FOREST GROVE, Ore. – Two program records were broken in Pacific University's 69-6 rout over Puget Sound, Saturday afternoon inside Hanson Stadium.
 
Pacific (3-1, 2-0 NWC) set a new program record for interceptions in a game with eight in the contest. Caden Almer (Junior/Pollock Pines, CA) also broke the record for most made extra point in a game as the kicker was a perfect 9-for-9 on the day.
 
The Boxers' defense was nothing short of dominant, holding the Loggers to just six total rushing yards. Jesse Stroede (Freshman/Honolulu, HI) was excellent in his breakout performance at cornerback. The freshman led the defense with seven tackles in the game while recording four pass-break-ups and snatching two interceptions.
 
Koa Atkinson-Sioloa (Sophomore/Holualoa, HI) had two interceptions of his own and nearly returned one for a touchdown. The defensive back also tallied four tackles in the contest.
 
Josh Harris (Senior/Sonora, CA) delivered his third 100-yard rushing performance. The senior carried the ball 17 times for 100 yards and a touchdown.
 
Kenyon Harris (Senior/Ogden, UT) had a steady performance under center completing 15 of 22 passes for 145 and two touchdowns. The Boxers' signal caller also picked up a touchdown on the ground after he scrambled 24 yards to find the end zone.
 
Kyle Kern (Junior/Roseville, CA) and Ty Hargis (Senior/Lebanon, OR) had no trouble navigating the Puget Sound secondary as they each enjoyed very good days to lead the Pacific receiving corps. Kern registered a team-high seven catches for 74 yards and a touchdown. Hargis made one touchdown grab of his own while racking up three catches for 41 yards.
 
Noah Steverson (Sophomore/Rohnert Park, CA) powered his way into the backfield on multiple occasions as the sophomore had 1.5 sacks and four total tackles. Gage Quinabo-Reis (Senior/Honolulu, HI) also made his presence felt with three tackles and one sack to his name.
 
 
How It Happened
 
Pacific's defense asserted their dominance early by intercepting Puget Sound's Murdock Rutledge their opening drive. Jesse Stroede picked up his first collegiate interception to give the Boxers the ball back.
 
After the teams traded punts, the Pacific offensive went to work and used just two plays to score. Kenyon Harris hit Hargis with a 22-yard strike to take a 7-0 lead halfway through the first quarter.
 
On the Loggers' next drive, Declan Brown (Senior/Layton, UT) picked off Rutledge for his first interception of the season.  
After Pacific stalled on their next possession, Stroede earned his second interception of the game and returned it 46 yards to put his team in great position to score. 
 
Kenyon Harris did it himself on the ensuing drive, calling his own number and scrambling 24 yards to find the end zone and make it 14-0.
 
The Boxers' defense showed up again on Puget Sound's next drive as Robert Wood (Junior/Vallejo, CA) came up with the pick six to quickly make it 21-0. After an Atkinson-Sioloa interception, Almer kicked a 36-yard field goal through the uprights on the following drive to extend the lead to 24-0.
 
Another fantastic drive capped off by a 14-yard hook up between Kenyon Harris and Kern put the hosts up 31-0. Just before the halftime whistle, Atkinson-Sioloa stepped in front of a Loggers' receiver to record his second interception of the game and the sixth for his team.
 
The Boxers opened the second half with an 11-play, 52-yard drive that ended with another Almer field goal. Pacific's defense forced Puget Sound into a turnover-on-downs at their own 48-yard line before Josh Harris scampered for an 18-yard rushing touchdown on the ensuing drive to make it 41-0.
 
On the first play of the Loggers' next drive, Zion Booker (Freshman/Fairfield, CA) took an interception 29-yards to the house for another pick-six. 
 
Kash Taylor (Junior/Hemet, CA) got in on the action by punching in a touchdown from one yard out to make it 55-6. 
 
Rayce Manriki (Sophomore/Honolulu, HI) registered the third interception return for a touchdown for the Boxers and Lucas Voss (Freshman/Sherwood, OR) pulled off an impressive 35-yard, breaking multiple tackles on his way to the end zone to clinch the nice 69-6 score line.
 
By The Numbers
 

• The Boxers' defense set a new program record with eight interceptions in a game. The previous record was set in 1962 when Pacific recorded seven interceptions against Whitman.
• Almer set a new record for the most PAT's made in a single game. The previous record was held by Moses Villareal-Gomez, who made eight.
• Pacific has won five consecutive contests against Puget Sound.

 
Up Next
 
Pacific heads back on the road to continue Northwest Conference action as they travel to McMinnville, Ore. to meet No. 7 Linfield on Oct. 16 at 1 p.m.
 
For the latest information on Pacific Athletics, make sure to check out GoBoxers.com. You can also find the Boxers on social media at @GoBoxers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
 
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