Whitworth College, ranked 17th in the D3football.com top 25 for the second week in a row, will host Azusa Pacific of the NAIA on Saturday in the Pine Bowl. Though not the first ever meeting between the schools, it is the first time the Cougars will visit Spokane. The Pirates are coming off of an important 14-13 double overtime win at Wisconsin-Stout, which gives the Bucs a 3-0 record against NCAA west region teams heading into Northwest Conference play. Azusa dropped a 27-10 decision at home to Wisconsin-LaCrosse, ranked 8th in the D3football.com poll.
The Pirates: Whitworth earned a hard-fought victory in dramatic fashion. Joel Clark (Sr., QB, Spokane, Wash. - Mt. Spokane) engineered a 76-yard touchdown drive in the final 1:06 to score the game-tying touchdown with :03 to play in regulation. He tossed a four-yard touchdown pass to Jay Tully (Jr., SS, Spokane, Wash. - Mead), who has played some wide receiver this year, for the crucial score. Clark completed 18 of 31 passes for 248 yards with a touchdown and three interceptions (his first of the season). Tully's touchdown was the first of his career and he finished with three catches for 24 yards. Michael Allan (Sr., TE, Bellevue, Wash. - Interlake) caught six passes for 108 yards to lead the receivers. Milton Nelson (RS So., Spokane, Wash. - Lewis & Clark / EWU) made his Pirate debut and ran for 59 yards on 15 carries to key a tough ground game. Kyle Havercroft (RS Jr., RB, Rathdrum, Idaho - Lakeland) carried 11 times for 42 yards. Shane Stonemetz (RS So., RB, Zillah, Wash. - Zillah) only ran the ball one time, but it was key as he scored the eventual winning touchdown in overtime from two yards out.
Tyler Hall (Sr., LB, Newport Beach, Calif. - Goldenwest Coll.) and Nick Portrey (Sr., LB, Ritzville, Wash. - Ritzville) led the Pirates with nine tackles each. Jordan Marshall (So., SS, Spokane, Wash. - Mt. Spokane) had eight tackles, including three for loss, before leaving with a knee injury late in the contest. Ryan Marshall (Jr., CB, Salem, Ore. - Sprague) made six tackles, including one for loss of eight yards, and broke up a key pass in the endzone. Peter Ghilardi (Jr., CB, Ridgecrest, Calif. - Morepark Coll.) made four stops, including two for loss on screen pass attempts, and also broke up a pair of passes. Cameron Collings (Sr., Spokane, Wash. - Mead) made both of his extra points, including the ultimate game winner in the second OT. He is 11/11 on PATs this season. He punted five times for an average of 38.8 yards. No Fluke: Despite the drama of tying in the final seconds and winning in overtime, Saturday's victory at Wisconsin-Stout was no fluke. The Pirates outgained the Blue Devils 403-278. Whitworth had a 23-14 edge in first downs and a 34:32-25:28 advantage in time of possession. Stout scored its only regulation touchdown on a 71 yard run by standout running back Ryan Englebert after it had appeared Englebert was stopped at the line of scrimmage. His run accounted for more than 25% of Stout's offense. The Midwest : Whitworth has now played only three schools from east of the Mountain Time Zone. The Pirates played a home and away series with Bethel (Minn.) in 2002 and 2003, with each school winning on its home field. In 1976, Whitworth hosted St. John's (Minn.) in a hastily scheduled game after Whitman College cancelled its season due to lack of players. 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 twelve straight games against teams from the Golden State. National Ranking: Whitworth is ranked 17th in the fourth weekly release of the D3football.com poll. 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. 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 a dozen 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. After not catching a touchdown this past Saturday, Allan's streak of at least one touchdown reception in the previous 11 games came to an end. Tracking Joel Clark: A starter at quarterback since midway through his freshman year, Joel Clark has already broken the Whitworth career total offense record and is now tied for Whitworth's career mark in touchdown passes. Clark's 295 yards of total offense on Saturday gives him 7,605 yards of total offense in his career, surpassing former Pirate quarterback Danny Figuiera's record of 6,763 set in 1993. 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 needs 233 yards to break Figuiera's career passing yardage record of 6,805. He has 57 career touchdown passes after Saturday, tying the Pirate career record originally set by Denny Spurlock in 1961. Clark has thrown at least one touchdown pass in the last 21 games. 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: Azusa Pacific University dropped out of the NAIA top 25 this week for the first time this season. The Cougars are 1-3 against a very tough schedule. Their three losses have come against San Diego (the #1 team in NCAA 1-AA mid majors), Wisconsin-Whitewater (ranked 2nd in Division III and last year's DIII runner up) and Wisconsin-LaCrosse (ranked 8th in Division III and holder of a win over I-AA South Dakota St.). APU's win was 31-6 at Malone (OH), currently ranked 23rd in the NAIA. Azusa Pacific's defense has been solid all season. Linebacker Scott Ellis leads the team with 37 tackles. Defensive lineman Josh Zeno has five tackles for losses of 21 yards, including three sacks. Cornerback Cameron Tucker has three interceptions. Running back Marcus Lampkin has run for 234 yards this season and a pair of touchdowns. But overall the running game has struggled to averages of 84.5 yards per game and 2.5 yards per carry. Junior quarterback Rudy Carlton has completed 48.7% of his passes for 488 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. John Davis has caught ten passes for 87 yards and a score. Last week the Cougars took a 10-6 first quarter lead against UW-LaCrosse after a pair of turnovers deep in Eagles territory. But LaCrosse outscored Azusa Pacific 21-0 over the remaining three quarters to win 27-10. Lampkin carried 23 times for 79 yards and a score, while Carlton completed 12 of 26 passes for 125 yards with an interception. Linebacker Mike Perez had a game-high 13 tackles and an interception, while Ellis was in on 11 stops. The Series: This is the second meeting between the schools. Azusa Pacific defeated Whitworth 41-20 in 1999 on a night that the school celebrated its centennial as an institution. Whitworth head coach John Tully is a former Cougar QB who is a member of Azusa Pacific's hall of fame. Coach Tully's Quotes: On the Win at Wis.-Stout: "That was a tremendous win against an outstanding team. We've asked our guys all year to 'expect great effort' and we got it from every guy in uniform. The defense was outstanding and kept us in the game, giving us the opportunity at the end. The offense took that opportunity and was able to finish." On Azusa Pacific: "They are very talented and probably one of the better NAIA teams in the country, regardless of the current ranking. Their last two losses have come against two of the best division III teams in the nation. They are athletic and very well coached." The Coaches: John Tully is in his twelfth season as head coach of the Pirates. He has a 53-52 record at Whitworth. However, he has led the Pirates to a 49-29 record over the past eight+ 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 84-73 in his 16th season as a head coach. Victor Santa Cruz, in his first season as head coach, came to Azusa Pacific in 2001. During his first 3 seasons he served as the offensive coordinator, then switched to defensive coordinator years ago. Other Division III Football Links: American Football Coaches Association |
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