Certainly it is still early in the season, but it is also true that when Whitworth University hosts Pacific Lutheran University in the Pine Bowl on Saturday afternoon, there will be one fewer undefeated Northwest Conference football team in the league standings. Homecoming and Hall of Fame festivities will not overshadow the showdown between the Lutes (4-0 overall, 1-0 NWC) and the Pirates (3-1, 1-0). PLU is coming off of a 37-8 thrashing of University of Puget Sound, while Whitworth blanked Menlo 49-0. Saturday's game is the final contest of a three week homestand for the Pirates.
The Pirates: Whitworth posted its second shutout of the season with last Saturday's 49-0 win over Menlo. It is the first time since 1976 that the Bucs have had more than one shutout in a season. Whitworth limited Menlo to 157 yards of total offense and seven first downs. The Oaks reached Pirate territory only three times in the game, and only once after halftime when they took their opening drive to the Whitworth 48 before punting. Ryan Marshall (Sr., CB, Salem, Ore. - Sprague) and Marc Grow (Sr., LB, Warden, Wash. - Warden) each returned a second quarter interception for a touchdown, giving the Pirates a 28-0 halftime lead. Layton Brown (Fr., LB, Kennewick, Wash. - Kennewick) and Jay Tully (Sr., SS, Spokane, Wash. - Mead) each finished with nine tackles to lead Whitworth. Brown had three tackles for loss, including a nine yard sack. Adam Anderson (So., RB, Elk, Wash. - Riverside/Univ. of Idaho) led Whitworth's strong ground game with 90 yards on nine carries. He had touchdown runs of 18 yards (on the opening drive) and 51 yards (in the third quarter). The Pirates outgained the Oaks 392-157, including a 240-53 advantage on the ground. The strong ground game allowed Whitworth to have a 35:12 - 24:48 lead in time of possession.
Kory Kemp (Jr., QB, Redmond, Wash. - Eastlake) completed 11 of 17 passes for 86 yards with no interceptions. Jon Luke (Jr., QB, Enumclaw, Wash. - Enumclaw) saw a lot of second half playing time and was 5 of 7 for 58 yards and a touchdown to Justin Wimberly (Fr., TE, Tumwater, Wash. - Tumwater). Steve Silva (Sr., WR, Goleta, Calif. - Coll. of the Canyons) caught six passes for 43 yards to lead the receivers. Zack Clow (Fr., P, Blanchard, Idaho - Priest River) punted well for the Bucs, averaging 38.1 yards per attempt with a long of 46 yards. Fun Festivities: In addition to the traditional homecoming festivities on Saturday, Whitworth will induct the 18th class into its Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame. The inductees, who include Larry Paradis (1950's All-American in football), Drew Stevick (1970 NAIA Javelin champion) and the 1978-81 era volleyball team, will be recognized at halftime, along with all other previous inductees present at the game. Home Sweet Home: Whitworth's three game homestand this season is the longest in the Pine Bowl since the Pirates played four games in a row at home in 1999. While Whitworth is 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. Saturday's win over Menlo means 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. Whitworth has won the last eight in a row on the road. The Pirates will play one more school from California this season when they travel to Azusa Pacific on October 20th. 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 is tied for the lead in NCAA Division III in turnover margin with Bowdoin and Ohio Northern. The Pirates have taken away the ball 15 times (11 interceptions, three fumble recoveries), while giving the ball away only three times, for a margin of +12. Twelve divided by four games means the Bucs are taking the ball away 3.0 more times per game than opponents so far this season. "A" for Effort: Adam Anderson leads the NWC in rushing this season with 354 yards (over 88 yards per game). He has run for three touchdowns and has a carry of at least 40 yards in three of the Bucs' four games this season. Sticky Fingers: Steve Silva leads the Northwest Conference in total receptions so far this fall. Silva has 28 catches for 313 yards, averaging 7 receptions per game. The senior was a First Team All-NWC selection in 2006. 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 continues to be listed with "others receiving votes" in the latest D3football.com top-25 poll (Oct. 1), as well as 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: Pacific Lutheran is back. Long a small college football power, the Lutes suffered through consecutive losing seasons in 2005 and 2006. But PLU is off to a 4-0 start (the first since 1997) and shows every sign that they have regained their traditional explosiveness on offense and defense. Quarterback Brett Gordon, who suffered an injured shoulder in the Lutes' win over Chapman on September 22, is listed as the starter for this week's game after missing last week's game. Gordon has completed 59.8% of his passes for 706 yards with eight touchdowns and only one interception. Michael Byrne has been nearly as good as his replacement, completing 59.4% of his passes for 381 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions in a game and a half. They have a pair of All-NWC targets to chose from in receivers Craig Chiado and Chase Reed. Chiado has caught 23 passes for 354 yards and three scores, while Reed has caught 17 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns. All-American defensive end Andrew Eisentrout leads the NWC by a wide margin with 7.5 sacks for -45 yards this season, while linebacker Chad Blau is the Lutes' leading tackler with 31 stops. Saturday's match-up between PLU and Whitworth looks like the age-old battle between high-powered offense and stout defense. The Lutes lead the league in scoring average at 41.1 points per game. Meanwhile, Whitworth is at the top of top of the league in scoring defense (11.2 ppg). PLU averages 429 yards per contest, while Whitworth gives up only 249 yards per game. But it works the other way too. Whitworth averages 211 yards rushing per game to lead the NWC, while the Lutes have the conference's best run defense (73.5 yards allowed per game). Both teams are very good at taking the ball away. While Whitworth's turnover margin is +12, the Lutes have a +11 margin with 16 takeaways and only five turnovers. Last week the Lutes took advantage of five Puget Sound fumbles during a 37-8 win in Parkland. Chase Reed was named NWC Offensive Player of the Week after he scored four touchdowns (three rushing and one receiving) to lead the attack. Byrne was strong as the starting QB, completing 11 of 17 passes for 271 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Andrew Eisentrout had 3.5 tackles for loss, including 2.5 sacks, for -19 yards. The Series: PLU leads the all-time series 46-16 and at one time had won 32 games in a row. But Whitworth ended that streak in 2001 and has won the last three meetings. The last time the game was in Spokane (2004), Whitworth pulled out a 38-35 thriller in the season finale for both schools. The biggest win in the series was a 67-0 win for the Pirates in 1961. PLU's biggest margin of victory is 47-0 in 1970. The first meeting was a 27-0 victory for the Lutes in 1931. Last Year: Whitworth controlled the clock, the ball and the PLU offense in last season's 19-7 victory in Puyallup. The Bucs held the ball for 43:22 minutes to 16:38 for the Lutes and Whitworth outgained PLU 442-200, passing for 250 and running for 192. Casey Clifton (Sr., LB, Spokane, Wash. - University) led the defensive attack with six tackles, including one for loss of two yards. He also forced a drive-ending intentional grounding penalty. Jay Tully and Ryan Marshall each had three tackles and an interception. Phil Entel (Sr., FS, Clarkston, Wash. - Idaho) picked off his second pass of the season, while Justin Rundle (Sr., DE, Spokane, Wash. - Mt. Spokane) intercepted the first pass of his career. Peter Clark (Sr., DE, Spokane, Wash. - Mead) had a tackle for loss and recovered a fumble as the Pirate defense came away with five turnovers. The Pirates limited the prolific PLU passing attack to 11 completions in 28 attempts for 141 yards. Starting QB Brett Gordon threw four interceptions and no touchdowns.
On the Menlo game: "I though we played quite well in all aspects of the game. Our goal is to get four turnovers per game, and we came up with five and scored on two of those. Our first two offensive drives were very well executed. As our substitutes got into the game, they stepped it up and played well also. And our special teams was really improved, including the punt coverage which was very good." On PLU: "This is clearly the best PLU team in the last four years and they are good in all areas of the game. Their skill people on offense are outstanding and their defensive front is a veteran and very talented group. Both teams will be pumped to play on Saturday and it should be an outstanding football game." The Coaches: John Tully is in his 13th season as head coach of the Pirates. He has a 64-54 record at Whitworth. However, he has led the Pirates to a 50-21 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 94-76 in his 17th season as a head coach. Scott Westering has compiled a 17-14 overall record in his fourth season as Pacific Lutheran University head coach. Named to the position in February 2004, Scott took over for his father, Hall-of-Famer Frosty, who served as PLU football head coach for 32 years. Scott had been the offensive coordinator since 1983. Other Division III Football Links: American Football Coaches Association |
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Coach Tully's Quotes: 