Nov. 6, 2006

FOOTBALL: Lutes Host Willamette in 2006 Season Finale

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran hosts Willamette, Saturday, 1:30 p.m.

RECORDS: Pacific Lutheran is 3-5 overall and 3-2 in the Northwest Conference. The Lutes opened the season with non-conference losses at home to Cal Lutheran (17-14) and Wisconsin-River Falls (24-17) and on the road to Chapman (42-25). In Northwest Conference games they have won all three of their road games (32-28 against Puget Sound, 34-10 against Menlo and 44-7 against Lewis & Clark) and lost twice at home (19-7 against Whitworth and 44-21 against Linfield). Willamette comes into the game with a 2-6 overall record and a 2-3 mark in the Northwest Conference. The Bearcats last had a losing seasons in 2001.

SERIES HISTORY: Saturday’s game is the 37th meeting between the two schools. PLU leads the all-time series 20-14-2, but is looking to break a three-game losing streak to the Bearcats. Last year the Bearcats topped the Lutes, 34-27, at McCullough Stadium in Salem, Ore.

THE COACHES: Scott Westering is in his third season as PLU’s head coach and has an 12-14 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, and he was a member of the 1980 NAIA Division II national championship team. Mark Speckman has compiled a 76-45-1 record in what is currently his ninth year as Willamette's head coach after three seasons as the Bearcats’ offensive coordinator. He was named Northwest Conference Coach of the Year in 1999 after directing the Bearcats to the NWC title and a berth in the NCAA Division III national playoffs. Speckman is regarded in the coaching ranks as one of the foremost authorities of the “Fly” offense. The “Fly” brings the flanker in motion through the formation before each snap, where he can either take a handoff, block or become a receiver. The Bearcats have broken dozens of school records on offense under Speckman.

LAST MEETING: Pacific Lutheran came up just short in a 34-27 loss to Willamette in a Northwest Conference game last Saturday at McCulloch Stadium in Salem, Ore. The Lutes were stopped on a fourth-and-inches from the Willamette 7-yard line with four minutes remaining in the game and the Bearcats ran out the clock to preserve the victory. The Lutes rallied from a 34-14 deficit on Craig Stahl’s three-yard run with 30 seconds left in the third quarter and Chris Maine’s one-yard carry at 10:28 of the fourth quarter. The PLU defense then forced Willamette to punt after three plays on the Bearcats’ next possession, and the Lutes took over on their own 32 yard line. A 15-yard pass from Maine to Craig Chiado on a third-and-11 play moved the ball to the Willamette 42, then Maine hit Chiado again with a 23-yard strike for a first down on the Bearcat 16. Stahl gained five yards on first down, and after throwing an incomplete pass, Maine connected with Chiado on a play that came up just inches short of the first down. Stahl was then hit at the line of scrimmage to prevent the Lutes from getting the first down. Maine completed 20-of-31 passes for 258 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He also ran the ball nine times for 32 yards and two touchdowns. Chiado had 10 receptions for 151 yards and one touchdown, and Stahl had 58 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. Tyler Breum had 12 tackles and two pass breakups and Brent Frank finished with 10 tackles to lead the PLU defense.

LUTES LAST WEEK: Pacific Lutheran had a bye.

BEARCATS LAST WEEK: Willamette rolled to a 61-14 Northwest Conference victory over the Lewis & Clark Pioneers. The Bearcats led 61-0 before conceding a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns. Willamette gained 350 rushing yards, including 104 on just five carries by Ryan Hernandez.

LUTES BY THE NUMBERS: Pacific Lutheran averages 24.2 points and allows 23.9 points per game. The Lutes averaged 317.4 yards per game – 226.5 passing – per game and allo 314.2 yards per game. Individually, junior quarterback Brett Gordon (Yakima, Wash. / Eisenhower HS) has completed 110-of-197 passes fro 1,434 yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. His favorite target is junior receiver Craig Chiado (Albuquerque, N.M. / St. Pius X HS) who has 53 catches for 821 yards and six touchdowns. Junior receiver Chase Reed (Orting, Wash. / Orting HS) leads the Lutes in rushing with 72 carries for 309 yards and four touchdowns, and he is second in receiving with 31 catches for 422 yards and four touchdowns. On defense, junior linebacker Chad Blau (Puyallup, Wash. / Western Oregon Univ.) leads PLU with 60 tackles, including 13 tackles for loss, and he also has two interceptions. Junior defensive end Andrew Eisentrout (Olympia, Wash. / Olympia HS) had 58 tackles, including 17.5 for 83 yards in losses and 9.5 quarterback sacks for 59 yards in losses. Senior linebacker Jon Hergert (Seattle, Wash. / Evergreen HS) has 57 total tackles.

BEARCATS BY THE NUMBERS: The Bearcats average 22.4 yards and 301.9 yards per game while giving up 32.0 points and 349.6 yards per contest. Willamette’s usually potent running game is down a little this year as the Bearcats average “only” 177.4 rushing yards per game, led by Ryan Hernandez with 473 yards and four touchdowns. Kevin Dean has 303 rushing yards and five touchdowns, but both average better than 6.5 yards per carry. Willamette quarterback Kevin Whipps had completed 56-of-101 passes for 746 yards with three touchdowns and eight interceptions. His favorite receiver is Mike Plank, who has 30 receptions for 420 yards.

SCORING STREAK: Going all the way back to the 1979 postseason, Pacific Lutheran has scored in 297 consecutive games. The last time a PLU football team did not score in a game was 1979 when the Lutes dropped a 9-0 decision at Findlay (Ohio) during the second round of the NAIA Division II national playoffs. You’d have to go all the way back to 1969 to discover the last time that the Lutes did not score in a regular season game. That season, they dropped a 20-0 decision to Puget Sound in the fifth 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 www.klay1180.com. Steve Thomas handles the play-by-play and Karl Hoseth provides commentary.

- PLU -