Sept. 19, 2006

FOOTBALL: Lutes Take to the Road, Face Chapman

2006 PLU Season Statistics

THIS WEEK: After opening the season with two home games, Pacific Lutheran travels to Orange, Calif., for a non-conference game against the Chapman Panthers. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

RECORDS: Pacific Lutheran is 0-2 this season after losses to Cal Lutheran and Wisconsin-River Falls. Chapman is 0-1 after losing its season opener to Menlo last Saturday.

THE SERIES: Saturday’s game marks the fifth meeting between the two schools. The Lutes have won all four previous meetings in the series dating back to the first game in 2002. In those four games the Lutes have averaged 40.75 points while giving up an average of 13.5 points.

THE COACHES: Scott Westering is in his third season as PLU’s head coach and has a 9-11 overall record. He previously was an assistant coach for 23 years—21 as the offensive coordinator—under his father, Frosty Westering. Scott Westering was a three-year letterman and an All-America tight end at PLU after transferring from UCLA. He was a member of the 1980 NAIA Division II national championship team. Bob Owens is in his first season as head coach at Chapman. Owens, who most recently served as the offensive coordinator at Humboldt State (2003-05), has made stops at every level of college football in his coaching career. Prior to Humboldt, he served as head coach at Whittier College, where he led the Poets to two conference championships (1997-98) and one second-place finish (2000).

2005 GAME: Pacific Lutheran tallied 509 total yards—including 396 via the running game—to roll over Chapman, 49-10, in a non-conference game at Sparks Stadium. The win was the first for the Lutes after four straight losses to begin the season. PLU receiver Chase Reed ran for 136 yards and three touchdowns on seven carries. PLU fullback Brian Dahl finished with 122 rushing yards on just five carries. Trailing 7-0, Pacific Lutheran scored three touchdowns in a four-minute span of the first quarter to take a 21-7 lead. Scott Peterson scored on a 10-yard run, Reed recorded his first touchdown on a one-yard run, and defensive back Kurt Van Selus returned an interception 33 yards for a touchdown. After a Chapman field goal, the Lutes added second quarter touchdowns on a 45-yard pass from Chris Maine to Craig Chiado and Reed’s 73-yard run. Reed added a 39-yard TD run in the third quarter, and Dahl finished the scoring with a 68-yard run in the final period.

LUTES LAST WEEK: The Wisconsin-River Falls offense scored all of its points in the third quarter and the UW-RF defense forced six turnovers as the visiting Falcons defeated Pacific Lutheran, 24-17, in a sloppy non-conference football game played last Saturday at Sparks Stadium. The game was a turnover-fest with the two squads combining to give the ball away 11 times. UW-River Falls turned the ball over on each of its first three possessions and Pacific Lutheran scored after two of them. Taking the ball on the Falcons’ 30-yard line following a fumble recovery, the Lutes scored in two plays. Junior quarterback Brett Gordon (Yakima, Wash. / Eisenhower HS) connected with junior wide receiver Craig Chiado (Albuquerque, NM / St. Pius X HS) on a 21-yard scoring play. It was the first collegiate pass thrown by Gordon. Later in the quarter and following an interception by senior cornerback Brent Frank (Leavenworth, Wash. / Cascade HS), the Lutes added three points on a 25-yard field goal by freshman Pat Burke (Spokane, Wash. / Ferris HS). That margin held into the third quarter when the Falcons converted PLU turnovers on four consecutive possessions into 24 points. The Lutes got back into the game, driving 64 yards on eight plays and scoring early in the fourth period on Gordon’s 25-yard pass to junior receiver Chase Reed (Orting, Wash. / Orting HS). In their final four possessions, however, the Lutes punted twice, threw an interception and turned the ball over on downs. Neither team did much on offense, a sharp contrast to last season when the two teams combined for 1,074 total yards in the Falcons’ 45-14 win. UW-River Falls managed just 242 yards on 59 plays, including 150 rushing yards. Pacific Lutheran, meanwhile, compiled 200 total yards, but had a negative three yards rushing. Gordon finished 15-of-36 for 203 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions. Chiado had eight catches for 108 yards and a score. Reed the Lutes with 32 rushing yards and he also had four catches for 63 yards and a score. Junior linebacker Chad Blau (Puyallup, Wash. / Puyallup HS, Western Oregon Univ.) paced the PLU defenders with 10 tackles, including 4.5 for loss. Junior defensive end Andrew Eisentrout (Olympia, Wash. / Olympia HS) finished with seven tackles and 1.5 quarterback sacks.

PANTHERS LAST WEEK: The Panthers opened their 2006 season last weekend with a 27-24 road loss to Menlo. After trailing 20-3 at the half, Chapman scored 21 straight points to take a 24-20 lead. Junior running back Marvin Davis scored on runs of 12 and 11 yards, and sophomore quarterback Eric Marty hooked up with junior wide receiver Lance Carter on a 4-yard TD pass. With 4:41 remaining in the game, however, Menlo sacked Marty and recovered his fumble at the Chapman 8-yard line, leading to the winning touchdown. Marty finished the game 11-of-21 for 191 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Senior running back Chase Twedell led the Chapman ground game with 49 yards on 14 carries. Junior wide receiver Harrison Dull had six catches for a career-high 132 yards. Chapman finished with 291 yards of total offense while limiting Menlo to 242 total yards. Senior defensive back Sean Ward led the team with seven tackles, and sophomore defensive back Garrett Earls had an interception.

PLAYERS RECEIVE HONORABLE MENTION: For the second straight week, Craig Chiado (offense) and Chad Blau (defense) received honorable mention recognition NWC Player of the Week honors.

INJURY REPORT: Pacific Lutheran will be without the services of its top two halfbacks for the majority of the season. Junior starter Anthony Canger (Post Falls, Idaho / Post Falls HS) suffered a posterior cruciate ligament tear in his knee. He is expected to miss at least six weeks while doing rehabilitation. Sophomore Brian Dahl (Puyallup, Wash. / Cascade Christian HS) is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with Graves’ Disease. This is a type of autoimmune disease that causes over-activity of the thyroid gland, causing hyperthyroidism. Medications can treat this disease, but only if and until Dahl’s condition is brought under control will he be cleared to return to the football field. The Lutes will be without team co-captain and senior tight end Adam Nichols (Bellingham, Wash. / Squalicum HS) for several more weeks because of a groin injury.

THE TURNOVER BUG: Turnovers haunted the Lutes during the 2005 campaign, and they seem to be back this year as the Lutes have given the ball away nine times in two games. PLU has thrown three interceptions in each of the first two games and also fumbled the ball away three times against UW-River Falls.

FIND THE OFFENSE: Pacific Lutheran, which has managed just 425 yards of total offense in its first two games, is still in search of a consistent offensive attack. Last season, by contrast, the Lutes averaged 449.1 yards per game.

RADIO/INTERNET COVERAGE: All PLU football games will be broadcast in the Tacoma area on KLAY 1180 AM. The broadcasts will also be on the worldwide web at http://www.plu.edu/~lutecast. Steve Thomas handles the play-by-play and Karl Hoseth provides commentary.

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