THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – California Lutheran scored the final 20 points of the game and shut out the Pacific Lutheran offense in the second half as the Kingsmen defeated the Lutes 30-26 in the 2015 football opener for both teams Saturday night at William Rolland Stadium.

California Lutheran staked the four-point lead with just over three minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, and Jon Schaub and the PLU offense took possession at their own 30 needing a touchdown to win. A personal-foul penalty helped sustain the drive, and Schaub completed a 14-yard pass on third-and-12 to Ben Welch with less than two minutes to go. But the drive stalled at the CLU 37-yard line, when Juston Lind couldn't hold onto Schaub's fourth-down pass attempt with 42 seconds on the clock.

In his PLU starting debut, Schaub completed 25 of 43 pass attempts for 308 yards and two touchdowns, with Welch catching 11 of those passes for 109 yards. Schaub also rushed for a touchdown on 11 carries, while Darin Hardgrove led the Lutes' ground effort with 46 yards to go with 50 yards and a touchdown through the air.

PLU and CLU finished the night with similar offensive totals of two turnovers (one fumble and one interception each), a 19-18 PLU advantage in first downs and a four-yard PLU advantage in total yardage (362-to-358). However, the ways the two teams achieved those totals were very different. PLU passed for 308 yards and rushed for 54, averaging 7.2 yards per pass and 1.9 per rush. California Lutheran, on the other hand, completed only seven of 22 pass attempts for a total of 178 yards to go with 180 on the ground.

Cal Lutheran got on the board first, as Michael Butler and Trever Wood connected on a 75-yard touchdown pass on CLU's first play from scrimmage. A pass from Butler tied the game a few minutes later, as Carson Ketter returned an interception 30 yards for a PLU score. The Lutes jumped out ahead in the first minute of the second quarter, as Schaub carried the ball in from one yard out to cap a 10-play, 76-yard drive.

Schaub connected with Beau Lockmer from 15 yards out on the Lutes' next drive to make it 19-7 before CLU pulled within nine on a 37-yard field goal by Chris Taylor. On the first play of PLU's ensuing drive, Schaub found Hardgrove from 46 yards out for a 26-10 halftime lead, and the Lutes looked like they might pull away to a season-opening victory.

Cal Lutheran had other plans, however, and the Kingsmen slowly chipped away at the Lutes' lead. Isaac Seymour scored on a two-yard run to finish off a 15-play, 75-yard drive late in the third quarter to make it a nine-point game. Eight minutes later CJ Washington scored on a one-yard drive to make it 26-23.

The game-winning touchdown for California Lutheran came on a third-and-6 pass from Adam Friederichsen to Wood down the left sideline, capping the comeback and giving the Kingsmen what proved to be the four-point margin of victory. Washington finished the night with 122 yards rushing for the Kingsmen, while Wood tallied 136 yards and two touchdowns on only three receptions.

Travis McMillion and Kyle Bennett led the defensive effort for the Lutes. McMillion totaled 14 tackles and forced a fumble, while Bennett finished with 10 tackles. Ketter tallied five tackles and added an interception and 30-yard touchdown return. Ronny Camacho led Cal Lutheran with 10 tackles and a sack.

PLU has a bye next week before the Lutes host Trinity Sept. 26 in the 2015 home opener at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.