The University of Redlands football team had set the table for an exciting finish with one more game to play. With a victory over the Cal Lutheran University Kingsmen, the Bulldogs became a possible playoff contender due to their strength of schedule and overall record. However, Cal Lutheran played spoiler as it came to Ted Runner Stadium and nabbed a 24-17 win over the Bulldogs.

After trading possessions in the opening drives, the Kingsmen struck first on a four-yard pass from Jericho Toilolo to Danny Hernandez with 5:42 to go in the first quarter.

The Bulldogs got on the board with a 40-yard field goal by sophomore Joe MacMillan (Pasadena, CA) at the start of the second quarter.

Then the top-ranked pass defense of Cal Lutheran made its first of three interceptions as Ebere Winston returned the catch 23 yards for the touchdown. Down 3-14, the Bulldogs fought back on their next opportunity, driving the ball 81 yards on eight plays as junior quarterback Steve Smith (Lake Oswego, OR) connected with junior wide receiver Curtis Gold (La Verne, CA) on a 13-yard strike.

In the opening possession of the second half, Redlands forced the Kingsmen to punt after three downs, but then quickly turned the ball over on another interception, this time with Eric Lopes nabbing the ball. Cal Lutheran took advantage of field position from the Redlands’ 35-yard line and converted a field goal as Jackson Damron made a 40-yard boot, putting the Kingsmen up by seven.

But the Bulldogs fought back as they recovered a fumble within the red zone, resulting in a two-yard run by senior running back Zack Schafer (Saugus, CA) to tie the game at 17 apiece.

With plenty of time on the clock, Cal Lutheran found the end zone one more time as Toilolo made an 18-yard pass to Christian Edwards for the eventual game-winning touchdown.

Despite opportunities in the waning minutes, the Bulldogs came up short and suffered a difficult 17-24 loss in their final regular season game.

Overall, the Bulldogs converted 18 first downs to CLU’s 15, but the Kingsmen came up with 221 yards passing without an interception. Both teams offered big defensive plays with Redlands posting six sacks and 14 tackles for a loss of 53 yards. The Kingsmen came up with five sacks and eight tackles for a loss of 44 yards.

Senior linebacker Eddie Stamm (Portland, OR) led the Redlands defense with 11 total tackles, including two for a loss of seven yards. Senior defensive lineman Brock Arndt (Valencia, CA) also came up with 10 tackles with 3.5 for a loss of 15 yards.

Freshman punter Wes Norris (San Jose, CA) continued his outstanding contributions for the Bulldogs, nailing eight punts on the day with five landing inside of the 20-yard line.

With the loss, Redlands’ (7-2, 4-2 SCIAC) hopes of an at-large playoff bid are erased as the Bulldogs finish third in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). Cal Lutheran (7-2, 5-1 SCIAC) finishes second behind undefeated Occidental College.