REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands Football team needed a touchdown on their final drive Saturday night during Homecoming to beat Chapman University 28-24 at Ted Runner Stadium.
The Maroon and Grey were taking on the Panthers with 1st place on the line within the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Standings. With the win, the Bulldogs improve to 6-1, 4-0 SCIAC, while the Panthers drop to 5-2, 2-1 SCIAC. UR also was perfect in the month of October going 4-0 outscoring their opponents 135-68.
Redlands totaled 393 Yards of Offense (354 Passing | 39 Rushing), averaging 6.4 yards per play, was just 4-of-11 on 3rd Down Efficiency, and added 22 first downs.
Saturday night Redlands found themselves in unfamiliar territory trailing 14-0 after the opening two possessions by Chapman. But they found a way to battle back cutting the deficit in half at the end of the period. Following a 60-yard kickoff return from Tony Williams Jr. (Indio, CA), Nathan Martinez (Redlands, CA) orchestrated a 37-yard drive in seven plays. Martinez connected with sophomore wideout Evan Aguon (San Diego, CA) for 19-yards on 4th and 8 and then found him again this time for 16-yards that ended in a UR touchdown.
The Bulldogs put together a nice drive that fed into the 2nd quarter covering 56-yards, but the 41-yard field goal to end the series by Brendan Marmion (Aliso Viejo, CA) would come up short keeping it a seven-point game. Chapman would then take this momentum and go back the other way covering 71-yards in 11-plays bringing the ball down to the UR8 setting themselves up with a 1st & Goal. But they couldn't punch it in as Jadin Michaels (Palm Springs, CA) would jump a slant route in the endzone picking off Reed Vettell and thwarting the Panther attack.
Trailing 17-7 at the half the Maroon and Grey mounted a comeback outscoring the Panthers 21-7 across the final 30:00 minutes. They used a rushing attack early to put up the first points with Kai Thompson (Murrieta, CA) taking it four times for 23 yards. This then set up Martinez finding Kai Kang (Sammamish, WA) down the near sideline for a 57-yard catch and run that led to a Williams Jr. one-yard touchdown scamper.
Chapman though responded on their next drive and needed only one play as Jonston MacInty found John Krall for a 73-yard touchdown grab that moved the deficit back to ten. With 6:11 to play in the 3rd quarter, Martinez strung together another long drive this time going 80-yards in 10-plays that spanned 3:39. He found Kang for 12-yards, Khory Day (Fresno, CA) for 18-yards, and Aguon for 15-yards before giving it to Williams Jr. who put it away from three yards out.
This made it a three-point game at 24-21 and this score would hold until the 5:21 mark in the 4th quarter. This is when Martinez finished things off with the eventual game-winning drive. He started things off with a completion to Day for 12-yards, rushed it for nine yards out of bounds then found Aguon over the middle for a 26-yard hookup. On 1st and 10, Martinez continued to move the ball down the field this time finding Kang for 17-yards and that would set up UR on the CU2. Noah Widgins (San Jacinto, CA) then got the call for the first rushing touchdown of his career, punching it in which put the Bulldogs up 28-24.
There was plenty of time for Chapman to put together one final drive and they did just that. They managed to march it down the field covering 44-yards on 10-plays, which included three first downs. They were set up with a 1st and 10 on the UR 32, but they couldn't advance it any farther as they would go four and out turning the ball over on downs that allowed Redlands to take home the victory.
Martinez finished 23-of-33 for 354 yards and a touchdown. Thompson had 10 attempts for 30 yards rushing and Williams Jr., despite only having six rushing yards found the endzone twice. Kang and Aguon both had over 100 yard receiving days. Kang caught five catches for 117 yards, averaging 23.4 yards per catch. Aguon had nine catches for 108 yards, a touchdown, and averaged 12.0 yards per catch. Day and Giovanni Isles (Chino Hills, CA) combined for eight catches and 125 yards.
Vicente Garcia (Fontana, CA) totaled five punts for 207 yards, averaging 41.4 yards per punt. He added a touchback and one downed inside the 20. Williams Jr, along with his two rushing touchdowns also fielded kickoff returns and had three of them for 100 yards, averaging 33.3 yards per return.
Defensively, the Bulldogs had another multi-turnover game, which included two interceptions from Michaels and Scott Tinsley. Jace Tessaro (Modesto, CA) finished with 11 tackles (5 solo/8 assisted), Jacob Harrold (Lake Havasu City, AZ) added 10 tackles (2 solo/8 assisted), and Ryan Place (Alta Loma, CA) put up eight tackles (5 solo/3 assisted) along with a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. U of R had just one sack on the evening from Reece Wakely (Palmdale, CA), which was for 10 yards lost, they also added three tackles for losses for a combined 13-yards, had four pass breakups and two quarterback hurries.
Redlands has next week off before traveling to take on Whittier College on Saturday, November 6 beginning at 1:00pm.