Georgetown, Texas – A second-half spurt of offense from the Southwestern Pirates football team was not enough to ensure victory over their first opponent, the California Lutheran Kingsmen.
The Kingsmen came out with a barrage of offense in the first quarter and stood strong defensively. The Kingsmen put up two touchdowns on the Pirates in the first while limiting Southwestern to zero points. Cal Lutheran opened up the game rushing for two scores, going over sixty-five yards in their two scoring drives.
Another score from the Kingsmen halfway through the second quarter pushed the Kingsmen up 21-0, however, the Pirates would answer a minute later with a quick three-play drive to cut the lead back to two touchdowns. In the last three minutes of the half, the Kingsmen rattled off ten points, maintaining a commanding 31-7 halftime lead.
"It's difficult to start the season with a plane trip two time zones away and that definitely showed in the first half. We will need to get better in preparation for our long road trips," remarks Head Coach Joe Austin.
A touchdown coming out of half looked like an end-spell for Southwestern with the Kingsmen extending the margin to 38-7. Their backs against the wall, the Pirate offense manufactured an 11-play, 77-yard drive ending in a Damian Gomez touchdown run. The Pirate defense held tough throughout the rest of the quarter and Gomez again ran for another six points, cutting the lead to 21-38.
With momentum in their favor, Southwestern cranked out another two scores in the fourth quarter, thanks to their all-purpose man, Kolby Bartlett. The score hanging at 35-38 with five minutes left in the game, Cal Lutheran converted a thirty-yard field goal after a nine-play drive concluding the first contest of the season in a high-scoring, 41-35 affair and the Kingsmen coming out on top.
"We played with a ton of grit and urgency in the second half, It was impressive to flip the 38-7 deficit and get a chance to win. Our rushing defense was excellent all day but it was the pass defense that we struggled with. Overall, giving up zero defensive touchdowns in the second half was a great way to finish." says Coach Austin.
"I think our players saw that we can be a good team this season when we play well. The way we finished will hopefully carry over to next week."
The Pirate's home opener will be the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs at Birkelbach Field on Saturday September 9th at 7:00 PM