Sept. 22, 2007

Lutes Win Home Opener But Lose Players to Injury

Box Score

Craig Chiado pulls the ball away from a Chapman defender for a PLU touchdown.

Jordan Hartman photo

PUYALLUP, Wash. - The 2007 Pacific Lutheran Lutes played their first home game of the season Saturday, defeating the visiting Chapman University Panthers by a final score of 34-13 at Sparks Stadium.

The defense gave up only four yards in the first quarter while the offense scored touchdowns on three of its first four drives, allowing the Lutes to build a lead that the Panthers could not overcome. Unfortunately, the victory did not come without some defeat, as the Lutes lost three players to injury.

Brett Gordon continued his impressive play, completing 11 of his 18 pass attempts for 153 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for 32 yards before leaving the game in the second quarter with an injury to the shoulder of his throwing arm.

“Brett’s going to have the doctor look at [his shoulder] tomorrow, so we’ll have to wait and see about that,” head coach Scott Westering said.

Junior Michael Byrne finished the game at quarterback for the Lutes, completing six of 11 passes for 101 yards. Shortly after entering the game, Byrne threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Craig Chiado that put the Lutes ahead 27-13. Byrne and Chiado played together at St. Pius X High School in Albuquerque, N.M.

Two senior defensive backs, Sean McIlraith and Justin Kelly, were also injured in the game. Kelly fractured his leg and will undergo surgery on Sunday and McIlraith experienced pain in his knee and will see a doctor this week.

After Jacob Schonau-Taylor’s seven-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter put the Lutes ahead 20-0, the Panthers replaced struggling starting quarterback Luke Robinson with backup Eric Marty. Lute fans may remember Marty as the quarterback who combined with wide receiver Harrison Dull for more than 300 yards in last season’s 45-25 win over PLU. Marty brought Chapman back to 20-13 on back-to-back long scoring drives for the Panthers in the second quarter, the first covering 71 yards and the second covering 97 yards.

Following the second long scoring drive, the Lutes took the ball on their own 39-yard line with just over two minutes left in the first half. Gordon injured his throwing arm on a third-and-six play that included an offensive pass interference penalty. Byrne entered the game on the next play, with 21 yards needed to achieve a first down and the momentum seemingly shifted to the Panthers. On his first play, Byrne completed a 35-yard pass to freshman wide out Greg Ford for the first down before eventually connecting with Chiado for the touchdown that turned the momentum back to the Lutes’ side.

“Momentum is a priceless thing, and it works both ways. It has a positive effect of lifting your guys up and a very difficult effect on the other team,” Westering said. “It was a natural high at halftime, going in after making that play, with the backup quarterback in a tough situation where there was tension about a momentum shift. To come back and make that play right before the half, that was a great play.”

The momentum never shifted again after that. Coming out of halftime with a 27-13 lead, the Lutes scored their final touchdown less than two minutes into the third quarter. Junior defensive lineman Andy Holden sacked Marty for a loss of 10 yards, in the process forcing the Chapman quarterback to fumble the ball. Senior lineman Robert Thomsen recovered the fumble at Chapman’s four yard line. On the next play, Schonau-Taylor took the ball up the middle for his second touchdown of the game.

The Lutes held the Panthers to minus two rushing yards on 28 attempts and a total of 299 yards for the game. Holden led the team with eight total tackles, including his one sack and forced fumble and three tackles for a loss. Senior defensive end Andrew Eisentrout and junior linebacker Haden Geinger had two sacks each and Thomsen also had one.

On offense, the Lutes rushed for 107 yards and passed for 254. Schonau-Taylor led the Lutes’ rushing attack with 50 yards and his two touchdowns, while Chiado led all receivers with 113 yards and one touchdown. Ford finished with 78 yards and one touchdown, and senior running back Anthony Canger totaled 56 all-purpose yards and one touchdown.

Two late interceptions by Byrne proved to be the only turnovers for the Lutes. They fumbled the ball twice in each half but were able to recover the ball each time. Westering praised his backup quarterback after the game, saying that he stepped up when he needed to and attributing the fumbles to not enough experience with the first-team offense.

“He played really well. We always talk about being ready, and Mike is a very serious student of the game,” Westering said.

The coach also had only good things to say about the team’s defensive effort in the second half, when some of the turnovers that halted offensive drives led to extended time on the field and very good Chapman field position.

“You saw the confidence that they had when they had to run back out there saying ‘Let us play,’ and we watched them raise up their level of play,” Westering said.

The Lutes return to action next Saturday at home against UPS, looking to improve to 4-0 for the first time since the 1997 team started the season 6-0. The game will be at 1:30 p.m. at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.

- PLU -