THOUSAND OAKS – Pacific Lutheran showed why it is worthy of being ranked the 12th-best team in NCAA Div. III on Saturday, overcoming some early-season struggles to knock off No. 18 California Lutheran on the road by a score of 31-24 at Rolland Stadium.
The win starts PLU's season off on a strong note, giving the Lutes a 1-0 record heading into next weekend's home opener against Redlands on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Sparks Stadium.
Dalton Ritchey passed for a pair of touchdowns and ran for two more, totaling 194 yards through the air and 89 more on the ground on 15 rush attempts. Brandon James ran for 86 yards on five carries, while Kyle Warner grabbed six passes for 125 and a touchdown and Lucas Sontra also caught a scoring pass. Greg Hibbard and Jordan Patterson tied for the team lead with nine tackles apiece, with Patterson grabbing a key interception in the third quarter and returning it 26 yards.
Cameron Deen threw for 140 yards and a touchdown to go with one interception for the Kingsmen. Wayne Chapman rushed for 142 yards on only 14 carries, proving to be CLU's biggest offensive weapon in the game. Alix Moise led the team with three receptions for 50 yards and a score. Chris Cabrera led CLU's defensive effort with 10 tackles, including a two for-loss.
Both teams showed some early-season jitters in the game, with five total turnovers in the game. It could have been worse for the Lutes, who fumbled five times but only lost two. But in the end the PLU offense and defense both made the key plays when it counted to claim the comeback victory on the road.
Pacific Lutheran's balanced offensive attack finished the game with 234 rushing yards and 194 passing yards, with rushing attempts outnumbering pass attempts 35-to-27. The Lutes out-gained California Lutheran 428-to-345 in the contest and averaged 6.9 yards per offensive play.
California Lutheran looked strong early in the contest, taking the opening kickoff and putting together a 10-play, 81-yard touchdown drive that took 5:15 before Deen hooked up with Moise from 12 yards out for his lone scoring pass of the day. The CLU defense stepped up on the ensuing drive to force a PLU punt, and back-to-back Chapman runs of more than 10 yards helped push the Kingsmen back into Lute territory.
The Lute defense stepped up once CLU approached field goal range, sacking Deen on second-down to set up third-and-long and eventually forcing a fourth-down incomplete pass for the turnover-on-downs. That was just enough time for the PLU offense to wake up and drive 76 yards down the field in 14 plays – including a pair of third-down conversions and one conversion on fourth-and-seven – to tie it up at seven-apiece on a seven-yard run by Ritchey.
Cal Lutheran's next drive ended quickly, as Travis McCarthy forced a fumble on the very first play that the Lutes recovered at the CLU 37-yardline. The Kingsmen held PLU to a field goal, as Nick Kaylor split the uprights from 25 yards out to give the visitors their first lead of the game.
After a three-and-out for CLU, the Lutes again put together a lengthy drive downfield. Unfortunately for PLU this one did not conclude in the endzone, as the 14-play drive instead ended at the CLU 7-yardline when Derrick Romo forced and recovered a Ritchey fumble to keep the Lutes from extending their lead. With less than one minute remaining in the half, Cal Lutheran ran out the clock to end the second quarter with PLU up 10-7.
A PLU fumble on the second-half opening kickoff gave the Kingsmen the ball at the PLU 18, seemingly setting the hosts up for an easy score to tie or reclaim the lead. But on third-and-seven Patterson intercepted Deen's pass and returned it 26 yards. The Lute's took advantage of the new opportunity, as James broke a 55-yard run down to the 1-yardline, where Ritchey punched it in to put the Lutes up 17-10.
California Lutheran responded with its most impressive drive of the game, converting on three third-downs – including third-and-18 – and one fourth-down to cap a 19-play, 9:23 drive with a one-yard scoring run by Ryan Zirbel on fourth-and-goal. The Lutes went right back to work following that drive, however, as Ritchie connected with Warner on a 66-yard touchdown pass on the first play to make it 24-14.
A pair of 30-plus-yard-runs for Chapman helped Cal Lutheran drive 75 yards on only four plays to again pull within a field goal as the offenses dominated the third quarter. The Kingsmen nearly claimed all the momentum in the game when Randy Lee intercepted a pass in CLU territory and the hosts followed it up with a 42-yard field goal from Sean Bellotti to tie it up for the first time since the first quarter.
Any signs of lost momentum for the Lutes went out the door on the next possession, however, as PLU held the ball for 5:28 and drove 83 yards on 10 plays to reclaim the lead for good on a seven-yard scoring pass to Sontra. Consecutive three-and-outs gave CLU a final opportunity to start at its own 42-yardline with 31 seconds to play. A pair of incomplete passes led to a game-clinching sack by Kyle Bennett on third-down as the Lutes held on for the victory.
