TACOMA, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University football team rallied twice to force overtime but was unable to come away with the victory on Saturday at Baker Stadium, falling 28-21 to crosstown rival University of Puget Sound in the annual Battle of the South Sound to open Northwest Conference play.

The Lutes (1-2, 0-1 NWC) wiped out a 14-point deficit and erased another deficit on an Alex Rendon six-yard touchdown with 2:21 left in regulation but couldn't find any luck in overtime with the homestanding Loggers (3-1, 1-0 NWC) needing just two plays to cement the win. UPS quarterback Mardo Rutledge hit Jewell Day for a 25-yard touchdown on the opening play of overtime while Jayson Clayton picked off a pass on the first play of PLU's overtime possession to shut the door on the Lutes' third comeback attempt.

"I loved our energy, resilience, and effort today," said Head Coach Brant McAdams. "Fighting back with the score against you like that is definitely something to build on but we've got to continue to tighten up our fundamentals, discipline, and understanding of what's being asked of us."

The Loggers drew first blood, scoring on a 50-yard touchdown pass with six seconds left in the opening quarter. Puget Sound successfully recovered an onside kick and upped its advantage to 14-0 on the next drive as Colli Heimbach tallied his second receiving touchdown of the game, scoring on a 23-yard pass with 12:41 left before halftime. The Lutes knifed the gap to just a touchdown a little over a minute before halftime with TJ Morris plunging into the endzone from two yards out, capping off a six-play 80-yard drive.

Cody Barnett picked off a pass on the next UPS drive but the offense was unable to turn it into points as the Loggers maintained a 14-7 edge at the halftime break.

Rendon caught a 38-yard pass from Walker LaVoy to tie the game at 14 with 11:53 left in the third, capping off a 76-yard drive before Heimbach netted his third touchdown of the day with 3:15 left in the third to give UPS the 21-14 advantage. PLU took advantage of stellar field position with a 26-yard scoring drive late in the fourth with LaVoy finding Rendon for his second score of the afternoon.

LaVoy finished with 159 yards passing and two touchdowns while also netting 51 yards with his legs. Anthony Louthan did a bit of everything, collecting 85 rushing yards on 20 carries, catching two passes for 29 yards, and booming seven punts, of which three landed inside the 20-yard line. Louthan averaged 42.4 yards per punt, including a booming 58-yarder.

Hunter Briggs led the Lute defense in tackles with 14 while Matt Anthony added 10. Cody Barnett and Jordan Zimmerman each picked off a pass as the defense generated three turnovers on the day.

"The defense kept their passing attack from converting points like UPS has done coming into this game. I loved seeing our guys create takeaways. The offense showed marked improvement in every position group on the field. We'll keep getting better."

PLU was outgained 471 to 311 by the Loggers but limited UPS to just 11 rushing yards.

The Lutes return to the gridiron next Saturday, hosting Pacific University at 12:30 p.m.