PUYALLUP, Wash. — Sam Morasch had two interceptions and the Pacific Lutheran University defense racked up 11 sacks on the day but it wasn't enough to overcome four turnovers in a 31-3 setback to Concordia College on Saturday at Sparks Stadium.
 
"Hats off to a good Concordia football team. Our defense got after their QB and made him make some tough throws that created some early takeaways for us," said Head Coach Brant McAdams.
 
Morasch got his first pick on the opening Cobber (1-1) drive of the game, intercepting a pass on a third and long to set up the Lutes on their 42-yard line. The subsequent drive would stall on a fourth down and the two teams would trade defense punches.
 
Pacific Lutheran (1-1) took over at their own 15 with five minutes left in the opening quarter and marched 73 yards down the field on 10-plays with Cole Sargent booting a 28-yard field goal to cap off the drive. Darius Chaffin found Thor Stepina on a 52-yard reception to the Concordia 25-yard line. A pair of rushes from Noah Palitz and Jacob Schuh inched the ball just outside the red zone before a pair of incomplete passes forced the field goal. 
 
Morasch netted his second interception on the first drive of the second quarter, keeping the Cobbers off the scoreboard with a redzone pick at the 10-yard line. Concordia's defense forced a punt and its offense moved the ball 43 yards on seven plays, scoring on a 29-yard reception to take a 7-3 lead. That scoreline would stand as the two teams went into the locker room at halftime. 
 
A busted coverage allowed a 36-yard Cobber touchdown strike with 10:34 left in the third quarter before a Lute fumble on a punt turned into seven more for Concordia who needed to cover just 19 yards to make it 21-3. The Cobbers would add a touchdown and a field goal in the fourth for the final 31-3 scoreline. 
 
"Unfortunately, we weren't able to capitalize on those opportunities. When we couldn't get anything going on offense and then turned the ball back over to them on special teams, that gave them the momentum and we never got it back."
 
Stepina led the offense with three catches for 62 yards while Jacob Schuh scampered for 43 yards on the ground. 
 
PLU's defense got after the Cobbers, limiting the Minnesota outfit to just 10 yards of rushing and only 217 through the air. That included 11 sacks with Michael Hause, Zachary Gable, and Cole Becker all finishing with two quarterback takedowns. Kalen Davis-White had eight tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss while Nico Golla had seven tackles, 3.5 TFLs, and 1.5 sacks. 
 
Concordia controlled the clock, holding the ball for almost 10 minutes more than the Lutes while limiting host PLU to just two-for-17 on third downs. 
 
"There are basic elements to every successful football performance and we've got to get back to those this week."
 
The Lutes close out their non-league schedule next Saturday, trekking to Thousand Oaks, California for a 1 p.m. showdown with California Lutheran University.