The California Lutheran University Kingsmen football team (0-1) dropped its home opener to the Central College Dutch (2-0) by a score of 35-10 on Saturday at William Rolland Stadium.
Although this was not the outcome that Head Coach Anthony Lugo had anticipated, this is, after all, the first game of the season.
“They fought hard all four quarters, extremely proud of them and I know we are going to get better this next week. We are going to see so much growth after these first games,” Lugo said.
The Dutch opened up the scoring with two Brady Ketchum touchdown passes. A 13-yard touchdown reception by Jack Johnson followed by a 61-yard reception by Keegan Glover rounded out the scoring in the first half.
Cal Lutheran got on the board for their first points of the season by way of a 22-yard field goal by senior kicker Daniel Burgos.
Senior quarterback Jaden Casey, who at first struggled by throwing two interceptions, eventually found his rhythm in completing 17 of 32 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown.
“I think that there was a lot of room to improve. First game back, first game actually starting in college at quarterback. It’s definitely a fun experience with the new guys, they’ve welcomed me with open arms since I’ve been here in July. But there is a lot of room to improve and we are going to look at the film, see the good stuff, and see the bad stuff,” Casey said.
Senior receiver/return specialist Desmond Thompson, who contributed three receptions for 25 yards, said he knew the work that would have to go in when competing against a team of Central College’s caliber.
“Throughout the week, the coaches prepared us well, we saw everything that we were prepared for out there, we just didn’t execute sometimes. But, I mean, overall I think we did pretty good with knowing what they were going to do,” Thompson said.
In the second half of the game, Ketchum found Ryan Neu for an 89-yard touchdown pass, followed by a 6-yard Ketchum to Lane Mueller pass to close out the scoring in the 3rd quarter.
The Kingsmen once again got on the board with 06:36 left in the 4th quarter, with a 21-yard scoring toss from Casey to senior wide receiver Cade Cadam. The Dutch closed out the scoring on a 2-yard run by Jase Grunder with 02:58 left in the 4th quarter.
“Today it was the first game so it’s going to be a little rough, but it was a top 20 team in the nation in D3. So I mean that just proves that we can compete with anybody in SCIAC and whoever we see next. And, I think that is going to be the toughest team we play so I think it’s just going to go up from here,” Thompson said.
Despite giving up four touchdown passes and 35 points in total, Lugo said the Kingsmen know that this is a long season and there is always room for improvement, both offensively and defensively.
“You know we are going to have to make some adjustments across the board. After this film, this was a great test to see where we are at and where our strengths are. Obviously, we had some first game mistakes and jitters but we are excited with the future here,” Lugo said.
This was Casey’s first game as the Kingsmen’s starting quarterback. He said he said he hopes to lead by example and stay calm under pressure, and that he hopes these traits will lead Cal Lutheran to a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title.
“I hate losing, it’s one thing I hate so I’m just going to take this, feel the loss, and then tomorrow, make our corrections and come Tuesday because Monday is our day off, come Tuesday we’re just going to really prepare for Pacific Lutheran,” Casey said.
As the Kingsmen look to move on from this loss, the team will host Pacific Lutheran University at William Rolland Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 1 p.m.
