Whitworth University will put its five game winning streak on the line Saturday at Azusa Pacific University in the final non-conference contest on the 2007 football schedule. The Pirates (5-1), ranked 23rd in the latest D3football.com poll, are coming off of a 48-7 Northwest Conference win at Lewis & Clark. The Cougars (3-5), who have played arguably the toughest small-college schedule in the country this season, won 27-17 at NCAA DII Humboldt State last Saturday. The kick off is 6:00 p.m. at Azusa and is Homecoming and the final home game of the season for the Cougars.
The Pirates: Whitworth led 20-0 after one quarter, 41-7 at half time and cruised to the 48-7 win at Lewis & Clark on Saturday. The Pirates outgained the Pioneers 572-149 and ran for 395 yards. The 395 rushing yards is the second-highest single game total in school history. The school record is 406 yards in 1962 against Eastern Washington. Milton Nelson (So., RB, Spokane, Wash. - EWU) and Tyler Mattair (So., RB, Kennewick, Wash. - Southridge) each ran for more than 100 yards in the game. Nelson carried 19 times for 128 yards with a touchdown, while Mattair had 24 rushes for 112 yards and a score. Adam Anderson (So., RB, Elk, Wash. - Univ. of Idaho), the leading rusher in the NWC this season, ran only seven times for 69 yards and a touchdown. Chris Ahsing (Sr., RB, Ewa Beach, Hawaii - Campbell) picked up 61 yards on eight carries and ran for two touchdowns. Kory Kemp (Jr., QB, Redmond, Wash. - Eastlake) had the other rushing touchdown for the Bucs, who had six in the game. In addition to his 25 yards rushing, he completed 6 of 7 passes for 64 yards in his one quarter of work. Jon Luke (Jr., QB, Enumclaw, Wash. - Enumclaw) played the second quarter and completed 5 of 7 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown to Joey VanHoomissen (Jr., TE, Renton, Wash. - Kentridge). Steve Silva (Sr., WR, Goleta, Calif. - Coll. of the Canyons) caught six passes for 83 yards. The Whitworth defense saw a lot of fresh faces get plenty of playing time. Layton Brown (Fr., LB, Kennewick, Wash. - Kennewick) led the Bucs with six tackles, while Dane Gilbertson (Fr., LB, Lake Stevens, Wash. - Lake Stevens) added five stops. Greg Caster (Sr., LB, Sherwood, Ore. - Sherwood) finished with four tackles, including a six yard sack, another three yard tackle for loss and he recovered a fumble. Marc Grow (Sr., LB, Warden, Wash. - Warden) had four tackles, including a nine yard sack, and blocked a punt attempt. Home Sweet Home No More: Whitworth's three game homestand this season was the longest in the Pine Bowl since the Pirates played four games in a row at home in 1999. While Whitworth was able to enjoy four of the first five games of 2007 at home, it also means that the Pirates will finish the year with four of five games on the road. Shooting Blanks: Whitworth's wins over La Verne (34-0) and Menlo (49-0) give the Pirates two shutouts in one season for the first time since Hugh Campbell's Bucs shut out Montana Tech (70-0) and Pacific, Ore. (45-0) during a 6-3 campaign in 1976. Whitworth's 1975 Northwest Conference co-title season included three shutout wins over Eastern Washington (20-0), Pacific (35-0) and Lewis & Clark (37-0). The school record for shutouts in a season is seven in 1961.
Seniors Everywhere: Fifteen seniors started the opener for the Pirates, the most veteran starting lineup in John Tully's tenure as head coach. Nine seniors started on defense, where eight have at least one full season of starting experience behind them. Six seniors started on offense, and four of those players started last year. Versus California: Whitworth bounced back from the season-opening loss to Redlands to beat La Verne in week two and Menlo in week four. The Pirates have won 16 of the last 17 against schools from the Golden State. The Bucs are 10-1-1 at home against California schools and 9-8 in California, winning the last eight in a row on the road. The Azusa game is the fourth and final California contest on the Pirates' schedule this season. Offensive Defense: Whitworth has scored three touchdowns and two safeties by the defense so far this season for a total of 22 points. Marc Grow has two of the touchdown returns with a fumble (La Verne) and an interception (Menlo). Ryan Marshall's interception return for a touchdown against Menlo was the second of his career. Takeitaway!: Whitworth leads the Northwest Conference and NCAA Division III in turnover margin. The Pirates have taken away the ball 19 times (13 interceptions, six fumble recoveries), while giving the ball away only three times, for a margin of +16. Sixteen divided by six games means the Bucs are taking the ball away 2.7 more times per game than opponents so far this season. In addition, Whitworth is ranked 12th in passes intercepted (13) and first in turnovers lost (3). Ryan Marshall (Sr., DB, Salem, Ore. - Sprague) leads the NWC in interceptions this season with four, and he has 18 in his career. No Running!: Whitworth is first in the Northwest Conference and 13th in NCAA Division III in rushing defense. The Pirates have allowed only 68.8 yards per game and 2.3 yards per carry. One ball carrier, Ron Fricke of Wisconsin-Stout, has run for more than 100 yards this season against the Pirates. And his single game total of 113 yards accounts for more than 25% of the rushing yards allowed (413) by the Whitworth defense this season. "A" for Effort: Adam Anderson leads the NWC in rushing this season with 598 yards (over 98 yards per game). He has run for five touchdowns and has a carry of at least 40 yards in four of the Bucs' six games this season. He is averaging a robust 6.4 yards per attempt. Sticky Fingers: Steve Silva leads the Northwest Conference in total receptions and receptions per game so far this fall. Silva has 38 catches for 448 yards, averaging 6.3 receptions per game. The senior was a First Team All-NWC selection in 2006. Three-way Jay: Jay Tully (Sr., DB, Spokane, Wash. - Mead) has made his presence felt all over the football field this season. The starting strong safety is third on the team with 35 tackles this fall and he has three pass interceptions. He also has averaged 23.2 yards on kick off returns (he is tied with Adam Anderson with five of those for the team lead). And when Whitworth goes with four or five wide receivers, he is on the field catching passes. He has seven receptions for 43 yards this season, including the game-winning touchdown catch against Wis.-Stout as time expired. Looking Back at 2006: Whitworth accomplished a great deal in its 100th season of varsity football. The Pirates went 10-0 during the regular season, setting a school record for total number of wins. Whitworth went on to win the first post-season playoff game in school history before finishing 11-1. The Pirates won the Northwest Conference title outright for the first time, after sharing titles in 1975 and 2001, and finished the year ranked 9th in the final D3football.com poll. Quarterback Joel Clark and linebacker Casey Clifton were the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year in the NWC. John Tully was named Coach of the Year in the conference. National Ranking: Whitworth is now ranked in the top 25 of both major NCAA Division III polls. The Pirates are rated 23rd in the D3football.com poll (up from #25 last week) and are now ranked 24th in the AFCA Division III Coaches Poll. NWC Poll: Whitworth finished second in the NWC preseason coaches poll with 44 points and two first place votes. Linfield finished first with five first place votes and 52 points. Menlo is in its second season in the NWC as a football-only affiliate. Link to NWC Football Coaches Poll.
The Opponents: It is not going out on a limb to say that Azusa Pacific (3-5 this season) has played the most challenging small college football schedule in the country. The NAIA Cougars have already played six teams that were ranked at the date of the game in their respective divisions. Azusa has lost to a pair of NCAA FCS teams - 42-32 at home to San Diego (6-0 and the top-ranked FCS mid-major) and 30-28 at Nicholls State, La. (5-1 and ranked 10 spots above Eastern Washington in both major FCS polls as of October 15). In addition, APU is 2-1 against teams currently ranked in the top-25 of the NAIA. Last week the Cougars dominated for most of the game at NCAA Division II Humboldt State in a 27-17 win over the Lumberjacks. Senior QB Rudy Carlton completed 19 of 25 passes for 274 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Junior WR Jon Davis caught six of the balls for 104 yards and touchdowns of 8 and 31 yards. The Azusa defense held the Lumberjacks to 296 total yards and forced four turnovers. So far this season Carlton has completed 142 of 244 passes for 1,840 yards with 19 touchdowns and only six interceptions. His favorite target has been Davis, who has 51 catches for 864 yards with an NAIA-leading 14 touchdown receptions. Junior linebacker Travis Bengard leads the Cougar defense with 72 tackles, including four sacks for 20 yards. Senior linebacker Mac Gebbers of Brewster, Washington, a transfer from UPS and the younger brother of former Whitworth stars John (basketball and baseball) and Dan (baseball) and the older brother of current Pirate Clay (basketball), has 39 tackles in a starting role. The Series: The teams have met only two times and the series is tied 1-1. The Cougars won the first meeting 41-20 in 1999 while celebrating the school's Centennial Game in front of the largest crowd in APU history at the time. Last season Whitworth tied the series with a 17-14 win in Spokane, becoming the first Northwest Conference school ever to beat APU. Last Year: Whitworth drove 84 yards, from its own five yard line, for Cameron Collings' 28 yard, game-winning field goal with 2:57 to play that lifted the Bucs to the 17-14 victory. But the lions' share of the credit went to an outstanding effort by the Whitworth defense that allowed the offense time to make the key drive. Azusa went 59 yards for a touchdown on its first drive, and 52 yards after a Whitworth fumble for a score on its last drive of the first half - both touchdowns by Marcus Lampkin. For the rest of the game Whitworth shut out the Cougars and limited them to 139 yards of offense (APU had 250 total yards). Casey Clifton (Sr., LB, Spokane, Wash. - University) led the effort with 10 tackles, including two for loss. He also broke up a pass. Justin Rundle (Sr., DE, Spokane, Wash. - Mead) had six stops. Marc Grow had five tackles, including a sack and another tackle for loss, and recovered a fumble. Phil Entel (Sr., FS, Clarkston, Wash. - Clarkston/Idaho) recovered a fumble that set up Whitworth's second touchdown. Jermane Easterlin (Jr., DE, Tacoma, Wash. - Bellarmine Prep) intercepted a pass on Azusa's first possession after Collings' field goal.
On the L&C game: "I was happy with the team's overall focus. All the players who participated in the game gave great effort and played with the kind of focus we need to be successful through the second half of the season." On facing Azusa: "They have special athletes on both sides of the ball. They are a well-coached and physical football team. It is their homecoming and an evening game and their stadium will be packed. That all adds up to a lot of energy for this football game." The Coaches: John Tully is in his 13th season as head coach of the Pirates. He has a 66-54 record at Whitworth. However, he has led the Pirates to a 52-21 record over the past seven-plus years and was named the NWC Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2006. 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 96-76 in his 17th season as a head coach. Tully, an Azusa alum and member of the Cougars' Hall of Fame, played quarterback for APU from 1970-1973. Victor Santa Cruz is in his second season as head coach of the Cougars. Formerly the defensive coordinator for Azusa before being named head coach, he has a record of 6-12 to date. Other Division III Football Links: American Football Coaches Association |
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Coach Tully's Quotes: 