The Loggers got off to a great start in their game on Saturday, September 17th against Sewanee College, but turnovers and shoddy defense spoiled a great opportunity for the team to pick up its first win of the young season, as they lost 34-23. The Loggers started off strong, travelling 60 yards in 14 plays on their opening drive, eventually settling for a 27-yard field goal by freshman Everett West (Anaheim, Calif.). After an exchange of turnovers on downs, the Loggers’ offense struck again at the end of the first quarter, as they went 76 yards on nine plays, eventually culminating with an 11-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback George Ka’ai (Aiea, Hawai’i) to junior Ross Zuhl (Issaquah, Wash.). The pass, an 11 yard fade to the near left corner of the end zone that Zuhl leapt over the Tiger defender to corral, gave the Loggers a 10-0 lead as time expired in the first quarter.
However, the good times came to a screeching halt for the Loggers in the second, as the Tigers moved the ball down the field on six plays, shaking off a near lost fumble to pull within three points on a five-yard run by senior Zeke Wilson (Snellville, Ga.). The Loggers had a several chances to put some distance between themselves and Sewanee, but failed to convert. After a blocked punt that gave the Loggers possession on the Tigers’ 29-yard-line, Ka’ai underthrew a pass to the end-zone, allowing it to be intercepted. Also, after another Tiger touchdown, the Loggers had a chance to get a field goal at the end of the first half, but West’s field goal attempt was blocked.
Trailing 14-10 at the half, the Loggers saw things go from bad to worse in the third quarter. The Tigers took the opening kickoff and marched down the field, going 66 yards on a drive that culminated with another short touchdown run by Wilson. On the very next play from scrimmage, Ka’ai, under pressure, lobbed up a pass that Sewanee defensive lineman Alex Head stepped in front of. Head hustled down the field, returning the interception 54 yards for a touchdown. And after a three and out by the Logger offense, the Tigers converted several long passes en route to another touchdown that capped off Sewanee’s scoring onslaught and put them comfortably ahead at 34-10.
The Loggers eventual rally was too little and came too late. Ka’ai led the team on a couple scoring drives and was able to make the final score competitive, but the team turned the ball over on downs with 3:48 left in the fourth, and they were unable to get the ball back.
The defense was the primary culprit for the Loggers, yielding 418 yards to the Tiger offense. The run defense couldn’t get Sewanee’s offense off of the field, allowing 218 yards on an astonishing 60 carries, as the Tigers held onto the ball for almost 35 minutes. Thanks to the success of their rushing attack, the Tigers were able to get some big plays through the air as well in the second half, as Tiger quarterbacks were able to complete nine passes for 184 yards.
The offense, led by Ka’ai in his second game as the Loggers’ starter, racked up plenty of yardage. The team finished with 392 total yards, 311 of which came through the air, but they came up short in a number of key situations. After shooting themselves in the foot for five turnovers last week, the Loggers committed two more against Sewanee, both interceptions by Ka’ai. To make matters worse, both interceptions came with the game very much still in the balance. The running game continues to be a problem, as the team only came up with 81 rushing yards. They had some success on the ground early in the game, mostly on quarterback draws by Ka’ai, but they were forced to move away from the run after the game got out of hand.
This loss drops the Loggers to 0-2 on the season. The team will get another chance to pick up their first win of the season next week, as they travel to Southern California to take on Whittier College.