Bearcat Offense and Defense Finish Season Strong in Final Three Games
By Robert McKinney, Athletics Communications Director
SALEM, Ore. -- The Willamette University football team closed out the season with three games of exceptional plays from the Bearcats on offense and defense. The Bearcats limited their final three opponents to just 219.0 yards of total offense per game. Meanwhile, Willamette averaged 410.7 yards of offense.
Stats from the final three games of 2015
Willamette pounded Lewis & Clark College, 42-14, on Oct. 31. The Bearcats registered 531 yards on offense, including 323 yards on the ground on 49 carries (6.6 avg.).
Taylor Livingston (So., RB, Ojai, CA/Nordhoff HS) led the charge with 142 yards and an 81-yard touchdown on 13 carries. Jacob Swilley (Jr., RB, Olympia, WA/Yelm HS/Central Washington Univ.) rushed 16 times for 81 yards, while Tanner Stevens (Fr., RB, Redmond, OR/Ridgeview HS) gained 68 yards on five carries. Stevens scored on a 48-yard run.
Quarterback Ryan Knowlton (So., QB, Puyallup, WA/Emerald Ridge HS) completed 16 of 22 passes for 202 yards and four touchdowns. Austin Jones (Jr., TE/WR, Oakdale, CA/Oakdale HS) tied a Willamette record by catching all four touchdown passes on plays covering 12, 34, 4 and 27 yards.
The Bearcats held Lewis & Clark to 234 total yards. The Pioneers had just 160 yards entering the fourth quarter, and recorded their two touchdowns in the final period after Willamette held a 42-0 lead. For the game, L&C gained just 30 rushing yards.
"Each year, we hope to play our best football at the end of the year," said Willamette Head Football Coach Glen Fowles.
Against Whitworth University, the Bearcats limited the Pirates to 201 total yards. Whitworth earned only 92 rushing yards and 109 passing yards. On offense, the Bearcats recorded 289 yards against the Pirates. Swilley rushed for 54 yards on 14 carries. Knowlton hit 19 of 39 passes and threw for 265 yards and a touchdown.
Willamette led 16-10 at halftime, but turned the ball over four times and was unable to complete the upset in a 20-16 loss on Nov. 7. Whitworth finished the regular season at 9-1 and was selected for the NCAA Division III Playoffs.
At George Fox University on Nov. 14, the Bearcats allowed only 222 yards of offense. The Bruins attained just 105 passing yards. GFU scored on its first possession of the game and on two short drives following turnovers early in the second half on its way to a 21-14 win over Willamette.
Despite the loss, Willamette picked up 412 total yards against GFU. Knowlton was 25 of 43 passing for a career high 281 yards. Ryan Foote (Sr., WR, Sherwood, OR/Valley Catholic HS) caught six passes for 113 yards, while Bryan Toles (Sr./Jr., WR, Clovis, CA/Clovis North HS) hauled in six passes for 52 yards. Swilley ran with the ball 18 times for 81 yards and both of Willamette's touchdowns.
"I am impressed with the way our players battled, regardless of the situation," Fowles said.
In the three games, Swilley rushed for 216 yards on 48 carries. He scored two touchdowns. Livingston gained 183 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries, as he averaged 6.9 yards per attempt. Stevens added 133 yards and one touchdown on just 12 rushing attempts for an average of 9.4 yards per carry.
Top receivers against L&C, Whitworth and George Fox were Kevin Martz (Fr., WR, Salem, OR/South Salem HS/Claremont McKenna College) along with Foote, Toles and Jones. Martz grabbed 12 pases for 147 yards and a touchdown. Foote caught 10 passes for 206 yards, while Toles earned 10 catches for 80 yards. Jones recorded eight catches for 114 yards and four scores.
Several defensive players for the Bearcats achieved exceptional stats during one or more of the three games.
In the win over Lewis & Clark, Mark Mulligan (Jr., DE, San Francisco, CA/Archbishop Riordan HS) achieved 10 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack. He also forced a fumble. During the game with Whitworth, Henry Adelman (Sr., ILB, Arroyo Grande, CA/Arroyo Grande HS) recorded 11 tackles and Donny Torres (Sr., OLB, Long Beach, CA/St. Anthony HS) added 10 tackles.
Adelman also led Willamette with nine tackles against George Fox. He recovered two fumbles and had 1.5 tackles for loss. Paimon Jaberi (Jr., ILB, Bainbridge Island, WA/Bainbridge HS) tacked on eight tackles and forced a fumble.
Damian Jackson (Jr., FS, Puyallup, WA/Rogers HS) intercepted a pass against Lewis & Clark. Dustin Crabtree (Sr., OLB, Sherwood, OR/Sherwood HS) earned an interception and recovered a fumble against Whitworth. Nikk Ryan (Jr., DE, Oakdale, CA/Oakdale HS) also picked up a fumble versus Whitworth.
Over the three games, Adelman led the way with 26 combined tackles. Torres provided 20 tackles, including 12 unassisted stops. Ryan contributed 17 total tackles and led the team with 3.5 tackles for loss. Jaberi amassed 14 tackles, while Mulligan. and Nick Brickous (Jr./So., SS, Mesa, AZ/Perry HS/U.S. Military Acad.) each registered 13.
The Bearcats limited L&C, Whitworth and GFU to an average of just 79.7 rushing yards per game and 2.1 yards per carry. In the passing game, they averaged 139.3 yards per game and just 8.0 yards per catch.
In addition, Willamette held a 67-42 advantage in first downs. The Pioneers, Pirates and Bruins gained just 3.2 yards per offensive play, while the Bearcats averaged 5.4 yards per play.