Whitworth College, ranked 11th in the latest D3football.com top 25 poll, is looking for the best start to a season since 1960 on Saturday when the Pirates head to Atherton, California to take on the Northwest Conference's newest member in Menlo College. As usual, the game will be carried live on KSBN 1230am, with the pregame broadcast beginning at 11:35 am. Whitworth is coming off of a 70-3 Homecoming win over Lewis & Clark that improved the record to 6-0, while the Oaks (3-3) dropped a 34-10 decision to Pacific Lutheran.

The Pirates: In front of a record Homecoming and Hall of Fame weekend crowd that included the newly inducted 1960 football team, as well as former football players from every era, Whitworth rolled to its largest margin of victory in 30 years by beating winless Lewis & Clark 70-3. The only margins larger came in 1976, a 70-0 win over Montana Tech, and 1971, an 83-13 win over Northern Montana. Whitworth celebrated Homecoming reunion and Hall of Fame induction in front of 3,650 spectators. The previous highest recorded crowd was 3,110 during Homecoming of 2002 during a game with Pacific Lutheran.

With the starters playing only two quarters of football, Whitworth rolled to a 49-3 halftime lead. The Pirates outgained L&C 490-176 and had a 6-1 edge in turnovers.

The game turned against the Pioneers late in the first quarter. The Pirates had just taken a 14-3 lead when Steve Silva (Jr., WR, Goleta, Calif. - Coll. of the Canyons) turned a screen pass into a 45 yard touchdown. On the next L&C possession, Jay Tully (Jr., SS, Spokane, Wash. - Mead) intercepted Pioneer QB AJ Brown and returned the ball 40 yards for a touchdown. And then on the next L&C possession, Ryan Marshall (Jr., CB, Salem, Ore. - Sprague) picked off Brown and broke several tackles on the way to a 48 yard touchdown return, giving the Pirates a 28-3 lead early in the second quarter. Tully (5) and Marshall (4) lead the NWC in interceptions this season.

Joel Clark (Sr., QB, Spokane, Wash. - Mt. Spokane) completed 11 of 15 passes for 186 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He also ran 20 yards for a touchdown on his only carry. Clark broke the career touchdown pass record, previously held by Denny Spurlock who played on the 1960 team, and now has 60 in his career. Jon Luke (So., QB, Enumclaw, Wash. - Enumclaw) was solid in relief, completing all four of his passes for 28 yards and a score.

Silva finished with six catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns, his first two at Whitworth. Michael Allan (Sr., TE, Bellevue, Wash. - Interlake) had three catches for 53 yards and a 34 yard touchdown. Allan's touchdown tied Sam Adams (1948-51) for most career touchdown receptions with 24. Drew Griggs (Jr., TE, Colbert, Wash. - Mt. Spokane) caught his second touchdown of the season.

Ten different Whitworth runners combined for 276 rushing yards. Milton Nelson (RS So., RB, Spokane, Wash. - EWU) ran nine times for 84 yards, while Shane Stonemetz carried nine times for 79 yards and a score. Kyle Havercroft (RS Jr., RB, Rathdrum, Idaho - Lakeland) scored his team-leading fifth touchdown of the year. Obe Quarless (So., RB, Tacoma, Wash. - Bellarmine Prep) scored his first TD of the season.

Tully led the defense with his two interceptions. In addition to Marshall's pick, Peter Ghilardi (Jr., CB, Ridgecrest, Calif. - Moorpark Coll.) and Marc Grow (Jr., DB, Warden, Wash. - Warden) had interceptions. Jermane Easterlin (RS So., DE, Tacoma, Wash. - Bellarmine Prep) had Whitworth's fumble recovery. Phil Entel (RS Jr., FS, Clarkston, Wash. - Idaho) led the team with five tackles.

Cam Collings (Sr., PK, Spokane, Wash. - Mead) had a strong day kicking. He made all ten of his extra points and kicked his only punt 42 yards to inside the L&C 20 yard line.

The Streak: At 6-0, the Pirates have matched the 2001 team for best start since 1960. That team lost its seventh game and went 7-1 in the regular season to earn the school's first spot in the NCAA Division III playoffs. (A regular season game against Redlands was lost due to the events of September 11, 2001). If Whitworth wins at Menlo, the 7-0 record will be the best since the Pirates went 9-0 during the 1960 regular season.

On the Road to California: The Pirates have played 15 total games in California, with a record of 7-8. Whitworth has won the last six in a row, including this season's win at Redlands. Counting home and away contests, Whitworth has now won 13 straight games against teams from the Golden State after the win over Azusa Pacific. The Pirates will try to improve the streak on Saturday at Menlo.

National Ranking: Whitworth is ranked 11th in the seventh weekly release of the D3football.com poll, moving up from 12th last week. Click here for the entire poll. The D3football.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.

Leading the League: Whitworth leads the Northwest Conference in several different team categories, demonstrating the all-around play by the Pirates this season. Whitworth is first in scoring offense (30.8) and scoring defense (10.6 points allowed per game) and in total offense (404.8 yards per game) and total defense (261.0 yards allowed per game). The Pirates are also first in turnover margin (+10 overall, +1.67 per game).

Whitworth also ranks in the top 20 nationally in several categories. They are turnover margin (9th), scoring defense (14th), total offense (18th) and pass efficiency defense (81.8 eff. - 17th).

Scouting Michael Allan: At 6'-7" and 264 pounds, Michael Allan has developed into a bona fide NFL prospect at tight end. He scored very well in strength and speed tests conducted by scouts over the summer and has been seen by more than 24 scouts so far this season. Last fall he was named to the AFCA Division III All-America team after catching 36 passes for 693 yards (19.2 yards per catch). He set a new school record with 15 touchdown receptions, breaking the old record set in 1975 by Doug Long, who went on to play three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks. Allan leads the Pirates in receptions (29) and receiving yardage (502) this season, and has tied Whitworth's career record of 24 touchdown catches, set by Pirate legendary player and coach Sam Adams between 1948 and 1951.

Tracking Joel Clark: A starter at quarterback since midway through his freshman year, Joel Clark has broken the Whitworth career records for total offense, career passing yardage and career touchdown passes. Clark's 216 yards of total offense on Saturday gives him 8,316 yards of total offense in his career. He had 2,636 yards of total offense as a sophomore, and 2,668 yards as a junior, which are the third and second highest single season totals in Pirate history. He has now passed for 7,184 yards in his career after tossing for 186 last weekend. He has 60 career touchdown passes. Clark was a First Team All-NWC selection last fall and was the Don Hanson's Football Gazette First Team Preseason Division III All-America for 2006.

Two Way Jay: Jay Tully has turned into Whitworth's version of the 60-minute man. Tully, a starting strong safety, leads the team and the NWC with five interceptions and ten total passes defended. He has 30 tackles, third on the team. Tully has also caught nine passes for 112 yards and a touchdown while coming off of the bench as a slot receiver. In addition, he is Whitworth's primary kick off returner.

NWC Poll: Whitworth finished second in the NWC preseason coaches poll with 41 points. Defending champion Linfield finished first with all seven first place votes. It is a new-look conference this season with Menlo joining the NWC as a football-only affiliate. Link to NWC Football Coaches Poll.

The Opponents: Menlo College has improved dramatically over 2005, when the Oaks finished 0-10 in their final season as a Division III independent. Now an affiliate member of the NWC in football, the Oaks are 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the conference. Menlo, which has played five of its first six games at home, has been solid on offense and ranks second in the NWC in total defense. In addition, the Oaks' special teams have been explosive, returning one kick off and two punts for touchdowns.

Quarterbacking duties have been evenly split between senior Adam Hazel and junior Gregg Parker. Hazel has completed 49.4% of his passes for 486 yards with three touchdowns and four interceptions. Parker's completion percentage is exactly 50 for 507 yards with five touchdowns and four interceptions. Hazel is listed as the starter. Tight end Keith Marin has been the favorite target. He has 22 catches for 297 yards and three touchdowns. Tailback Drew Faria leads the team with 168 yards rushing with two scores. On defense, defensive end Mike Mather leads the conference with eight sacks. Middle linebacker Asti Merino leads the team with 48 tackles and has been responsible for three fumbles (two forced, one recovered).

Last Saturday the Oaks took a 10-0 lead at home against Pacific Lutheran, but then saw the Lutes score 34 unanswered points in a 34-10 loss. PLU held Menlo to 124 yards of total offense. The Oak quarterbacks combined to complete only 12 of 33 passes for 107 yards with three interceptions and one touchdown, which was a 28 yard completion from Parker to Marin in the second quarter. Merino finished with 11 tackles.

The Series: Whitworth leads the all-time series 5-1 and has won the last four meetings. The biggest Pirate win in the series was 48-10 in the teams' last meeting. The biggest, and only, Menlo victory was 24-21 in overtime in 1999. Whitworth won the last meeting in Atherton 41-35 in overtime in 2004.

Last Meeting: Whitworth dismantled Menlo College 48-10 before 1,750 Parents' Weekend fans. Whitworth was efficient offensively, passing for 269 yards and running for 203 more while scoring on all five first half possessions to take a 35-3 lead at half time. The defense held the Oaks to 302 yards of offense and one late touchdown (6:51 to play). Joel Clark completed 11 of 16 passes for 239 yards and three touchdowns in less than three quarters of play. Michael Allan caught five passes for 156 yards and two touchdowns, including an 82 yard score just before half time. Chris Ahsing (RS Jr., RB, Ewa Beach, Hawaii-Campbell) and Kyle Havercroft (So., RB, Rathdrum, Idaho - Lakeland) combined for 29 carries for 139 yards and three touchdowns. Ryan Marshall returned a third quarter interception 17 yards to set up one touchdown and forced a fourth quarter fumble to set up another. Marshall also had four other pass deflections. Justin Rundle (Jr., DE, Spokane, Wash. - Mt. Spokane) had two sacks and another tackle for loss that totaled 24 yards.

Coach Tully's Quotes:

On the Win over L&C: "I was very pleased that everyone played and all gave a great effort and did a quality job. Our offense worked well with a short field, while our defense made plays and forced turnovers."

On Menlo: "Menlo is always a challenge, especially at their place where we've had some very close games. We need to continue to grow as a team. Our special teams will have to be sharp. As always, we will try to improve again this week in each area."

The Coaches: John Tully is in his twelfth season as head coach of the Pirates. He has a 56-52 record at Whitworth. However, he has led the Pirates to a 42-19 record over the past six+ years and was named the 2001 NWC Coach of the Year. Tully is the winningest coach in school history, as well as the longest serving Pirate coach. Prior to his arrival, Whitworth had suffered through 11 losing seasons in 12 years. Overall he is 87-73 in his 16th season as a head coach.

Mark Kaanapu is in his sixth season leading the Oaks. He has a record of 24-30 to date.

2006 Statistics

2006 Roster

Other Division III Football Links:

Northwest Conference On-line

D3football.com

American Football Coaches Association