PUYALLUP, Wash. - The Pacific Lutheran University football team erased an 11-point deficit on Saturday afternoon, rallying to the 30-23 victory over Northwest Conference rival Pacific University to remain undefeated at Sparks Stadium.

"I'm extremely proud of our guys for elevating our resilience in another tough game," said Head Coach Brant McAdams. "The guys were locked in and we did a better job of stepping up when opportunity knocked."

The Lutes (2-2, 1-1 NWC) opened the up the scoring, recovering a Boxer fumble and marching 62 yards down the field with Ethan McElderry capping off the drive with a 25-yard touchdown run. A special teams gamble set up the eventual McElderry touchdown run with Anthony Louthan rushing 31 yards on a fake punt on fourth and four.

Pacific (2-3, 1-1 NWC) countered in the second quarter, hitting a 30-yard field goal early in the quarter before scoring two touchdowns in a 68-second stretch to build a 17-6 advantage.

Pacific Lutheran closed the gap just before halftime with backup quarterback Nolan Hoover hitting Alex Rendon for a seven yard touchdown, capping off an eight-play, 75-yard drive. Louthan again proved a key component of the drive, hauling in a 41-yard reception to put the Lutes in the red zone.

PLU reclaimed the lead early in the second half with Hajriz Aliu picking off a pass and running it back to stake a 20-17 lead. TJ Morris ran from five yards out to mushroom the Lute lead to 27-17 before a Boxer touchdown early in the fourth quarter closed the gap to 27-23.

The Lutes used another big special teams play to extend their drive late in the fourth quarter with Hoover scampering six yards on a fake field goal to keep the drive alive. Alex Brost eventually hit a 21-yarder as the Lutes took over seven minutes off the clock, leaving Pacific with just over a minute left to work with. PLU's defense held strong down the stretch as the Lutes held on to remain undefeated at home.

"Tip of the hat to Coach Judd Keim and our special teams preparation. Excellent scouting which makes it easier on me to make the call to fake. Props to our special teams units for converting when their number was called."

Hoover finished with 148 yards passing and a touchdown with Wesley Nixon catching seven balls for 105 yards. Louthan led the ground game with 63 yards rushing while defensively Hunter Briggs had 10 tackles and Matt Anthony had nine, including two tackles for loss.

"Win, lose, or draw, we head back to the meeting room and practice field to lock in on how to improve."

The Lutes are back on the gridiron next Saturday, trekking to Spokane to face Whitworth University.