THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – Cal Lutheran football (1-0, 0-0) began its 2025 season in dramatic fashion, clawing out an 18-15 win against Pacific Lutheran as the clock ran out during the Lutes' final drive.

The annual battle for Lutheran supremacy on the west coast came with plenty of pregame storylines. Entering today's game, Cal Lutheran trailed 11-12 in the rivalry, and new starting quarterback and sophomore Joe Farley was being tasked with ending the Kingsmen's two-game losing streak to the Lutes.

It was a defensive battle on both sides early in the first half. On its second drive, Cal Lutheran went for it on 4th-and-short but wasn't able to convert on a pass. Pacific Lutheran (0-1, 0-0) responded with a 59-yard touchdown drive but missed the extra point to take a 6-0 lead.

On their ensuing drive, the Kingsmen moved the ball well after establishing the run game behind Mehki Delouth. Farley was able to spread the ball around, completing passes to three different receivers on the drive. However, the drive stalled nearing the red zone as Cal Lutheran turned it over on downs again, this time stuffed on a run.

The Lutes quickly punted it back to the Kingsmen, and JD Sumlin took his turn churning out yards on the ground. Farley completed six of his first seven passes of the drive, including a 22-yard strike to TeNorris Merkel. The drive ended with a 41-yard field goal from freshman kicker Matthew Montegna, knocking it through the uprights on his first career attempt to give Cal Lutheran its first points of 2025.

Two plays into the Lutes' next drive, sophomore linebacker Drew Nees jumped a short pass on the left sideline and made the interception, bringing it back for a touchdown to take the lead for Cal Lutheran in a quick turn of events. Nees' big play injected the crowd with energy as the Kingsmen led 10-6 with just over two minutes remaining in the opening half.

After trading three-and-outs, Pacific Lutheran was able to quickly drive down the field thanks to a 35-yard catch-and-run. The Lutes eventually knocked in a short field goal with just a few seconds left to send the game into halftime, Kingsmen up 10-9.

On the Lutes' second drive of the third quarter, they methodically marched 80 yards over 12 plays and took back the lead with a touchdown. Trying to make up for the previously missed extra point, they went for two but couldn't convert. The Kingsmen were now down by five.

The six drives contained a combined six punts from both teams, with the last of those six being a two-yard punt by Pacific Lutheran. The special teams blunder gave Cal Lutheran great field position and a chance to regain the lead, with the drive beginning at the Lutes' 39-yard-line with six minutes to play.

A couple of Delouth scampers gave Cal Lutheran a first down, and then Davian Gonzalez made a 21-yard reception to advance his offense into the red zone. The next play, Sumlin exploded out of the backfield and took it to the house with a powerful 12-yard touchdown run. The Kingsmen took a 16-15 lead with 3:25 remaining. Electing to go for two, Farley found Tyler Woodworth in the end zone and extended the lead to three points.

The Lutes responded with a quick three-and-out and punted the ball back to Cal Lutheran. The offense then ran some clock and forced Pacific Lutheran to use two of its timeouts before the two-minute warning. Kyle Howie, who was bombing punts all game long, saved his best for last and rocketed a 57-yarder to give the Lutes a long way to go and only 1:50 left in the game.

Despite their inefficiencies all game, the Lutes offense was stringing together an impressive drive with control and urgency. With under 20 seconds, Cal Lutheran was called for pass interference, moving the ball up to the 25-yard line. The next play, the Pacific Lutheran quarterback rolled out to his left and delivered a beautiful ball to a wide open receiver in the end zone, but he dropped the would-be game-winning touchdown with 12 seconds left.

The following snap, the Lutes quarterback couldn't find anyone open and scrambled for a five-yard gain, but he didn't realize that time was running out, and the clock hit zero as he shifted his feet out of bounds. The refs conferred, and decided that the game was over.

The Kingsmen won the possession battle, 32:55 to 27:05, and overcame a plethora of penalties (10 for 98 yards) to win its season opener. Farley provided 148 passing yards, including 50 to Woodworth on his five receptions. Sumlin and Delouth combined for 91 yards on the ground.

The Cal Lutheran defense showed out, especially the linebacker duo of Arthur Orta and Nees. Orta led the team with nine tackles (six solo), 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks, three pass breakups, and an additional QB hurry. Nees had the huge pick-six to get the Kingsmen their first touchdown of the year and added five tackles (three solo), 1.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups, and a QB hurry.

Howie starred as punter with seven boots for an average of 46.1 yards, over 12.5 yards longer than the Lutes' punting average.

The Kingsmen are off next weekend before traveling up to Washington to take on Puget Sound on September 20.