PUYALLUP, Wash. — Manuel Felan returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown and
Darius Chaffin connected on his first 13 passes as the Pacific Lutheran University football team extended its win streak to three after routing Northwest Conference rival Lewis & Clark College 49-14 on Saturday at Sparks Stadium.
Chaffin finished the day with six total touchdowns— throwing for five and running for another on a day offense, defense, and special teams was clicking for the Lutes (4-3, 3-1 NWC).
Felan opened the game with a 90-yard kickoff return, giving host PLU the 7-0 advantage just 16 seconds into the contest.
A
Nasier Ford interception set up PLU's second score of the day with
Darius Chaffin hitting
Laakea Ane from a yard out to make it 14-0 with 10:54 left in the second quarter. A Pioneer fumble set the Lutes up on a short field the following drive with
Darius Chaffin scrambling 13 yards to make it 21-0 just 11 seconds later.
Lewis & Clark (3-4, 2-2 NWC) got on the board with a 47-yard touchdown strike but PLU responded with a drive of its own, covering 65-yards on just eight plays with Chaffin hitting Ane for an 18-yard score. A Pio fumble on the ensuing kickoff set up PLU on the 27-yard line. Six plays later Chaffin connected with
Marc Basa for a 14-yard touchdown, pushing the Lute advantage to 35-7 with 63 seconds left before halftime.
The Pios pieced together an 87-yard drive in the third to cut the gap to 35-14 but a 41-yard pass to
Manuel Felan made it 42-14 just a minute into the fourth quarter before
Thor Stepina scored on an 84-yard pass four minutes later to conclude the scoring.
"We've challenged our special teams to be special and taking the opening kick for a TD is a special way to start a game," said Head Coach
Brant McAdams.
Chaffin finished the day 17-for-20 with 276 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 63 yards and a score, averaging 9.0 yards per rush.
Stepina had five receptions for 122 yards and a score while Felan had five catches for 88 yards and a TD. Ane found paydirt twice, finishing with five receptions for 35 yards.
Layne DePeralta and
Kalen Davis-White both finished with eight tackles while
Nico Golla,
George Sonko, and
Cole Becker each had a sack.
Kellen Meade had an interception and 59-yard return while Ford also picked off a pass.
"Our defense is playing well and our offense is clicking. It's fun to watch."
Andrew Comito barely broke a sweat, punting just twice— both in the second half. Comito averaged 43.5 yards per punt, pinning Lewis & Clark inside the 15 on both kicks.
"We're getting better and better at creating and capitalizing on turnovers as the season goes on. Back to work this week."
PLU racked up 440 yards of total offense on the day, including 299 through the air. PLU is undefeated in the month of October and has outscored its last two opponents by a combined 111-21 margin.
The Lutes are back in action next Saturday, trekking to Newberg, Oregon to face George Fox University. Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m.
