VALLEY / VENTURA COUNTY SPORTS : Cal Lutheran Three Quarters Short : College football: Kingsmen score 20 points in final 15 minutes but Pacific Lutheran stops two-point conversion and wins, 28-26.

Once again, Coach Scott Squires of Cal Lutheran almost beat his mentor.

Once again, it was not meant to be.

The Kingsmen, scored 20 consecutive points in the fourth quarter but lost to Pacific Lutheran, 28-26, Saturday in front of 1,000 in an opener at Cal Lutheran.

Squires, who played for Coach Frosty Westering of Pacific Lutheran from 1984-87, saw his team lose to the Lutes last season, 20-14, in double overtime.

“They are the 10th-ranked team in the country [in NCAA Division III] and this is the second straight year we have taken them to the wire,” Squires said. “I am very proud of my team.”

The Kingsmen, led by quarterback Chris Czernek from Newbury Park High and strong running by Dorian Stitt and George Keiaho, scored on successive drives of 80, 67 and 57 yards in the final quarter.

Receiver Eugene Sullivan scored on a 15-yard catch with 2:20 remaining to bring the Kingsmen to within two, but back judge Brad Glenn penalized Sullivan for excessive celebration, pushing the Kingsmen back to the 18 for the two-point conversion.

Czernek’s pass on a two-point conversion try fell incomplete.

“We never should have been in the situation where that call mattered,” Squires said.

The Kingsmen had one last chance to get the ball back, but Anthony Hicks of Pacific Lutheran rushed for one yard on fourth-and-one from the Lutes’ 30 with 1:18 left to clinch the victory.

The Lutes dominated the first half, averaging 7.5 yards per play, and Hicks rushed for 86 of his 125 yards.

The Kingsmen began the game with Nick Odenath at quarterback, but Squires, by design, inserted Czernek after two series.

The lone bright spot for Cal Lutheran in the first half was Ryan Geisler’s 53-yard field goal in the closing seconds of the half. The kick equaled the second-longest in school history, and cut the deficit to 21-6.

The third quarter was more Pacific Lutheran, as Cal Lutheran failed to gain a first down in three possessions. Hicks’ third touchdown gave the Lutes a 28-6 lead.

“We needed to be aggressive,” Czernek said. “We were timid the first three quarters. We decided we have a good offense and we were going to score.”

Stitt finished with 94 yards and Keiaho, who transferred from Washington, had 83 yards and two touchdowns.

Czernek, who completed 21 of 31 for 188 yards, was playing his first game since transferring from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

“We will make it happen next week,” Czernek said. “We showed what we can do.”