THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran football gave Pomona-Pitzer all it could handle, but the Kingsmen came up just short on homecoming, falling 28-24 on Saturday night. 

The loss dropped the Kingsmen to 1-3 in conference and 3-5 overall, while the win improved the Sagehens to 4-0 and 6-1.

The yardage favored the Sagehens, but the Kingsmen made up for it with key defensive plays. Pomona-Pitzer recorded 435 yards of total offense with Cal Lutheran totaling 250. 

Cal Lutheran scored the first points for the second straight game. Kingsmen place kicker Daniel Burgos connected on a 35-yard field goal to give his team the lead.

The Kingsmen defense held the Sagehens scoreless in the first quarter, but Pomona-Pitzer got things going in the second. The Sagehens scored two touchdowns and had a 14-3 lead at the half.

The offense picked up in the second half as Cal Lutheran scored on its first possession. Quarterback Nick Lasher found wide receiver Cameron Jones for a 14-yard score. The Sagehens answered on the ensuing possession and pushed the lead back to double-digits, 21-10, with 6:42 left in the third. 

The Cal Lutheran defense made its mark in the game over the rest of the quarter. Perfect punts from Kyle Howie had the Sagehens starting two drives inside the 20. Randal Voutt intercepted a pass  in the first drive and returned it 25 yards to make the score 21-17. 

On the very next drive, Jalani Blade forced a fumble and Gabriel Hernandez recovered the ball. With the ball at Pomona-Pitzer's 25, the Kingsmen were in business. However, a penalty pushed the Kingsmen back, and they had to punt. 

The score remained 21-17 as the clock ticked under 10 minutes left in the game. The Kingsmen put together a methodical 13-play, 82-yard drive which was capped off by a 7-yard touchdown pass from Lasher to Jajuan Thomas. The Kingsmen took their first lead of the game at 24-21. 

The defense continued to thrive in the second half as the Kingsmen forced a punt and got the ball back 4:46 left. The Kingsmen could not move the ball and were forced to punt. Pomona-Pitzer went right down the field and took a 28-24 lead with 1:50 remaining. 

Cal Lutheran had their chance for a last-minute drive, but a turnover on downs allowed Pomona-Pitzer to run out the clock. 

Lasher was 20-32 for 195 yards and two scores. Thomas was Lasher's key connection with seven receptions for 77 yards and the score. Isaiah Martin ran the ball 17 times for 58 yards. 

Blade led the Kingsmen with 14 tackles and Matt Flynn and Voutt both added 10. Devon Goosby had a sack and Justice Forbes and Jackson White both recorded half a sack. The Kingsmen tallied five tackles for loss as Hernandez had the most with 1.5.  

The Kingsmen remain home for their next game. Cal Lutheran host La Verne next Saturday at 7 p.m. for Senior Day. 

Box Score: PP 28, CLU 24
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