After opening the 2008 season 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the Northwest Conference, Whitworth has concluded its season on a four-game winning streak to finish 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the NWC. The Pirates final spot in the NWC standings will be determined by the outcome of this coming Saturday's game between Linfield and Pacific Lutheran. A PLU win will give all three schools a tie for second place. Whitworth will now await the announcement of the 2008 All-Northwest Conference team, which should come on Monday, November 17th. The Pirates: Whitworth scored on its first four possessions and was never threatened in a 42-7 win over Lewis & Clark in the Pine Bowl. The Pirates outgained the Pioneers 556-315 despite losing the time-of-possession battle 32:12 - 27:48. Whitworth ran for 356 yards, only two yards short of the season-high of 558 in the win over Puget Sound. Three Pirate quarterbacks combined to complete 10 of 11 passes for 200 yards without an interception.
Milton Nelson (Jr., RB, Spokane, Wash.) led the Whitworth running attack with 158 yards on 18 carries with two touchdowns. Adam Anderson (Jr., RB, Elk, Wash.) added 144 yards on 18 carries with two rushing touchdowns. Mike Peck (Jr., QB, Longview, Wash.) played the entire second half and completed 6 of 6 passes for 84 yards. Andrew Durant (Fr., QB, Spokane, Wash.) started the game and was 3 of 4 for 102 yards with a touchdown. Cub Jansen (Fr., QB, Mukilteo, Wash.) completed his only pass for 14 yards and also ran 10 yards for a touchdown. Anderson took a screen pass on the second play of the game and weaved his way 49 yards for a score. He finished with three catches for 73 yards. Justin Monahan (Fr., WR, West Linn, Ore.) added three catches for 53 yards.
Drew Belton (Fr., DB, Naches, Wash.) led Whitworth with seven tackles. Cailen Thomason (Fr., DB, Vancouver, Wash.) added six tackles and returned an interception 34 yards to set up a touchdown. Jesse Clark (Sr., DB, Spokane, Wash.) made five tackles and broke up a pair of passes. Nate Hadley (Jr., LB, Mukilteo, Wash.) prevented a Lewis & Clark touchdown with an interception at the goal line. The Seniors: Whitworth waved goodbye to a 13-man senior class on Saturday. Over the course of the last four seasons, the class of 2008-09 had a record of 30-9, the third best four-year mark in school history. Only the four year group of 1959-62 (32-6) and 2004-07 (31-8) had better four-year records. The Captains: Adam Anderson, Kory Kemp and Brandon Martin served 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. One Final Key Starter Lost for the Year: The Pirates lost five starters to season-ending injuries during the season. The final Pirate to be lost this year was Brandon Martin (Jr., DT, Sweet Home, Ore.), who suffered an achilles injury at PLU and missed the second half against the Lutes. 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). Robert Schaefer (So., DB, Bothell, Wash.) tore ligaments in his knee on the opening kick off of the Oct. 25 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, has simply had one of the greatest seasons in Whitworth history in 2008. He leads all of NCAA (all divisions) in all-purpose yards (243.8 per game) and scoring average (16.89 points per game). He also leads the Northwest Conference in rushing average (139.9 yards per game). 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). He earned the award for the third time this season with his 217 rushing yards and six touchdowns against Pacific Lutheran. He now holds Whitworth single-game records for all-purpose yards (324 at Chapman) and touchdowns (6 at PLU) and Whitworth single-season records for all-purpose yards (2,195), touchdowns (25) and points (152). He has tied running back Bill Condon (2000-03) for the Whitworth career touchdown record (37) with a full season to play. With 1,259 rushing yards, Anderson fell only 34 yards shy of Damian Putney's single-season record of 1,293 set in 1999. 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.
On the Lewis & Clark Game: "I thought our guys competed very well. We talked about playing a full 60 minutes and we accomplished that. We played a lot of guys and that will be advantageous for us in the future." On the senior class: "Our seniors went out on a very high note. For a any senior group to leave with that many wins over their four year period in an impressive accomplishment." The Coaches: John Tully is concluded his 14th season as head coach of the Pirates with a 75-58 record at Whitworth. However, he has led the Pirates to a 62-24 record over the past nine 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 106-79 in his 18th season as a head coach. Other Division III Football Links: American Football Coaches Association |
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Coach Tully's Quotes: 