With only two games remaining in the 2008 football season, Whitworth will play its final road game of the year on Saturday when the Pirates head west to take on Pacific Lutheran at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, Washington. Whitworth improved to 4-3 overall and 2-2 in the Northwest Conference by claiming a second straight victory for the first time this season with last Saturday's 36-34 win at Menlo. PLU is 2-4 overall, but 2-1 in the NWC after knocking off Tacoma-rival Puget Sound 14-7 on the road last weekend. The game will kick off at 1:30 p.m.
The Pirates: Whitworth scored just enough, and made a couple of big defensive plays to withstand a tough challenge by Menlo on the road. The 36-34 win is the smallest winning margin for any of the Pirates' eight wins in the series. Adam Anderson (Jr., RB, Elk, Wash.) had another big game for the Pirates. He ran for 142 yards and two touchdowns, caught a 20 yard touchdown pass and returned four kick offs an average of 29 yards for 277 all-purpose yards in the game. He also set up one of his touchdowns by completing a 38 yard pass to Andy Largent (Jr., WR/PK, Spokane, Wash.). Milton Nelson (Jr., RB, Spokane, Wash.) also had another strong game, running 11 times for 74 yards and scoring Whitworth's first touchdown from 24 yards away in the first quarter. The freshmen Pirate quarterbacks both saw action action again on Saturday. Andrew Durant (Fr., QB, Spokane, Wash.) started the game and completed 9 of 12 passes for 62 yards with one interception. Cub Jansen (Fr., QB, Mukilteo, Wash.) was 3 of 5 for 70 yards, with touchdown passes of 43 yards to Chad Flett (Sr., WR, Spokane, Wash.) and 20 yards to Anderson.
Eric Entel (Jr., WR, Clarkston, Wash.) caught five passes for 24 yards, while Dale Entel (Fr., WR, Clarkston, Wash.) caught four passes for 39 yards. Layton Brown (So., LB, Kennewick, Wash.) made two big plays to key the Pirate defense. In addition to his seven solo tackles, his first quarter interception set up the Pirates' first touchdown. Then with less than two minutes to play and Whitworth leading by two points, his eight yard sack moved Menlo out of field goal range and forced the Oaks to go for it on fourth and 11, which they failed to complete. Paul Werhane (So., LB, Beaverton, Ore.) had eight total tackles.
The Captains: Adam Anderson, Kory Kemp and Brandon Martin will serve as team captains for the Pirates in 2008. Was it a record?: McLane Stone's 92 yard interception return for a touchdown at Linfield is not a school record. Tom Shanholtzer returned an interception 97 yards for a touchdown in 1986 against Pacific Lutheran. Stone's return is the second longest in school history, moving ahead of George Elliott's 86 yard return in 1965. And Another Lost for the Year: The Pirates have now lost four starters to season-ending injuries. Kory Kemp (Sr., QB, Redmond, Wash.) broke his fibula in the game at Redlands on Sept. 20th. Derek Stottlemyer (So., DB, Bothell, Wash.) suffered a broken tibia in the Chapman game on September 27th. Joey VanHoomissen (Sr., TE, Renton, Wash.) was lost with a broken foot he suffered against Willamette (Oct. 4) and aggravated against Linfield (Oct. 11). The latest casualty is Robert Schaefer (So., DB, Bothel, Wash.), who tore ligaments in his knee on the opening kick off of Saturday's game at Menlo. Versus California: The Pirates have won 19 of the last 22 against schools from the Golden State. The Bucs are 11-1-1 at home against California schools and 11-10 on the road. Whitworth went 3-1 against schools from the Golden State this season, defeating La Verne (H), Chapman (A) and Menlo (A). Whitworth lost at Redlands (A). A for Effort: Adam Anderson, the 2007 NWC Offensive Player of the Year, continues to be a workhorse for the Pirates in 2008. He leads all of NCAA DIII in all-purpose yards (242.9 per game). He also leads the Northwest Conference in rushing average (128.3 yards per game) and touchdowns scored (16). His three touchdowns at Menlo moved him past John Murio (1961) and Michael Allan (2005) for most touchdowns in a single season. Anderson was the NWC Player of the Week after 324 all-purpose yards in a come-from-behind 41-35 win at previously unbeaten Chapman on September 27th and added his second-such honor with 214 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in a win over UPS (Oct. 18). Looking Back at 2007: Whitworth surprised some by winning a second straight Northwest Conference championship despite the graduation of record-setting quarterback Joel Clark and NFL-bound tight end Michael Allan. But the Pirates shook off a season opening loss to Redlands to win eight of the remaining nine games. The only other loss was to NAIA power Azusa Pacific (38-34) in California. Whitworth swept through Northwest Conference play with a 6-0 record, winning a showdown with Linfield College 10-6 in the Pine Bowl on the second to last week of the season. The Pirates led the nation in takeaways (35) and turnover margin (+26). Anderson was named NWC Offensive Player of the Year, Jay Tully was selected as the co-NWC Defensive Player of the Year and John Tully was voted as the NWC Coach of the Year by the conference head coaches. NWC Poll: Whitworth finished second in the NWC preseason coaches poll with 40 points and one first place vote. Linfield finished first with six first place votes and 54 points. Menlo is in its third season in the NWC as a football-only affiliate. Link to NWC Football Coaches Poll.
The Opponents: PLU used two long scoring drives to rally from a 7-0 halftime deficit and defeat cross-town rival UPS for the 20th time in the last 21 meetings. Kyle Whitford took a pass from Michael Byrne and broke it for a 65-yard touchdown to get the Lutes on the board, capping a 79 yard drive. The PAT kick missed, however, and the Loggers maintained a 7-6 lead. In the fourth quarter, Byrne found Blake Gorle for a one yard TD pass that capped a 97 yard drive. The two-point attempt failed, but the Lutes added a safety late in the game. Byrne, a senior, helped PLU overcome 27 rushing yards on 26 attempts by completing 26 of 42 passes for 288 yards in the win over UPS. He has completed 56% of his passes this season for 1,137 yards with nine touchdowns and eight interceptions. He has a slew of receivers to throw to, including sophomores Greg Ford and Kyle Whitford. Ford has 33 catches for 619 yards and seven touchdowns this season. Whitford has 22 receptions for 197 yards and one score. Senior linebacker Neal Chalmers leads the PLU defense with 53 tackles. Junior tackle Guistin Jenkins has 14.5 tackles for losses of 51 yards, which leads the NWC. PLU has struggled offensively this season. While the Lutes are effective passing the ball, leading the NWC in passing yards per game (223), they are last in the conference in total offense (268.5 ypg), rushing offense (45.5 ypg) and scoring offense (15.5 ppg). The defense has played well, keeping the Lutes in games while limiting opponents to 20.5 points per contest. The Series: PLU leads the all-time series 46-17 and at one time had won 32 games in a row. But Whitworth ended that streak in 2001 and has won the last four meetings. The last time the game was in Puyallup, Whitworth won a 19-7 defensive contest on the way to an NWC title. Whitworth has won three of the last four meetings at Sparks Stadium (2001, 2005, 2006), with the Lutes earning a win in 2003. The largest winning margin in the series is 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 Season: Whitworth built a 28-0 halftime lead and controlled the explosive Pacific Lutheran offense for 55 minutes, then withstood the Lutes' late rally to win 28-21. Adam Anderson ran for 170 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries to lead a Whitworth rushing game that finished with 223 yards rushing against a PLU defense that came into the contest leading the NWC in rushing yards allowed. Kory Kemp completed 6 of 9 passes for 78 yards and two important touchdowns without an interception. The Whitworth defense held the Lutes to half of their per-game scoring average.
On the Menlo Game: "It is tough to go on the road in this league and win, and I am glad we were able to do that on Saturday. We did some very positive things on offense and our offensive line played one of their best games of the year." On PLU: "They have some very gifted players on offense and they present multiple formations, which will present a great challenge to our defense. Offensively we will have to continue to improve if we want to have success against their defense." The Coaches: John Tully is in his 14th season as head coach of the Pirates and has a 73-58 record at Whitworth. However, he has led the Pirates to a 60-24 record over the past eight+ years and has been named the NWC Coach of the Year three times (2001, 2006 and 2007). 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 104-79 in his 18th season as a head coach. Scott Westering has compiled a 22-20 overall record in his fifth 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: 