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Oct. 9, 2007 FOOTBALL: Lutes Face Oaks in 2007 Homecoming Game THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran hosts Menlo at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ON THE AIR: Pacific Lutheran football games are broadcast in the Tacoma/Parkland area on KLAY 1180 AM with Steve Thomas and Karl Hoseth calling the action. You can listen online at www.klay1180.com. MATCHUP: Saturday’s game marks the sixth meeting between Pacific Lutheran (4-1 overall, 1-1 Northwest Conference) and Menlo (1-5 overall, 1-1 NWC), which became a part of the Northwest Conference last season. The Lutes have won four of the five games, including a 34-10 road win last season and a 48-24 decision at Sparks Stadium in 2005. Menlo won the first-ever meeting, 32-29 in overtime, in San Jose, Calif., in 2002. COACHES: Scott Westering, the son of legendary PLU football coach Frosty Westering, is in his fourth season as Pacific Lutheran’s head coach. He has compiled a 17-15 record. Mark Kaanapu is in his seventh season at Menlo and has led the Oaks to a 26-31 record during that time. ABOUT THE OAKS: Menlo is 1-5 this season after defeating Lewis & Clark 51-14 last weekend. In their six games this season, the Oaks have averaged 14 points on offense and have given up an average of 32.2 points on defense, ranking sixth in the Northwest Conference in each category. RUNNING WILD: Last weekend, Whitworth hammered the Lutes’ run defense, previously ranked number one in the conference, with 223 yards. The Oaks should also provide a challenge for the run defense, averaging 145.6 yards on the ground this season. Menlo running back Shaun Souza earned NWC offensive player of the week honors after running for 132 and two touchdowns on only 11 carries last Saturday. A key to the game for the PLU defense will be containing the sophomore runner. LAST YEAR: Pacific Lutheran spotted Menlo a 10-point second quarter lead, then came to life both on offense and defense in rolling to a 34-10 Northwest Conference victory at Connor Field. PLU scored its first touchdown with 7:24 left in the second quarter on a 7-yard run by Chase Reed. After getting the ball back following an interception by Andy Hamilton, the Lutes drove 20 yards in seven plays, scoring on an 11-yard run by Brett Gordon. With Andrew Eisentrout and Jeff Ebel wreaking havoc in the Menlo offensive backfield, the Lutes controlled the second half. Eisentrout had 4.5 tackles for loss including 2.5 quarterback sacks among his six total tackles, while Ebel had three tackles for loss with two sacks. Gordon hooked up with Craig Chiado on a 20-yard touchdown pass at the 11:47 mark of the third quarter, putting the Lutes on top 20-10. About three minutes later, PLU made it 27-10 when Gordon connected with Adam Nichols on a 2-yard scoring pass. The Lutes closed out the scoring with 9:06 left in the game on a 2-yard run by Craig Stahl, a score set up by Stahl’s 53-yard run one play earlier. The Lutes finished with 364 yards of offense to just 124 for the Oaks. Gordon was the leading receiver with eight catches for 132 yards, while Reed added five catches for 79 yards. PLU’s defense came up with six quarterback sacks and limited the Oaks to only 17 net rushing yards on 27 attempts. LAST WEEK: The Lutes rallied from a 28-0 halftime deficit but came up just short in dropping a 28-21 Northwest Conference game to the host Whitworth Pirates. Adam Anderson ran for 170 yards on 27 carries to lead a Pirate ground attack that controlled possession for most of the game. The halftime stats showed Whitworth with a 217-88 edge in total yards, an 11-2 advantage in first downs and a lead of 22:45 to 7:15 in time of possession. The second half was quite different as PLU opened with a 12-play, 60-yard drive to score its first touchdown. Brett Gordon carried it in from one yard on third down, completing the drive that used 6:10. Whitworth preferred to stay on the ground and use clock in the second half, playing a ball possession and field position battle that worked for most of the rest of the third and much of the fourth quarter. PLU took possession on its own three-yard line with 5:25 to go after a gutsy defensive stop and proceeded to drive 97 yards in 17 plays, scoring on a 10-yard pass from Gordon to Craig Chiado with 2:14 to play and pulling to within two touchdowns of the Pirates. A “roughing the passer” penalty on the touchdown pass was assessed on the kickoff, allowing PLU to attempt an onside kick from the 45-yard line. The Lutes recovered the ball at Whitworth’s 39-yard line and pulled a hook-and-lateral on the next play when Gordon passed to Chiado at the Whitworth 25, where he lateralled the ball to Ford, who carried it the final 25 yards for a score to pull the Lutes to 28-21 with 2:04 to play. After great confusion and controversy, Whitworth was awarded the ball after the onside kick and was able to run out the clock. Both teams finished with 301 total yards and 15 first downs, but the running and passing yards were very uneven. PLU threw for 247 yards and ran for 54, while Whitworth ran for 223 and threw for 78. The teams came into the game ranked first and second in the NWC in turnover margin, but the Lutes turned the ball over three times and never forced a Pirate turnover, which was key to the 28-0 halftime deficit. Senior defensive lineman Robert Thomsen finished with 12 tackles, including a seven-yard sack, to lead the PLU defense. LUTE NOTES:
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