REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Football team (2-1, 0-1 SCIAC) lost the Smudge Pot Trophy Game to California Lutheran University (CLU) 27-10 as they could not get their offense on track Saturday evening inside Ted Runner Stadium.
The Bulldog defensive unit forced a three and out to begin the game. Then on fourth down Kaleb Gibbs blocked the punt and gave the offense the ball at the CLU 15-yard line. Taylor Bowie (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) ran for eight yards, but the Maroon and Grey would have to settle for a 28-yard Aidan Petruescu (La Mirada, CA) field goal.
CLU then responded with a 14 play, 75-yard drive that ate up more than eight minutes and made it 7-3 Kingsmen.
Later in the quarter the Kingsmen had a third and 17. The ensuing pass would go to the right side where Enrique Ybanez (Ontario, CA) was waiting for an interception, before returning it 50 yards to the CLU 10.
The subsequent drive for Redlands in the Red Zone would also stall forced into a 27-yard field goal attempt, which was missed by Petruescu.
Redlands' defense then gave CLU 40 free yards thanks to penalties, but with seven minutes remaining in the opening half the Kingsmen would go and miss a field goal as well, this one from 44-yards.
Each side then stalled on offense and were forced to punt before the final Bulldog possession of the quarter ended with an interception. That interception was converted into three points for the Kingsmen as they took a 10-3 lead into the half.
The first two drives for the Bulldog offense in the second half ended in punts, before the Kingsmen would put together a 13-play, 54-yard drive that ended in their third field goal of the night with 3:29 to play.
Two plays after going down two possessions for the first time Luke Coleman (Sacramento, CA) had his second pass intercepted. Ybanez, however, got it right back with his second pick, which came in the endzone giving the Bulldogs the ball right back just six seconds later.
Redlands, though, did not take advantage of the second chance committing two penalties and losing possession on a sack fumble that gave CLU another opportunity in the red zone.
The two interceptions and fumble all came within :37 seconds of each other.
The sack fumble recovered by CLU would be converted into seven points after a three-yard rushing touchdown for a 20-3 advantage for CLU.
Trailing by 17 in the fourth the Bulldogs did not go away quietly putting in a new quarterback Tobey Schmidt (Tustin, CA) who engineered a 19 play drive that ended in a 19-yard touchdown pass to Scott Blankenship Jr. (Long Beach, CA) on fourth and goal at the CLU19. Schmidt was under pressure and lofted a pass to the back left corner of the endzone where Blankenship made the diving catch to cut the deficit to ten, 20-10.
Down 17 once again the Bulldogs got into Kingsmen territory with less than two minutes remaining, but Schmidt's fourth and 10 pass fell incomplete as CLU picked up their first win since 2012 against Redlands.
The Bulldog defensive unit forced two turnovers and held CLU to 4-of-13 on third down attempts despite being on the field for 37 minutes.
Also, notably, the Kingsmen scored on five-of-six redzone trips, while the Bulldogs only earned three (scoring twice). Two of those trips came off a turnover and a blocked punt that resulted in only three points.
Aaron Muñiz (Fontana, CA) had 2.5 tackles for a loss (TFL), Jax Lee (Richland, WA) had two, and Laurence Williams (Corona, CA), Shepard Cope (Murrieta, CA), Anthony Hall (Seattle, WA), Benjamin Fitchett (Whittier, CA), and Jaeden Thorn (Seattle, WA) had one with Mosese Afemui (Maui, HI) adding 0.5 TFL.
Redlands now prepares for Chapman University who they will play next Saturday, October 4 at 7:00 p.m. in Orange.
