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Oct. 23, 2007
FOOTBALL: Lutes Face Lewis & Clark in 2007 Home Finale THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran (5-2, 2-2 NWC) hosts Lewis & Clark (0-6, 0-3) at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, Wash., Saturday, 1:30 p.m. MATCHUP: This Saturday’s game marks the 43rd meeting between the Lutes and the Pioneers. PLU holds a 32-9-1 series advantage and has won the last 11 games between the two schools. The series started with a 0-0 tie in 1947. PLU’s 62-6 win in Portland in 2000 marks the largest victory margin in PLU football history. The last Lewis & Clark win in the series came by a 36-35 score in 1989. COACHES: Scott Westering, son of legendary PLU football coach Frosty Westering, is in his fourth season as Pacific Lutheran’s head coach. He has compiled an 18-16 record. Chris Sulages is in his second season as head coach at Lewis & Clark, compiling a 0-15 record in that time.
LUTES SHUT OUT?! Last week’s shutout at Linfield was PLU’s first game without a score since a 9-0 NAIA playoff loss at Findlay (Ohio) in 1979, ending a streak of scoring games at 293. To put that in perspective, head coach Scott Westering was a junior tight end on that 1979 team. The year following that playoff shut out, the Lutes won their first of four national championships. ABOUT THE PIONEERS: It has been a tough year thus far for Lewis & Clark, as they are still trying to earn their first victory. The Pioneers are currently in the midst of a 24-game losing streak that stretches back to a 2004 victory against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Lewis & Clark enters the game ranked last in the Northwest Conference in both scoring offense and defense. The Pioneers average 14.2 points per game on offense, while giving up 52.2 points and a staggering 502.8 yards per game on defense. PIONEER OFFENSE: Lewis & Clark does have the Northwest Conference’s second leading rusher in Joevonte Mayes. Mayes has averaged 4.7 yards per carry this season and 81.2 yards per game to lead the Pioneer’s offensive attack. The versatile freshman also ranks among the NWC leaders in receiving with 19 catches this season for 252 yards and a touchdown, as well as averaging 18.7 yards on kick returns. His 188.5 all purpose yards per game rank him first in the conference, nearly 50 yards per game ahead of second-place Travis Masters of Linfield. PIONEER DEFENSE: Freshman defensive back Joe Morris leads the much-maligned Pioneer’s defense in tackles, ranking seventh in the NWC with 7.5 per game. Look for the Lutes to run the ball against a Lewis & Clark rushing defense that has allowed 6.7 yards per carry and 308.7 yards per game on the ground. The pass defense looks more respectable at first glance, ranking fourth in the conference giving up 194.2 yards per game, but a closer look reveals that this is a product of other teams choosing simply to hand the ball off on virtually every play. Lewis & Clark’s defense has seen the fewest passes in the conference by 42 attempts. When teams do choose to air it out, the Pioneers are giving up a conference-worst 8.4 yards per attempt and have allowed opposing teams to complete more than 70 percent of their passes. QUICK TURNOVER: The fatal flaw of PLU teams of the past few seasons - turnovers - has returned in the last couple games, costing the Lutes in their two losses to Whitworth and Linfield. PLU turned the ball over three times in both games. The Lutes should see some relief against Lewis & Clark as the Pioneers’ defense has only five takeaways this season, by far the worst in the Northwest Conference. On the other side, PLU’s aggressive defense should thrive on a Pioneer offense that has turned the ball over 21 times, more than any other team in the conference. GIVE THEM THE BALL: An interesting subplot of Saturday’s game will be the time of possession battle. The Lutes and Pioneers rank last in the NWC in time of possession, with each team’s offense finding time on the field for only about 27 minutes per game.
BATTLE OF THE TRENCHES: Pacific Lutheran’s defense has thrived in the trenches this season, leading the Northwest Conference with 29 sacks in seven games. The defensive line will face a tough test against a strong Pioneers offensive line that ranks second in the conference in giving up only 10 sacks in six games. On the other side of the ball, the Lutes have given up 19 sacks on offense while the Pioneers have only tackled the quarterback behind the line of scrimmage twice this season. LAST YEAR: The visiting Lutes defeated the Pioneers 44-7. Pacific Lutheran struck first after recovering a Lewis & Clark fumble at its own 42-yard line, marching 58 yards on eight plays to make take a 7-0 lead on a Jacob Schonau-Taylor’s first collegiate touchdown. The Lutes made it a 10-0 game on a 26-yard field goal from Pat Burke with a minute and a half left in the first quarter. The Lutes then turned a second Lewis & Clark fumble into another seven points after recovering the ball on the Pioneer 33. Brett Gordon threw his only touchdown pass of the game, connecting with receiver Chase Reed from 12 yards out to increase the lead to 16-0. Later in the quarter, Craig Stahl ran eight yards to give the Lutes a 23-0 halftime lead. The Lutes came out after the break and drove 63 yards to take a 30-0 lead on Stahl's second rushing touchdown of the game, this time from 13 yards out. PLU pushed the score to 37-0 on 3-yard run by Chris Maine following an interception by Evan Bratz. The Pioneers scored their lone touchdown on a 28-yard pass from A.J. Brown to Brock Argyropoulos with just over two minutes left in the third quarter. Pacific Lutheran added a 12-yard rushing touchdown by Schonau-Taylor in the fourth period to end with the 44-7 victory. The Lutes had 56 rushes for 286 yards in the contest, and their 403 yards of total offense was almost 100 yards more than their season average. Gordon completed 9-for-14 for 117 yards with a touchdown. Reed had eight carries for 63 yards and Schonau-Taylor had nine carries for 61 yards with two touchdowns, along with 10 other PLU players who carried the ball against Lewis & Clark. LAST WEEK: A matchup of the Northwest Conference's top two offensive teams turned into a defensive battle, at least for one half. Holding their longtime rivals to six first downs and 79 yards of total offense and forcing three turnovers, No. 19 Linfield defeated Pacific Lutheran 24-0 at rain-soaked Maxwell Field in McMinnville, Ore. It was the first blanking of a PLU team by Linfield since back-to-back shutouts in 1965 and 1966. The first half was a scoreless chess match. Linfield twice marched inside the PLU 25, but a fumble at the 11 and an interception in the end zone by Jeff Ebel prevented the Wildcats from assuming command early. The offensive numbers in the first half were less than stellar, with the Wildcats leading the yardstick, 137-49. PLU had just 12 passing yards at intermission despite Lutes quarterback Brett Gordon completing 8-of-12 attempts. Linfield broke the ice four minutes into the third quarter as Dan Lever dove over the goal line from three yards out. Scott Birkhofer booted the extra point and the hosts led 7-0. The Wildcats gave themselves a bit of breathing room with 51 seconds left in the third quarter when Birkhofer capped a seven-play, 51-yard drive with a 43-yard field goal to make it 10-0. Linfield quarterback Trevor Scharer marched the Wildcats 77 yards in nine plays for their next score, hitting backup QB Aaron Boehme along the back of the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown. Wildcats linebacker Paul Partlow set up Linfield's final touchdown by returning an interception 27 yards to the PLU 8, setting up Travis Masters' game-clinching 8-yard scamper up the middle. Gordon, who completed 11-of-24 for 47 yards, was sacked five times and intercepted twice. Chase Reed caught four passes for 20 yards. Defensive end Robert Thomsen led the way defensively for PLU with a game-high 12 tackles, including two sacks and one other tackle for loss. LUTE NOTES: - PLU - |
