PUYALLUP – Lewis & Clark scored first, but Pacific Lutheran responded with five straight touchdowns as the 15th-ranked Lutes defeated the Pioneers 42-21 on PLU's Homecoming Saturday at Sparks Stadium.
Pacific Lutheran bounced back from last week's loss to second-ranked Linfield to improve to 4-1 overall this season with the Lutes' first Northwest Conference win of the year. Lewis & Clark drops to 1-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
"It was really a pleasure to compete today and watch our guys play in a big Homecoming game," PLU head coach Scott Westering said. "Lewis & Clark battled and they never gave up. It was great, though, the crowd and the alumni that were here."
The Lutes put together a complete offensive performance for the win, tallying 250 rushing yards to go with 237 through the air for a total of 487. PLU's 250 yards on the ground marked the fifth-highest single-game rushing total since Westering took over as head coach in 2004.
Niko Madison led the attack for PLU with a career-best 188 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. He also caught five passes for 36 yards to go with Kyle Warner's two scoring grabs and 146 receiving yards. Kelly Morgan broke a 48-yard touchdown run and finished with 49 yards and scores on each of his two carries. Quarterback Dalton Ritchey bounced back from a slow start to complete 20 of his 32 pass attempts for 237 yards and three touchdowns.
"We kind of stumbled around a little bit on offense, especially early," Westering said. "We finally got into a rhythm and then we got Niko Madison running the ball very, very well. It's just exciting to watch him get better every game. These last three or four games have been all Niko, and you just see him getting more comfortable and it's just exciting every week that we go and play."
Pacific Lutheran's first five drives ended with two punts and three turnovers, negating the Lute defense's effort in forcing three three-and-outs and two takeaways on Lewis & Clark's first five possessions. The Pioneers finally broke through with 9:03 to play in the second quarter when quarterback Keith Welch kept the ball for a 10-yard scoring run. Welch finished the game with 311 passing yards and two touchdowns on 37-of-66 passing to go with a team-high 28 rushing yards and the Pioneers' lone TD run.
"Lewis & Clark came in fired up," Westering said. "Keith Welch, their quarterback, is a very, very special player, and he showed that today. Our defense had its hands full keeping him contained."
The PLU offense came to life after the Lewis & Clark score, as PLU took the ball 58 yards on five plays to tie the game on its next possession. Madison carried the ball three times on the drive, including the 4-yard score.
"As they would say, a quarterback's best friend is a great running game," Westering said of Madison. "With him being able to run the football like he does, and us to do the things that we have with the receivers that we have, is a pretty exciting combination to kind of get to as we did today."
Following another Lewis & Clark three-and-out, the Lutes took their first lead of the game on a 13-yard Ritchey pass to Warner. PLU went into the break with the 14-7 lead. After the Lutes' first drive of the second half stalled, they scored touchdowns on four of their next five possessions to pull away to leads of 35-7 and 42-14.
The PLU defense maintained its strong effort throughout the game, forcing six three-and-out drives and limiting the Pioneers to only three conversions on 19 third-down attempts. Jordan Patterson led the way with seven total tackles, including one of the Lutes' two sacks in the game. Connor Cummings, Jonny Volland and Dalton Darmody each contributed six tackles, while Greg Hibbard intercepted a Welch pass early in the game for the Lutes.
Pacific Lutheran returns to action next weekend, as the Lutes host Pacific in a Northwest Conference matchup at Sparks Stadium. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m.
