PUYALLUP, Wash. — The Pacific Lutheran University football team absorbed its first blemish of the Northwest Conference slate on Saturday, owning an early lead before ultimately falling 31-15 to reigning conference champion Linfield University at Sparks Stadium. 

PLU's defense set the tone early with a Avery Coleman strip sack, stalling a Linfield drive and giving the Lutes the ball at their own 19. The Lutes (4-3, 3-1 NWC) needed just five plays to turn it into points with Jacob Schuh rumbling 58-yards for a touchdown. A special teams miscue on a bad snap turned into a Wildcat touchdown with 5:49 left in the second half, tying the game as the two teams entered the locker room at half tied at 7-7. 

The Wildcats (4-2, 3-1 NWC) pulled away in the second half, capitalizing on a partially blocked punt and going 56 yards on just three plays to score the go-ahead touchdown with 9:12 left in the third. Linfield scored again on its next drive before making it 28-7 with 8:12 left in the game. 

Pacific Lutheran had one more big play up its sleeve with Anthony Mahaffey hitting Connor Meade for a 70-yard touchdown with 3:23 left in the game. Preston Santi caught the two-point conversion to make it a two score game. PLU was unable to recover the onside kick that rolled out of bounds as Linfield held on for the victory. 

Jase Ellamar had a team-high four catches resulting in 51 yards while Meade had three receptions for 77 yards and a score. All told, eight different receivers caught a pass on the day. Signal caller Anthony Mahaffey had 196 passing yards. On the ground, Schuh finished with 77 yards.

Eli Fernandez led the defense with 13 tackles, including nine solo while Jackson Hale had 11 tackles. The defensive line got after it, registering five sacks on the day. The Lutes held the Wildcats to just 15 rushing yards in the first half and to less than 10 yards in each of the first three quarters.

The Lutes hit the road next Saturday, making the trek across the Cascades to the Pine Bowl in Spokane to face Whitworth University. Kickoff in eastern Washington is set for 1 p.m.