LA VERNE, Calif. — Erik Bainter threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more as the Pacific Lutheran University football team steamrolled University of La Verne 41-0 on Saturday evening under the lights at Ortmayer Stadium.
 
Bainter finished the night 21-for-29 with 310-yards and four touchdowns while rushing for an additional 62 yards and two more scores.
 
As a team, the Lutes (1-1) absolutely dominated the Leopards (0-3), racking up 562 yards of offense including 337 threw the air and 225 on the ground. PLU's defense was equally proficient, limiting the hosts to a paltry 130 yards of total offense, including four total rushing yards on 23 attempts.

"We're proud of the improvements our guys made from game 1 to game 2. We talked about playing complimentary football all week and we did a better job of that tonight," said Head Coach Brant McAdams. 

"Erik was fearless tonight and it was fun watching him cut loose within our offense."
 
PLU wasted little time registering points on the scoreboard with Bainter finding Noah Palitz for a 20-yard touchdown with 9:56 left in the first quarter, capping off a six-play, 55-yard drive.
 
Bainter hit John Walker for a 56-yard score just seconds into the second quarter before making it 21-0 just over three minutes later connecting on another deep ball, this time a 55-yard connection to Patrick McInerny. 
 
Bainter plunged in from two yards out just before halftime as the Lutes enjoyed a 27-0 buffer at the break.
 
The misery continued for La Verne in the third with Bainter hooking up with Manuel Felan from eight yards out, capping off a 72-yard drive before Bainter made it 41-0 with 2:47 remaining in the third with his second rushing score of the day and his sixth TD overall in the blowout win.
 
Raysen Motoyama collected 82 yards on the ground, averaging 4.8-yards per touch while Felan hauled in nine passes for 118 yards and a score. 
 
Defensively, the Lutes had seven sacks and an interception. Leading that charge was Ashton Barton with eight tackles, including 1.5 TFLs. Nico Golla had a pair of sacks, Gavin Hawley had six tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble while Michael Gurr finished with an interception.
 
Saturday's performance was the Lutes' third shutout in their last five games, blanking Willamette University 24-0 on Oct. 30 and University of Puget Sound 33-0 on Nov. 6.
 
Pacific Lutheran opens its home slate next Saturday, hosting California Lutheran University at 1 p.m. at Sparks Stadium.