Cal Lutheran football beat the University of Redlands 40-14 on Sept. 27 at William Rolland Stadium in Thousand Oaks.

The win kept the Smudge Pot Trophy home and gave the Kingsmen (2-1, 1-0 SCIAC) their first home trophy victory since the rivalry prize was established in 2012. Cal Lutheran had won the Smudge Pot on the road last season and successfully defended it on home turf.

The Kingsmen trailed early after Redlands scored midway through the first quarter. Brandon Treggs answered with an 11-yard touchdown run to tie it at 7-7.

Quarterback Joe Farley put Cal Lutheran ahead 14-7 early in the second quarter, capping a 55-yard drive with a four-yard rushing touchdown. Redlands missed two field-goal attempts before halftime, and the Kingsmen carried that lead into the break.

The Bulldogs tied it at 14-14 on an 18-play drive late in the third quarter. That's when Cal Lutheran took over.

Farley hit Tyler Woodworth for a 35-yard touchdown with 1:33 left in the third to retake the lead, 20-14. He found TeNorris Merkel for a 32-yard score early in the fourth to push it to 26-14.

Outside linebacker Blake Hurley scooped up a Redlands fumble and raced 85 yards to the end zone with just over three minutes remaining, stretching the lead to 33-14. Josiah Allen then intercepted a Redlands pass, setting up a 34-yard drive that ended with John Gilbert's three-yard touchdown run for the 40-14 final.

Cal Lutheran closed the game on a 26-0 run after the score was knotted at 14.

Farley finished 16 of 26 passing for 260 yards and two touchdowns. He also added a rushing score. Woodworth hauled in five catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. Merkel added four receptions for 53 yards and a score. Gilbert led the ground game with 46 rushing yards and a touchdown.

The Kingsmen defense forced three turnovers: two fumbles and an interception.

The performance continued a surge that began with Cal Lutheran's 41-7 rout of Puget Sound on Sept. 19. After that game, head coach Anthony Lugo told the CLU Echo on Sept. 22, "This is a big win. You know, the seniors that we do have, they've done a great job of leading … So I feel really good going into [SCIAC] play."

The Kingsmen open SCIAC road play with a 1 p.m. matchup at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Saturday, Oct. 3, at John Zinda Field, according to CLU Athletics. The Stags enter that game after a 22-10 road win over Pomona-Pitzer. Cal Lutheran leads the all-time series 17-13 and has won the last two meetings.