Last Saturday, Nov. 10 marked the end of the Logger football season. It was a day of ups and downs as the Loggers concluded the season with a 55-0 loss at Willamette and set yet another record all in one day.
Senior Adam Kniffin (Salem, Ore.) concluded his record-breaking career on the team by becoming the first Logger to compile 1,000 receiving yards. He caught 14 passes during the game for a total of 90 yards to finish the 2012 season with 1,002 yards on 77 catches. Kniffin successfully broke his 2011 record of 995 yards.
He was by far the Loggers’ favorite target on Saturday. Sophomore Braden Foley (Bothell, Wash.) and senior James Korn (Bothell, Wash.) found Kniffin for 14 of their 26 combined completions. He was also responsible for 90 out of 200 receiving yards.
However, Kniffin was not the only star on the field that day. Freshman Austin Wagner (Yakima, Wash.) continued to impress with another standout performance on the ground. He rushed a total of 98 yards on 20 rushes.
Although there were highlights, the Loggers were unfortunately unable to gain ground and find the end zone as the Willamette defense held strong for the shutout. The Loggers made it to the red zone once during game play, which ended with an interception of a Logger pass in the end zone.
The Bearcats (8-2, 4-2 NWC) were unstoppable, finding success not only on the ground, but also in the air. Quarterback Josh Dean ran for 33 yards and a pair of scores and also passed for 358 yards and four more scores. His favorite target was Terrel Marley, who collected nine interceptions and three touchdowns.
Willamette took an early lead as Dean ran and passed for touchdowns in the first quarter. He repeated the task in the second quarter to take Willamette to a 27-0 lead at halftime.
In the second half, the Bearcats were able to air it out as Dean once again found Malley for touchdown strikes of three and 31 yards and then scored twice more in the fourth quarter.
The Logger defense was led by sophomore Connor Savage (Bothell, Wash.) and sophomore Max Mirande (Klamath Fall, Ore.) with eight tackles apiece. Two of Savage’s tackles resulted in a Bearcat loss, including one sack.
This marks the close of the 2012 football season. From here, there is no place to go but up, and we hope to see the Logger football team take the field in 2013 as a strong and undefeatable unit, determined to show the campus community that they are winners.
