GEORGETOWN, Texas — Cal Lutheran football looked to be done and finished, but delivered their own counter punch, scoring the final 21 points of regulation to force overtime against the Southwestern Pirates on Saturday night.
With a big deficit of 21-3, and just 20 minutes to play, the Kingsmen went to work, showing lots of fight. The Purple and Gold scored three touchdowns and took the lead with 5:47 left. The Pirates answered the call and kicked a field goal to send the game to OT.
Cal Lutheran had the ball first in overtime and went up 31-24 as quarterback Nick Lasher found wide receiver Julio Angel for a 13-yard strike. Southwestern answered again, with a score on their possession, and went for two as the Pirates won the game 32-31.
In a home-and-home series with the Pirates, the Kingsmen won last year's meeting 35-7 in William Rolland Stadium. Southwestern got their revenge on their home turf.
Lasher and the Kingsmen offense were shut down in the first half. In the second half and overtime he accounted for four passing touchdowns. He was 20-38 for 287 yards.
Catching the touchdowns was Angle, Stanley Asiegbu, Tyson Lundring and Tyler Shimomura. Nine Kingsmen caught passes from Lasher with six catching multiple.
On the ground, Isaiah Martin was unstoppable, going for 179 yards and averaging 4.7 on 38 attempts.
On the defensive end, Gabriel Hernandez led the team with seven tackles. Jalani Blade was next with six, and Osi Aliu and Zacharias Muhammad each had five. Muhammad recorded a forced fumble while John Lopez Jr. and Rafael Navarro both had a fumble recovery.
Randall Voutt and Dallas Martin both had a tackle for loss and six Kinsgmen tallied a quarterback hit with Justice Forbes having three.
The Pirates got on the board first, with a special teams play. Southwestern took the early at 10:43 in the first quarter with a three-yard punt return.
Cal Lutheran broke through for their first points at the end of the first. Starting on Southwestern's 43, Lasher found Johnny Borjas for 21 yards and the Kingsmen were in business at the 22 yard line. Not able to move the ball much further, Danile Burgos kicked a made a 32-yard field goal.
The Pirates pushed the lead to 11 as a 16-yard touchdown pass extended the lead with 8:43 left in the half. Cal Lutheran had two more possessions in the half, but both ended in a punt.
After Southwestern went up 21-3, The Kingsmen answered with a Lundring 25-yard touchdown reception, a 10-yard touchdown reception from Shimomura and a 46-yard touchdown to Asiegbu.
Angle had the go-ahead score in overtime, the 13-yard reception, but Southwestern made the last play and stole the game.
The Kingsmen have their home opener next weekend. In a non-conference game, Cal Lutheran host Chapman on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Box Score: SU 32, CLU 31 - OT
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