Cal Lutheran Hits Back but Can’t Get KO in 28-21 Loss

It took Cal Lutheran quarterback Ryan Huisenga nearly being knocked senseless to wake up the Kingsmen offense Saturday against the University of San Diego.

With his team trailing by two touchdowns late in the third quarter, Huisenga was nailed by Jeb Dougherty in the Cal Lutheran end zone just as he threw a pass. Buddy Brown intercepted the pass and scored from four yards out.

The play energized the Kingsmen and Huisenga, who engineered a fourth-quarter rally that brought Cal Lutheran to the threshold of victory. Helped in large part by an official’s call, however, the Toreros prevailed, 28-21, at Mt. Clef Stadium.

After rallying for two fourth-quarter touchdowns, Cal Lutheran drove to the San Diego 34-yard line in the final minute.

With nine seconds left and out of timeouts, Huisenga found tight end David Harrington open in the back of the end zone for an apparent touchdown, but an official ruled Harrington dropped the ball as he fell to the ground.

“I had it, and I had my feet in bounds,” Harrington said. “I thought the ground couldn’t cause a fumble but in this case I guess it did.”

Cal Lutheran had one play left, but Huisenga’s pass intended for wide receiver Tom Herman was deflected by Sal Navarra.

The bitter ending for the Kingsmen (0-2) was tempered by the offensive performance in the fourth quarter, which included scoring drives of 80 and 42 yards.

The former came immediately after the interception and Huisenga spent a few extra seconds on the grass before being helped to his feet.

“I didn’t have the wind knocked out of me or anything,” Huisenga said. “I just wanted to lay down, relax, catch my breath, get the cobwebs out.”

When he returned to the sideline, he gave his offense a few simple instructions.

“He really chewed [us] out,” wide receiver Billy Perra said. “We’d been sleepwalking on offense the entire game. Ryan’s hit woke us all up.”

Huisenga completed 23 of 47 passes for 275 yards, including eight consecutive completions late in the game. He also scored on two one-yard sneaks.

Eleven of the completions were to Perra, who finished with 100 yards. In two games, Perra has 20 receptions. Herman had eight receptions for 131 yards.

In the second half, Huisenga’s passing success helped open up a running game that had been dormant. Freshman Fredrick Nanhad gained 83 yards in 20 carries and scored on a two-yard run midway through the fourth quarter.

Cal Lutheran had 54 yards rushing in its season-opening loss to Chapman.

The Kingsmen defense managed to slow fullback Jared Keo, who supplied most of San Diego’s offense. Keo gained 105 yards in 30 carries in the Toreros’ misdirection attack.

But the Kingsmen failed to cover 6-foot-5, 240-pound tight end Duncan Hardy, who caught play-action scoring passes of 15 and 21 yards for the Toreros (1-2).