Menlo at Puget Sound - Game Stats

Menlo Season Stats

TACOMA, Wash. - Given a chance to prove its worth against a comparable foe, the Menlo College defense took a big step toward excellence by shutting down Puget Sound in a 14-3 Northwest Conference victory at Peyton Field on Saturday afternoon. The Oaks limited the Loggers to 217 total yards and forced five turnovers, turning Puget Sound back at every turn while riding an early score all the way to the win.

Menlo scored all the points it would need on its second play from scrimmage. The Oaks gained possession of the ball when defensive lineman Chris Tosello recovered quarterback Kavin Williams' fumble on a third-and-seven run that went nowhere. Taking over at the Loggers 42 yard line, freshman quarterback Cruz Castillo christened his first start with a three-yard run before connecting with wide receiver and fellow freshman Kenny Cavness on a 39-yard touchdown strike. Eddie De Leon's extra point kick gave Menlo a 7-0 lead with two minutes, 20 seconds gone in the opening quarter.

It remained a 7-0 game into the fourth quarter when the Oaks defense made its biggest stand of the day. Facing a fourth-and-two at the Puget Sound 31 yard line, Castillo was sacked and lost a fumble that Loggers linebacker Tyler Vlasak returned all the way to the Menlo 21. Three straight running plays set Puget Sound up with first-and-goal at the Oaks 10, but Menlo turned the Loggers back from there. Williams was stopped for no gain on first down by safety Steven Lopes and linebacker Justin Weise, running back Casey Larson was hit for a two-yard loss on second down by Tosello, and Williams could only get four yards on a third-down completion to tight end Tim Fogarty thanks to a stop by linebacker Brett Klee. Puget Sound was forced to a settle for a 25-yard Peter Topolski field goal that made it 7-3 with 10 minutes, 33 seconds to play.

Menlo was forced to punt quickly on its next possession, but the Oaks stout defense forced Puget Sound into a three-and-out. When Menlo's offense got the ball back with just under eight minutes left it knew what to do. Starting at midfield and clinging to a four-point lead, Castillo found tight end for 29 yards on first down. The young signal-caller ran for three yards on the ensuing first down before finding James Bassett for an 18-yard scoring strike that drove the final nail into the Loggers coffin. It was 14-3 Oaks with six minutes, 35 seconds remaining.

With a double-digit lead to work with, the Menlo defense didn't let up late. The Oaks forced a punt on Puget Sound's ensuing possession then took the ball away for the fifth and final time when linebacker Andrew Stevens sacked Williams, forcing a fumble that Weise recovered.

Though it limited the Loggers all day, Menlo's defense had to turn them back from scoring opportunities thanks to its own error-prone offense. In the second quarter, Oaks linebacker Shawn Winters recovered a fumble on a first-down Puget Sound run from the Menlo 27. The Loggers moved the ball to the Menlo 20 on their next possession before safety Beau Bussani intercepted Williams in the endzone. In its final possession of the third quarter, Puget Sound matriculated the ball all the way to the Menlo 18 before back-to-back incomplete passes by Williams gave the ball to the Oaks on downs.

Tosello led Menlo with eight tackles while Winters had two sacks and two tackles for loss. Stevens had one sack and two tackles for loss, Boo Molinary intercepted a pass, and Derek Bosia had a pass break-up.

Castillo was solid in his first start, completing 22-of-33 passes for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Cavness totaled 84 receiving yards on five catches, Bassett snagged seven balls for 51 yards, and Brad Wilkinson caught four passes for 48 yards. Running back Payton Bell had 31 yards rushing on 12 carries.

Menlo improves to 1-1 in the NWC and 2-4 overall heading into its bye week. The Oaks return to action on Oct. 24 at Whitworth (0-2, 2-4). Puget Sound is 0-1 in conference play and 0-4 overall.