Pirates to Take on #18 Bearcats
Whitworth University opens Northwest Conference play in football this week as the Pirates travel to Salem, Oregon to take on defending NWC champion Willamette University. The game will kick off a little later than normal - 2:00 p.m. - to let the area around McCulloch Stadium clear out after the morning's cross country meet. Whitworth is coming off of a 23-8 win over Chapman University, while Willamette demolished University of La Verne 52-7.
The Pirates: After letting three good scoring opportunities slip away in the first half, Whitworth essentially decided the game by scoring on its first three possessions of the second half to open up a 23-0 lead over Chapman. It was a total team effort as the offense posted a season-high 410 yards, while the defense held the Panthers to 148 yards. Andrew Durant (So., QB, Spokane, Wash.) completed 17 of 26 passes for 221 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. He has thrown six touchdowns this season, and only one interception. Eric Entel (Sr., WR, Clarkston, Wash.) caught six passes for 74 yards and one touchdown - a diving catch from 12 yards out in the third quarter. Andy Largent (Sr., WR, Spokane, Wash.) added five catches for a career-high 101 yards, with one touchdown - a 54 yard effort in the fourth quarter in which he broke several tackles on the way to the endzone. Sean Scott (So., RB, Milwaukie, Ore.) and Milton Nelson (Sr., RB, Spokane, Wash.) shared ball-carrying responsibility. Scott ran for a career-high 97 yards on 19 carries and scored the Bucs' first touchdown in the third quarter. Nelson picked up 83 yards on 22 attempts. Whitworth's defense was stout, giving up a season-low in points and yardage. Brandon Martin (Sr., DT, Sweet Home, Ore.) had six tackles, and was in on two tackles for loss. Nate Hadley (Sr., LB, Mukilteo, Wash.), Nick Ashley (Jr., DE, Lind, Wash) and Paul Werhane (Jr., LB, Beaverton, Ore.) all played a part in the second-quarter sack and fumble that led to a safety - Whitworth's first points of the game. Cailen Thomason (So., DB, Vancouver, Wash.) intercepted his second pass of the season. Scott Carr (Fr., DB, Rathdrum, Idaho) and Kyle Duncan (Sr., DB, Kennewick, Wash.) each picked off a pass. Josh Kay (Fr., PK, Salem, Ore.) took over the kickoff duties on Saturday and averaged 64.2 yards per kick. Versus California: After this past Saturday the Pirates have won 21 of the last 25 against schools from the Golden State and are 24-12-1 all-time against Californian colleges. The Bucs are 12-2-1 at home against California schools and 12-10 on the road. Whitworth went 3-1 against schools from the Golden State last season, defeating La Verne (H), Chapman (A) and Menlo (A). Whitworth lost at Redlands (A). The Pirates play the same four schools in 2009 with all the locations reversed and are 2-1 so far this season.
The Captains: Adam Anderson (Sr., RB, Elk, Wash.), Jeff Kintner (Sr., OL, Wenatchee, Wash.) and Brandon Martin serve as team captains for the Pirates in 2009. Wait and See: Adam Anderson's status for this Saturday, and the rest of the season, will be on a week to week basis as he recovers from a sprained ankle suffered on the opening kickoff of Whitworth's game at La Verne. The two-time NWC Offensive Player of the Year and D3football.com All-American has missed the last three games for the Pirates. Looking Back at 2008: After starting the season 2-3, Whitworth reeled off four straight wins to finish 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the NWC (third place). It was a painful year in more ways than one as the Bucs saw five different starters lost for the season due to injury, and several other players miss games for the same reason. However there were highlights scattered throughout the fall. The Pirates bounced back from their most decisive loss in a almost a decade to win at Chapman. Adam Anderson led a comeback win at PLU by scoring six touchdowns to set a new school record. Anderson = All-American: Adam Anderson, the 2007 and 2008 NWC Offensive Player of the Year, simply had one of the greatest seasons in Whitworth history in 2008. He concluded the season as a D3football.com Second Team All-American, First Team All-Region honoree and shared the Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year award with slotback Merben Woo of NWC champion Willamette. Anderson led all of NCAA Division III in all-purpose yards (243.8) per game and was second in the nation in scoring average (16.89 points per game). He led the NWC in rushing yards (139.9 yards per game), touchdowns (25), total points (152) and all-purpose yards. He was named NWC Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week three times, including when he posted a school record 324 all-purpose yards in a 41-35 win at Chapman and when he scored a school-record six touchdowns and ran for 217 yards in a 40-29 win at PLU. NWC Poll: Whitworth finished third in the NWC preseason coaches poll with 37 points. Defending champion Willamette and Linfield finished first and second, respectively. Link to NWC Football Coaches Poll.
The Opponents: Willamette had a remarkable season in 2008, rolling to a 10-0 regular season record, a win over Occidental in the playoffs, and a very close loss to eventual national-runner up Wisconsin-Whitewater in the second round. Five starters return on offense and seven on defense for the Bearcats, who are 3-1 after a season-opening stumble. Willamette is currently ranked 18th in the D3football.com top-25 poll. Since that season-opening loss at Concordia-Moorhead, the Bearcats have outscored their next three opponents 94-35. The Bearcats have been dominant on defense. Willamette leads the NWC in scoring defense (14.8 points per game), total defense (277.8 yards allowed per game) and pass-efficiency defense (88.5 rating). They lead the NWC with 16 sacks this season, led by Walter Robinson's three solo sacks. Offensively Willamette once again leads the league in rushing, averaging 219.2 yards per game with its "fly" option attack. Deone Horne, a First Team All-NWC running back last season, is averaging 79 yards per game. Freshman Brian Widing has taken over QB duties for the injured Ryan Whitcomb, who suffered a season-ending injury in the season-opener for the second straight season. Dominating doesn't even begin to describe Willamette's performance in last weekend's 52-7 win over La Verne. The Bearcats scored on all eight of their first half possessions to open a 52-0 halftime lead. The first seven of those drives began inside ULV territory as the Bearcat defense dominated the Leopards, either forcing a quick punt or picking off a pass. Chad Pollard and Kevin Ramey each scored two running TDs as 18 ball-carriers combined for 395 yards. The Bearcats sacked ULV QBs six times in the game. Last Season: Whitworth grabbed an early two-touchdown lead, but could not sustain the momentum in a 32-23 loss to nationally-ranked Willamette. A pair of turnovers, a fumble that ended a promising drive and an interception returned to the Whitworth 20 yard line early in the fourth quarter, had a big influence in the outcome. Adam Anderson had another big game for Whitworth, accumulating 268 all-purpose yards. He ran 35 times for 133 yards on the ground and caught two passes for 16 yards, including a seven-yard touchdown in the second quarter. And he returned four kickoffs for 119 yards. Brandon Martin finished with seven tackles, including a six-yard sack. Travis Niles (Jr., DT, Spokane, Wash.) had a seven-yard sack for the Bucs. The Series: Willamette is Whitworth's second-oldest continuing rival. The teams first met on the field in 1908 and Whitworth won 18-0. The biggest Pirate win in the series was 46-0 in 1983. The biggest Bearcat victory was 67-0 in 1912. Willamette's win last season gave the Bearcats a 29-17 edge in the all-time series. Always Close: Whitworth has gone to extra periods seven times in its history, and three of those games have come against Willamette. Each team has won five times in the last ten meetings and five of those games have been decided by a touchdown or less, or in OT. In 2002 Whitworth won the overtime game by the odd score of 44-31 when the Pirates scored first in OT, then returned an interception for a score on Willamette's possession. In 2005 the Bearcats knocked the Pirates out of playoff contention with a 40-34 overtime win in the Pine Bowl. In 2007 Whitworth edged the Willamette 20-17 in overtime in Salem on the way to a second straight NWC crown.
Mark Speckman is in his 12th year leading the Bearcats. He has a record of 66-48 and has led the Bearcats to three NCAA post season appearances, including last season's run to the second round. He is a two-time NWC Coach of the Year. Coach Tully's Quotes: John Tully talks about last Saturday's win over Chapman, this week's match up at Willamette, and the development of Andrew Durant at quarterback. Other Division III Football Links: American Football Coaches Association |
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