Five turnovers are difficult for any team to overcome – no matter how good their defensive effort is.
That was the case for the University of Puget Sound in its homecoming game against visiting Menlo on Saturday.
Backup quarterback Cruz Castillo threw for 272 yards and two scores, helping Menlo open Northwest Conference play with a 14-3 victory over the Loggers at Baker Stadium.
“You have to start with the positives, and I thought our defense played great today,” said UPS coach Phil Willenbrock. “I felt coming into this game, our defense would have success. They have been playing like this all season and once again put us in a position to win the game.
“Offensively, we just didn’t execute. We made too many mistakes, too many turnovers. In this conference, you are going to have to score points in order to win. We had plenty of opportunities.”
Castillo, who stepped in for injured starter Nick Ruhl, finished 22-for-33 passing without an interception as Menlo improved to 2-4 overall and 1-0 in the NWC.
The freshman’s performance through the air was sorely needed, because the Loggers’ defense held the Oaks to 3 rushing yards on 30 carries.
UPS (0-4, 0-1) managed 217 total yards of offense.
Quarterback Kavin Williams led all Puget Sound rushers with 80 yards on 25 carries, but he failed to get into any type of rhythm in the passing game, completing 5 of 13 pass attempts for 48 yards and throwing a pair of interceptions.
The Loggers turned the ball over four times during the first half, including inside their own territory on each of their first two possessions.
The first one proved the costlier of the two as the Oaks recovered a Williams fumble at the UPS 42 and scored two plays later when Castillo tossed a 39-yard touchdown to Kenny Cavness, giving Menlo a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the contest.
It proved to be the only points of the first half.
A Williams interception, which was returned to the UPS 26 by Boo Molinary, ended the Loggers’ second offensive possession. As it did most of the day, the UPS defense tightened, preventing the Oaks from padding their lead.
UPS advanced to the Menlo 27 on a 27-yard pass from Williams to Matt Carter but registered its third turnover of the game when a Williams handoff to Casey Larson was mishandled and ended up on the turf before being scooped up by Menlo linebacker Shawn Winters.
The Loggers elected to stick with their ground game for much of their next possession, taking the ball at their own 22 and calling seven consecutive running plays. A 16-yard scamper by Larson was the key play of the drive as the Loggers marched to Menlo’s 19.
The lone pass play of the drive, however, resulted in yet another turnover. Beau Bussani stepped in front of a Williams pass in the end zone, preserving the 7-0 lead for the Oaks.
Unable to get a big play out of their offense, the Loggers turned to their defense to help get them on the scoreboard.
The defense delivered as linebacker Tyler Vlasak sacked Castillo on the first play of the fourth quarter, knocking the ball loose and returning it to the Menlo 22.
Peter Topolski converted a 25-yard field goal seven plays later to trim the deficit to 7-3 with 10:33 remaining.
Menlo sealed the road victory with a three-play, 50-yard scoring drive.
Castillo followed up a 20-yard pass to Lance Walkup with an 18-yard scoring strike to James Bassett, which put the Oaks up 14-3 with 6:36 remaining.
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