PUYALLUP – Willamette took the opening kickoff and drove down the field for an early lead, but from that point on it was all Pacific Lutheran as the Lutes broke a 44-year-old program record with 686 yards of total offense in a 56-14 Northwest Conference football victory over the Bearcats Saturday afternoon at Sparks Stadium.

Going against a dangerous power rushing team following a disappointing road loss last weekend, the Lutes rebounded in the most dominant way possible on Saturday. Willamette picked up 75 yards on its first drive to take a 7-0 lead and added 64 yards on its final drive late in the fourth quarter, but the PLU defense limited the Bearcats to 151 yards in between as the Lutes out-gained the Bearcats 686-to-290.

Northwest Conference leading rusher Dylan Jones broke a 57-yard run on the third play from scrimmage as Willamette opened the game with five consecutive running plays leading to a touchdown. The Lutes responded with a five-play, 75-yard drive of their own, complete with a big play. For the Lutes it was through the air, however, as Dalton Ritchey dropped a perfect deep ball into the hands of Kyle Warner for a 47-yard scoring pass to tie it up less than five minutes into the game.

From there the PLU defense stepped up and the offense never let up as the Lutes scored on every drive except their final possession before halftime, when a missed field goal sent PLU into the break up 28-7. The Lutes came right back out in the second half and scored a touchdown on their first drive of the second half before a fourth-down stop in their next possession included the only missed third-down attempt of the day for PLU, not counting quarterback kneels at the end of the game.

Officially, PLU converted 11 of 13 third-down attempts while holding Willamette to 1-of-9 on third down. The Lutes held possession for more than 40 minutes, including more than 22 minutes in the second half. PLU finished the day with 26 first downs to 11 for Willamette and posted a symmetrical yardage tally of 343 on the ground on 48 carries and 343 through the air on 25 pass attempts.

Ritchey put up the best game of his collegiate career, completing 15 of 22 pass attempts for 302 yards – an average of 13.7 yards per pass – and five touchdowns while rushing for 130 yards on 14 carries (9.3 per carry) and another score. Niko Madison tallied game-high 136 rushing yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, while Warner caught two passes for 111 yards and a score. Lucas Sontra caught three pass totaling 47 yards and found the end zone each time he touched the ball for three scores. Fernando Barrett added one big catch: a 43-yard scoring grab.

Jones ended the day with 129 yards on 18 carries with one touchdown, with 83 of those yards coming on two carries. Trent Spallas completed 10 of his 20 pass attempts for 151 yards and was sacked twice, and Derek Traeger caught six passes for 80 yards.

The PLU defense posted a balanced effort, with 20 different players picking up at least one tackle and no one totaling more than six. Joel Teats and Travis McCarthy tied for the team lead with six apiece, while Chase Houser and Cody Tupen each sacked Spallas once. For Willamette, Jack Nelson totaled 10 tackles and Kyle Shaver picked up a solo sack of Ritchey.

PLU's 56 points marked the highest point total since a 62-14 win over Puget Sound in 2001, and also marked the most points the Lutes have ever scored against Willamette. The Lutes' 686 yards easily surpassed the previous program record of 653 set in a 47-0 win against Whitworth way back in 1970.

The win improves PLU's record to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in conference play, while Willamette falls to 4-2 overall and 2-2 in the NWC. PLU returns to action next Saturday, when the Lutes will travel to Tacoma's Baker Stadium to take on cross-town rival Puget Sound at 1 p.m.