PUYALLUP – The Pacific Lutheran offense continued its recent run of dominance as the Lutes rushed for more than 400 yards in a 41-27 Northwest Conference football victory over Whitworth Saturday afternoon at Sparks Stadium.

PLU improves to 6-2 overall and 4-2 in conference play with the win, while Whitworth's season concludes with a 6-4 overall record and a 4-3 NWC mark. The Lutes wrap up the 2014 regular season next weekend when they host George Fox.

The PLU offense surpassed 500 yards for the third straight game and averaged 9.3 yards per play, while the Lute defense limited the prolific Whitworth offense to only 5.1 yards per play as the Pirates took 97 plays to reach 490 yards.

"It was a team win," PLU head coach Scott Westering said. "The way this defense played, and the way our offense responded, it was all part of it."

Dalton Ritchey had his best game as a runner, tallying a career-high 203 yards on 16 carries with three touchdowns while passing for 158 yards. Ritchey's biggest play of the day came at the PLU 13-yard line, when he evaded multiple sack attempts before tucking the ball, finding the corner and running 87 yards for a score.

"Dalton's just been our guy," Westering said of the Lutes' senior quarterback. "The last few games here he's really blossomed, and it's been so awesome to watch him in that capacity."

Niko Madison added 150 rushing yards and two scores on 15 carries to average an even 10 yards per carry. Joel Teats and Blake Petersen tied to lead the Lute defense with 14 tackles apiece, with Teats compiling three of the Lutes' five sacks on the day. Greg Hibbard and Cody Tupen each intercepted passes, with Tupen tipping a ball at the line into the air and making a diving catch and Hibbard returning an interception 43 yards for a touchdown.

"Hats off to our defense," Westering said. "They played so well against a very, very prolific team. They can score so fast, and all it takes is a little break in coverage."

Whitworth quarterback Bryan Peterson completed an incredible 53 passes in 64 attempts for 428 yards and three touchdowns to go with two interceptions, with Drew Clausen catching 21 balls for 163 yards and a score to lead the Pirates. Whitworth totaled 97 plays to 61 for the Lutes, but PLU made the most of its plays with an average of 11.1 yards per rush to gain 409 yards. The Lutes finished the day with 37 rush attempts to 24 pass attempts.

"It just kind of fit into the natural rhythm of our offense," Westering said. "We'll always take kind of what they give us. They were up taking chances, playing man-to-man, and when you break the line of scrimmage everyone is caught chasing people and there's no support for it."

The Lutes took the opening kickoff and drove 73 yards down the field in only three plays to take a 7-0 lead. Kyle Warner's 36-yard rush on the first play highlighted the drive, and Madison ran it into the end zone from 14 yards out for the score.

PLU's next score came later in the half when Hibbard picked off a Peterson pass and returned it 43 yards for the 14-0 lead. Whitworth responded on the next drive, with Peterson finding Duke Degaetano from 11 yards out for the score to make it 14-7 going into the second quarter.

Ritchey's 87-yard run came early in the second quarter on the first play of PLU's drive to make it 21-7, and Tupen's interception came on Whitworth's next drive after the Pirates drove into the red zone. The PLU offense took only three plays to go 80 yards, with Madison breaking a 57-yard scoring run to put the Lutes up 28-7.

Whitworth came out of halftime and put together a 15-play drive to move 68 yards downfield before the Lute defense forced a field goal to make it 28-10. Two drives later the Pirates again moved into PLU territory before having to settle for three points.

PLU followed the Pirates' second field goal with one of the Lutes' longest drives of the season. The Lute offense came out on the field with 6:28 remaining in the third quarter and took 7:13 off the clock on 13 plays to move 88 yards. Ritchey punched it in for a 1-yard touchdown one play after the PLU quarterback broke a 35-yard run and barely missed breaking the plane.

The Lutes had a chance to put it away on their next drive, but a dropped potential touchdown pass was followed by a tipped-ball interception that gave Whitworth the ball near midfield with just under eight minutes to play. It took the Pirates 10 plays and 3:12, but Whitworth made it a two-score game at 35-20 on a 2-yard pass from Peterson to Anthony Fullman.

Whitworth's defense stepped up and pushed the Lute offense 12 yards backwards on a three-and-out, and Peterson followed with a six-play, 60-yard scoring drive to make it 35-27 on a 21-yard scoring pass to Clausen.

Ben Welch recovered Whitworth's onside kick attempt, and on the next play Ritchey broke free down the right sideline for a 47-yard touchdown with 2:21 remaining. It all came to an end on the next kickoff, as the Pirates fumbled the return back to the Lutes and PLU was able to run out the clock for the win.