THIS WEEKEND: Pacific Lutheran (4-0 overall,
2-0 Northwest Conference) at Menlo (3-3), Saturday, noon.
LAST ONE OF THESE: Pacific Lutheran closes out
the non-conference portion of its 2010 schedule this Saturday when
it takes on former Northwest Conference member Menlo at Connor
Field in Atherton, Calif.
FOLLOW THE LUTES: You can listen to PLU
football action throughout the year in the Tacoma area on KLAY 1180
AM with Steve Thomas and Karl Hoseth calling the action. The
broadcasts are also available online on the KLAY website (www.klay1180.com). Additionally,
listeners can access the PLU football broadcasts on the PLU
athletics website at www.golutes.com, then clicking on
Listen Live and following the link.
THE SERIES: Saturday's meeting will be the
ninth time the Lutes have faced the Oaks, with the two teams
playing every year since the 2002 season. Pacific Lutheran holds
the series advantage with a 7-1 record, having won the last six
games after a 32-29 Menlo win in the first game of the series.
LAST YEAR: Pacific Lutheran's passing
attack overcame wind and rain to defeat Menlo, 35-17, at Sparks
Stadium. Fumbles on Menlo's first two drives of the game gave
Pacific Lutheran the momentum early on. After the PLU offense
stuttered in the driving rain in its first possession, the Oaks got
the ball on their own 29-yard line. On Menlo's first offensive
play, Andy Sturza sacked quarterback Nick Ruhl and forced a fumble
four yards behind the line of scrimmage. Erik Magnussen picked up
the ball for the Lutes on the Menlo 22-yard line and ran it into
the end zone to give PLU a 7-0 lead. An eight-play, 62-yard drive
gave the Lutes their second touchdown and a 14-0 lead later in the
first quarter when quarterback Jordan Rasmussen found
Drew Griffin in
the middle of the end zone from eight yards out for his first of
four touchdown passes in the game. The PLU defense limited the Oaks
offense to only 76 yards on 33 plays in the first half, forcing
three fumbles and intercepting one pass. The Lutes' third scoring
drive came just before halftime on a 29-yard pass pass from
Rasmussen to wide receiver Greg Ford in the corner of
the end zone. Pacific Lutheran's Bryan Neumiller intercepted Ruhl's
pass at the Menlo 28-yard line 31 seconds before halftime, but Richard Isett's field
goal 26-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left as time ran out
and the Lutes wen into the half with a 21-0 lead. In the third
quarter, Menlo took the kickoff and converted three third down
plays on its way to an 11-play, 60-yard touchdown drive to close
the gap to 21-7. After the Menlo defense forced a PLU punt, the
Oaks offense once again gave the ball away when Dalton Darmody
sacked Castillo, forcing a fumble that Tony Slater returned to the
Menlo 25-yard line. Four plays later, Rasmussen once again found
Ford in the end zone, this time from 11 yards out. The PLU defense
held firm on Menlo's next drive, forcing a three-and-out and an
Oaks punt, but Eddie De Leon's 58-yard punt was downed at the PLU
1-yard line. After Rasmussen rushed up the middle for a couple
yards on first down, the PLU quarterback fumbled the ball out of
the back of the end zone to give Menlo a safety and two points. On
the Lutes' second possession of the fourth quarter, Rasmussen
completed a short pass to Isaac Moog, who snaked his
way through the Oaks defense for a touchdown and a 35-9 PLU lead
with 9:38 remaining in the game. Menlo's next drive proved to be
its longest of the game, as the Oaks took the kickoff and marched
77 yards down the field on nine plays to score their second
touchdown with 5:59 left to play. Pacific Lutheran finished the
game with a 340-225 advantage in offensive yards, as well as a 5-2
advantage in takeaways. Sturza led the PLU defense with nine total
tackles including a quarterback sack, a forced fumble, fumble
recovery and pass break up.
ABOUT THE COACHES: Scott Westering is in his
seventh year as head coach at Pacific Lutheran, where he has
compiled a 29-28 overall record. Scott joined the PLU coaching
staff in 1981 after playing tight end for the Lutes under his
father, Frosty Westering. Scott served as the Lutes'
offensive coordinator from 1983-2003, helping PLU to two NAIA
Division II and one NCAA Division III national championships, as
well as four runner-up finishes. He has coached 11 first-team
All-Americans, including the 1999 NCAA Division III Player of the
Year, Chad Johnson. Scott was a captain and All-American tight end
on the 1980 PLU team that won the Lutes' first NAIA national
championship. He was inducted into the PLU Hall of Fame in 1998.
Fred Guidici is in his second season at Menlo and had a 7-9 overall
record entering Saturday's game.
LUTES LAST WEEK: Pacific Lutheran scored
three touchdowns in the opening quarter last Saturday afternoon and
carried that momentum through to a 39-21 Northwest Conference
football victory over the visiting Whitworth Pirates at Sparks
Stadium. Starting a season with a 4-0 record for the first time
since 2007, the Lutes, now 2-0 in the conference, made a big
play on special teams and on defense to take a 19-0 lead after one
period. Kyle
Whitford returned the opening kickoff 77 yards to the Whitworth
14-yard line, and the Lutes scored when Whitford swept right from
the 1-yard line on second down. After the Lutes stopped Whitworth
on a fourth-and-one at their own 37-yard line, they drove down the
field in 10 plays, scoring on Jordan
Rasmussen's 24-yard pass to Drew
Griffin, making the score 12-0. The next big play came on
defense when Richard Isett forced Whitworth quarterback Andrew
DeFelice to fumble and Isett's teammate Colby
Davies scooped up the ball and galloped 52 yards for the
touchdown. PLU increased its lead to 25-0 halfway through the
second quarter, driving 88 yards in six plays, culminated by
Rasmussen's 8-yard fade pass to Greg
Ford in the corner of the end zone. Whitworth finally got
on the board with 1:53 left in the half when Adam Anderson ran
through a host of PLU tacklers on a 14-yard scoring run, but an
unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the play meant that the Pirates
had to kick off from their 15-yard line. That set up the Lutes at
their own 43-yard line, and they took four plays to get in the end
zone once again, this time on Rasmussen's 3-yard toss to Isaac
Moog. The teams traded touchdowns in the third quarter,
Whitworth getting on the board on Anderson's 3-yard blast.
After Whitworth's touchdown, the Lutes used a little
razzle-dazzle to make the score 39-14. On a triple reverse with
Rasmussen pitching to Alec
Simmons, Simmons pitching to Kyle Whitford, and
Whitford pitching to Ford, Ford pulled up and threw a 36-yard
scoring bomb to Moog, who made a finger tip catch before falling
into the end zone. The Pirates finished the scoring in the fourth
quarter on Taylor Eglet's 10-yard pass to Jake DeGooyer. Whitworth
drove 84 yards in 13 plays before tallying with 2:39 left. PLU
ended up with a 372-321 edge in total yards, though Whitworth had
more first downs 23-18) and more time of possession (33:32-26:28).
Simmons toted the ball 15 times for 72 of PLU's 122 rushing yards.
Rasmussen ended up 16-for-22 for 214 yards, Moog had five
receptions for 68 yards, Ford had four catches for 34 yards, and
Whitford had three grabs for 77 yards. Adam
Schwander led PLU with nine tackles, followed by Erik
Magnussen with eight and Michael
Warsaw, Cameron
McMillan, Jordan
Davison and Steven McDonald with
seven each. McDonald had a pair of sacks for the Lutes.
MENLO LAST WEEK: Menlo
College fell into a hole, found a spark in freshman quarterback
Taylor Congdon, and were in the thick of it through three quarters
before it ran out of answers for dynamic Lewis & Clark
quarterback Keith Welch in a 31-10 loss last Saturday in Portland,
Ore. The Oaks fell behind 14-0 but only trailed 17-10 entering the
fourth quarter.
Congdon was impressive in his first significant action as a
collegian, completing 8-of-15 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown.
Though the freshman did not throw an interception he did lose a
pair of fumbles. Payton Bell ran the ball 22 times for 93 yards,
and Kenny Cavness caught three balls for 101 yards. Linebacker
Jeff Dye led the Oaks defense with eight tackles, including four
for a loss and one sack. Shawn Winters and Chris Tosello each had
one sack while Nolon Doss intercepted a pass.
ABOUT MENLO: Menlo was a
football-only member of the Northwest Conference from 2006-09
before deciding to switch to National Association of
Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) membership. This
season, the Oaks and Lutes have played one common opponent,
Whitworth, with the Oaks falling 20-7 at home and the Lutes beating
the Pirates, 39-21, at home. Judging by statistics, Menlo has a
strong defensive unit, allowing only 21.8 points and 270.8 yards
per contest. On the other side of the ball, it averages 18.8 points
and 320.5 yards per contest. Running back Payton Cruz had 529
rushing yards and three touchdowns, but averages only 3.7 yards per
carry. Quarterback Cruz Castillo is 94-for-171 (55 percent) for 822
yards with eight touchdowns and eight interceptions. Kenny Cavness
is the leading receiver with 20 catches for 324 yards (16.2 yards
per reception) and five touchdowns, and Michael Alexander has 16
catches for 151 yards and a score. On defense, linebacker R.J.
Rivera leads the team with 40 tackles, followed closely by
defensive back Beau Bussani with 39 and linebacker Shawn Winters
with 35. Defensive lineman Chris Tosello has 4.5 quarterback sacks,
and defensive back Derek Bosia has three of the team's 10
interceptions.
DAVIES HONORED: Colby Davies, a senior
linebacker from Steilacoom, has earned Northwest Conference
Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in the
Lutes' win over Whitworth. Davies was in on six tackles, had a
quarterback sack and also returned a fumble 52 yards for the Lutes'
third touchdown of the game.
LUTES IN TOP 25: PLU has opened the 2010
football season with a 4-0 record, and national pollsters have
noticed the Lutes' success on the field. The Lutes broke into this
week's D3football.com Top 25 poll at No. 25. PLU picked up 45
total votes, behind No. 24 Bethel (Minn.) and its 72 votes.
Defending national champion Wisconsin-Whitewater received all 22
first-place votes and 622 total points. According to Pat Coleman
with D3football.com, Pacific Lutheran has never been ranked in the
D3football.com Top 25, which began with the 2003 season. PLU
reached as high as the top spot in "others receiving votes" for two
consecutive weeks in 2004, at which point PLU was 4-1 and 5-1. In
the other major Division III national top 25 ranking, the
American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division III Coaches'
Poll, Pacific Lutheran is third in the "others receiving votes"
category with 29 points. California Lutheran, a team that PLU
defeated 35-21 during the second week of the season, is ranked No.
25 with 63 votes. Wisconsin-Whitewater leads that poll with 35 of
the 40 first-place votes and 995 total points. The last time that
Pacific Lutheran was ranked among the top 25 in either poll came on
Sept. 28, 2004, when PLU earned the No. 24 ranking in the AFCA
poll.
QUITE A START: Pacific Lutheran is off to a 4-0
start for the fourth time in 20 seasons dating back to 1991. Even
the two most recent PLU national championship teams failed to start
4-0. The 1993 Lutes were 0-0-1 (a 20-20 tie with Linfield) after
their season opener before going on to win their next 13 in a row
on the way to the program's third NAIA Division II national title,
and the 1999 team was 3-1 (a 29-20 loss to Willamette) before
finishing 13-1 and winning the school's only NCAA Division III
crown. Head coach Scott Westering has never been 5-0 in his six
previous years as head coach. Since 1991, only the 1991 and 1997
teams opened with five straight wins - the 1997 squad started out
6-0.
LUTES BY THE NUMBERS: In
compiling a 4-0 record thus far, the Lutes have averaged 33.0
points and 414.0 yards of total offense while allowing 22.5 points
and 367.2 yards per contest. The Lutes have been relatively
balanced with 239.2 yards passing and 174.8 yards rushing per
contest. Opponents have compiled 94 first downs, however, to
just 71 for the Lutes. Senior defensive back Trevor
Fox has four interceptions in four games, and senior wide
receiver Greg Ford averages 103.5 receiving yards per game.
Senior running back Alec Simmons averages
117.5 rushing yards per game. Senior quarterback Jordan
Rasmussen is 61-for-106 (57 percent) for 907 yards with 12
touchdowns and five interceptions. Defensively, the Lutes continue
to show a lot of balance with 13 different players recording double
figures in total tackles. Junior linebacker Richard Isett leads
with 32 total tackles, including four for loss, followed
senior defensive lineman Cameron
McMillan and senior safety Jordan
Davison, both with 26 total tackles. Frosh defensive back
Sean McFadden and
junior defensive lineman Erik Magnusses have 25 and 24 tackles,
respectively, followed by senior linebacker Colby Davies with
23. The PLU defense has 12 takeaways split evenly between
interceptions and fumble recoveries.
HIGH-PERFORMANCE FORD: Greg Ford, the Lutes'
senior wide receiver from Steilacoom, continues his move up PLU's
all-time receiving lists. With 23 receptions this season, Ford
now has 168 career catches, which puts him fifth on the all-time
list. He ranks fourth with 3,007 career receiving
yards, surpassing Mike Welk (1987-90) and his 2,998 yards last
weekend. With five touchdown catches this season, Ford has 31
in his career, moving him past Chad Barnett (1990-93) and into
third third on the PLU football all-time list.
- PLU -
