THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — Cal Lutheran's John Moore intercepted a ball in the endzone with 13 seconds left and Kingsmen football opened the 2023 season with a 41-35 win against Southwestern (TX) on Saturday afternoon. 

It is the third year in a row that the Kingsmen and Pirates have played. The Kingsmen won the first meeting and the Pirates took the second. These were also the first-ever games the teams played against each other and the Kingsmen took a 2-1 series lead.
 
The Kingsmen's offense came out firing on all cylinders and jumped out to a 21-0 lead. Dante Coxsom rushed for a pair of 5-yard touchdowns and Tyler Shimomura caught a 24-yard touchdown from JP Andrade. 
 
A transfer from Ohio State/Jackson State, Andrade made his first start under center. He completed 30 of 44 passes for 400 yards and one touchdown. 
 
After a Southwestern touchdown, Coxsom scored his third touchdown and Daniel Burgos made a field goal from 13 yards out. The Kingsmen went into the locker room with all the momentum, up 31-7.  
 
In the second half, the Kingsmen picked up right where they left off. Special teams made their mark as Diego Serrano blocked a punt and Cade Bryant returned it 20 yards for the score. 
 
Then it was Southwestern's turn. The Pirates scored 28 straight points and trailed 38-35 with 5:19 left in the game. Burgos gave the Kingsmen a 6-point lead as his 30-yard field goal was good with 2:31 left. Moore and the defense did the rest as the Kingsmen opened 2023 with a win.
 
Coxsom gained 45 yards on the ground to add to his three scores. Cade Cadam caught seven passes and totaled 120 yards. Shimomura put up 86 yards with his score and Julio Angel had three receptions for 53 yards. In total, Andrade completed passes to eight different targets. 
 
The Kingsmen's defense kept the Pirates on their toes, making big play after big play. Jackson White and Max Juarez had two tackles for loss, with 1.5 and 2.0 sacks, respectively. Zacharias Muhammad had two pass breakups, White had two quarterback hurries and Neville Richardson recorded a fumble
 
Jackson Nolan led the defense with 13 total tackles, White added eight, Muhammad had seven and Arthur Orta and Adam Herrera had five each.
 
The Kingsmen are off next week before heading to Pacific Lutheran for their next game. The Kingsmen and Lutes play on Sept. 16 at noon.