By Christian Bond, PLU Sports Information Student Writer

SPOKANE – Whitworth scored the first 32 points of the day as the Pirates closed out a 32-7 win over Pacific Lutheran in Northwest Conference football action Saturday afternoon at the Pine Bowl.

Whitworth's victory maintained the Pirates' tie atop the NWC standings with a 3-0 record, 6-0 overall, while PLU fell to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in conference play. The Lutes return home next weekend to host George Fox Oct. 24 at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.

Overall the Lute offense outgunned Whitworth 385 yards to 306 yards, and the Lutes held a 15-minute advantage in time of possession (37:34-to-22:26). However penalties and turnovers cost the Lutes as PLU committed 11 penalties and had two big turnovers. With Cole Chandler stepping in to replace the injured Jon Schaub at quarterback in the second half, Dalin McDonnell returned an interception 45 yards for a Whitworth score.

PLU's second turnover came at the end of a Lute drive in the third quarter as the Lutes reached the red zone before fumbling the ball to Whitworth at the 14-yard line. The Lutes' next drive also reached the red zone before a 22-yard field goal attempt missed wide left.

Schaub and Chandler combined for 295 yards passing, completing 28 of 45 passes with one touchdown and one interception, while Chandler added 50 rushing yards on 12 carries. Marc Gallant gained 33 yards on 10 carries, while Juston Lind caught seven passes gaining 81 yards and Ben Welch caught seven balls for 62 yards.

Following the early interception, Chandler made the most of his opportunities in relief as he passed for 196 yards on 17-of-28 passing. Chandler was able to hook up with Beau Lockmer for a 38-yard touchdown to get PLU on the board in the fourth quarter.

Travis McMillion and Tanner Perry tied for the team lead with five tackles apiece, with Perry contributing 1.5 sacks on the day. The Lutes were able to hold NWC-leading rusher Duke DeGaetano to only 37 yards on 15 carries and limited the Whitworth offense to just over 300 yards on 61 total plays. The Lutes sacked Whitworth quarterback Ian Kolste four times and limited Kolste to 16 completions on 30 attempts for 219 yards.

The Pirates scored on a short run by Griffin Hare late in the first quarter, and Mike McKeown caught a 30-yard pass from Kolste early in the second half. McDonnell's interception return and a 44-yard field goal gave the Pirates a 25-0 halftime lead. Nick Kiourkas' 31-yard pass from Kolste made it 32-0 midway through the third quarter, and PLU scored Lockmer's touchdown early in the fourth quarter.