PUYALLUP, Wash. - A 48-yard field goal sailed short as time expired as the Pacific Lutheran University football team held on to down Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges 10-7 in the home opener on Saturday at Sparks Stadium.

The Lutes (1-1) wasted little time getting points on the board with Anthony Bautista picking off CMS's Zach Fogel on the second play from scrimmage. PLU punished the Stags (1-2) for the mistake with Anthony Louthan rumbling 26 yards on the next play for a touchdown to give the homestanding Lutes the early 7-0 lead.

PLU had a fast start to the second half with an Ethan McElderry 51-yard return putting the Lutes at the CMS 39 to start the third quarter. The Lute offense gained 23 more yards before Alex Brost nailed a 33-yard field goal to give Pacific Lutheran the 10-0 cushion. 

The Stags offense came alive in the fourth quarter, marching 80-yards to a touchdown with 4:30 remaining in the game. PLU pieced together a 71-yard drive with less than two minutes remaining, marching to the CMS 18-yard line but a fake field goal on fourth and 12 was not enough, giving the visiting Stags one last chance. CMS drove 55 yards and lined up for a 48-yard field goal that came up shy as the final horn sounded. 

"We're proud of the way the guys hung in there together throughout the whole game," said Head Coach Brant McAdams. "It's good to see our guys come out and strike quick when opportunity presents itself like it did today. Hats off to our special teams today. We were behind on the stat sheet in a couple of categories but our special teams unit dominated the field position battle today and that gave us the energy we needed to pull out the win."

Louthan led the Lutes on the ground with 68 of the squad's 110 rushing yards while Walker LaVoy finished the day 13-for-21 with 128 yards passing. Wesley Nixon was Walker's most popular target, hauling in six catches for 62 yards.

PLU had a relentless pass attack, finishing with seven sacks, including three from Matt Anthony. Parker Trewet tallied 11 tackles on the day while Parker Bowles finished with 10 to spearhead the defensive unit.

The Lutes take next weekend off before beginning Northwest Conference play on Sept. 29, heading across town for the annual Battle of the South Sound against the University of Puget Sound.