record with his 11th, taking down Bearcats QB Luke Rasmussen for a six-yard loss.
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