PUYALLUP, Wash. — Connor Meade set the tone with a 90-yard kickoff return to start the game as the Pacific Lutheran University football team laid the hammer on Simpson University in the home opener, pummeling the California visitors 42-16 at Sparks Stadium.

A short opening kickoff was initially caught by Marcus Samia who used some misdirection with a fake handoff before tossing it to Meade who rumbled 90-yards into the endzone to put PLU (1-1) on the scoreboard. 
 
The Lute defense forced a three and out on the ensuing possession while a short punt and a penalty put PLU's offense back in business at the Simpson 33-yard line. The Lutes needed just five plays to find the endzone with Jacob Schuh diving in from one-yard out. 
 
PLU enjoyed another short field later in the opening quarter with quarterback Darius Chaffin hitting AJ Stepina on a 45-yard touchdown pass to put the hosts up 21-0 with 3:08 left.

The Lutes pushed its advantage to 28-0 early in the second quarter with Dayton Savea catching a 70-yard pass from Chaffin. 

The Red Hawks (0-2) got on the board with 7:47 left before halftime, recovering a Lute fumble and going 35-yards on six plays to break up the shutout. Simpson narrowed the gap to just two touchdowns early in the third but the Lutes answered with a 73-yard drive that included a big 35-yard catch from Stepina and a three-yard touchdown scamper from Chaffin.

Stepina tallied his second touchdown early in the fourth quarter, scoring from 25-yards out. It was Chaffin's third passing touchdown of the day and his fourth overall, pushing the PLU edge to 42-14. Simpson concluded the scoring by getting a safety with 18 seconds left.

Chaffin threw for 341 yards on the day, going 18-for-28 with three TD passes while rushing for another. Stepina was the top target, racking up 121 yards on five catches with two TDs. Jase Ellamar had four catches for 55 yards. Schuh led the ground attack with 57 rushing yards and one touchdown.

Defensively, Eli Fernandez led the Lutes with 13 tackles while Avery Coleman had nine. Jackson Hale had 1.5 TFLs while Ryan Morgan had the Lutes' lone interception on the afternoon.

PLU outgained the Red Hawks 476 to 272 on Saturday, averaging 7.2 yards per play. The Lute defense limited Simpson to just 149 passing yards and held them to three for 15 on third down conversions.

The Lutes close out their non-conference schedule next Saturday, hosting Trinity University (Texas) at Sparks Stadium. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m.