By Christian Bond, PLU Sports Information Student Writer

PUYALLUP – The Pacific Lutheran football team rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit and the Lute defense limited George Fox to only three points in the second half as the Lutes defeated the Bruins 28-27 Saturday afternoon at Sparks Stadium.

Freshman quarterback Cole Chandler got his first collegiate start against George Fox and began the day with a touchdown pass on the first play. Marc Gallant caught a screen pass and took it 65 yards downfield, working his way across the field from the right side to the left through the entire George Fox defense for a touchdown.

"It was awesome," Gallant said. "I caught the ball, turned around, Cody Erpleding made an incredible block, and it was all downfield blocking from there. We call it touchdown road."

Chandler was efficient from the start, completing his first 11 passes and finishing the day 12-of-13 for 164 yards with two touchdown passes. His limited number of attempts was in part by design – PLU finished with 32 rushing attempts – and in part a result of George Fox maintaining possession for nearly two-thirds of the first half as PLU reached halftime with only 18 offensive plays in the books.

The Bruins scored three touchdowns in the first half, as Grant Schroeder threw for all three and led George Fox to more than 300 yards before the break. The first half ended with Bruin kicker Anthony Galat hitting a 20-yard field goal as time expired to stretch the lead to 24-14 in favor of George Fox.

The Lutes answered with a touchdown midway through the third quarter. Garret Hittner caught a 28-yard pass from Chandler in the back of the end zone, as Chandler dropped it over a pair of defenders and into the hands of his receiver to pull the Lutes within three.

"That was fun," Chandler said. "Garret had an option route and it took me a while to find him. I knew I had to throw it where only he could get it. It ended up working; he caught it and made a great catch."

PLU took the lead for good on the last play of the third quarter. Austen Kindle took the ball in from one yard out on 4th-and-goal to cap a 49-yard drive and put the Lutes up 28-24. George Fox followed with a 15-play drive that covered 61 yards and took more than six minutes off the clock, but a Kyle Bennett tackle-for-loss on a screen pass to John Shaffer pushed the Bruins back to 4th-and-12, and they had to settle for a 35-yard-field goal to make it 28-27.

The Lute defense bounced back from its early struggles in the second half. After allowing scoring drives on all four of George Fox's first-half possessions – three touchdowns and a field goal – the Lutes limited the Bruins to only three points and 146 yards on five second-half possessions. After George Fox converted five of six third downs in the first half, PLU held the Bruins to 4-of-9 conversions after the break.

In the final minute Parker Smith sacked Schroeder for a loss of six yards to force 3rd-and-long and halt any momentum for George Fox. Two plays later Schroeder's pass attempt fell incomplete and the Lutes were able to take a knee to close out their first win of the season.

PLU played a clean game behind the leadership of Chandler, with no turnovers and only four penalties. The Lutes compiled only 280 yards of offense, but with that coming on only 45 plays PLU averaged 6.2 yards per play. Along with his passing numbers, Chandler rushed for 39 yards on nine attempts to finish second on the team behind Gallant's 12 carries for 47 yards.

"He's been in pressure situations before in his athletic career, but his composure was most impressive," PLU head coach Scott Westering said of his freshman quarterback. "Chandler played well, but so did the guys around him."

Schroeder finished with three touchdown passes and 353 yards while completing 26 of his 38 pass attempts, while Trevor Daniels caught 11 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown. John Shaffer rushed for a game-high 110 yards on 22 carries for the Bruins. Derek Chase led the PLU defense with 10 tackles, while Smith added eight and Casey Ruether finished with seven.

The Lutes will make the short trip to face cross-town rival Puget Sound next weekend. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Baker Stadium.