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Nov. 6, 2007 FOOTBALL: Lutes Finish Season At Willamette THIS WEEK: Willamette (4-5, 3-2 NWC) hosts Pacific Lutheran (6-2, 3-2 NWC) at 1 p.m. Saturday, at McCulloch Stadium in Salem, Ore. 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 is the 38th meeting between the two schools. PLU leads the all-time series 21-14-2 after breaking a three-game losing streak to the Bearcats last season. Last year the Lutes dominated the Bearcats, 38-7, in their season finale at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup. The teams tied 35-35 in 1995 in a contest made memorable by PLU’s three-touchdown rally in the final four minutes. 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 a 19-16 record. Mark Speckman is in his 10th year as the head coach of the Willamette University football team, compiling a record of 52-46 in that time. ABOUT THE BEARCATS: Willamette is 4-5 this season after blowing out Lewis & Clark, 77-17, last weekend. In their nine games the Bearcats have averaged 26.8 points on offense while giving up 21.6 on defense, ranking fourth in the Northwest Conference in each category. LUTES ON OFFENSE: The Lutes will likely return to their big-play offensive style this week after running a much more conservative offense two weeks ago against Lewis & Clark. The Bearcats give up an average of 7.1 yards per passing play, third worst in the conference this season. They have also given up 13 touchdown passes, second most in the league, while intercepting only six passes, the third fewest. The Bearcats’ rushing defense is far more stout, ranking third in the conference behind PLU and Whitworth, giving up 106.2 yards per game and only three yards per carry. LUTES ON DEFENSE: The Bearcats average less than 100 passing yards in the game, by far the lowest in the Northwest Conference. Their strength is the running game, where they lead the NWC with 256.8 yards per game, a 5.2 yards per carry average and 25 touchdowns. This will provide an interesting match up as the Lute defense has thrived against the running game for most of the season. The Lutes rank second behind Whitworth, giving up 102.2 yards per ground on the game, and their stingy 2.6 yards per carry average is tops in the NWC. Willamette’s offense thrives in the red zone, scoring 84.4 percent of the time to lead the conference. Meanwhile, the Lutes possess the stingiest red zone defense in the league, allowing scores only 70.4 percent of the time. LAST YEAR: Brett Gordon threw for three touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Pacific Lutheran Lutes to a 38-7 victory over the visiting Bearcats at Sparks Stadium. Gordon put the Lutes on the scoreboard first, taking an option keeper around the right end for 56 yards and a score just 2:08 into the game to cap a 75-yard, five-play drive. Willamette answered right back on its first possession, driving 65 yards on eight plays and scoring on an 18-yard run by Ryan Hernandez. The shifty senior flanker, who led all rushers with 116 yards on 16 carries, started left, then cut back across the field and used his speed to beat several Lute defenders to the right corner of the end zone. After Willamette forced a PLU punt, the Bearcats started a streak of generosity that resulted in a total of eight turnovers, three on interceptions and five on fumbles. Artie Atencio muffed a punt by Doug Rickabaugh and Brent Frank recovered for the Lutes at Willamette’s 40-yard line. Five plays later, the Lutes made the score 14-7 when Gordon hooked up with Craig Chiado on a 25-yard scoring pass. After PLU cornerback Aaron Todd intercepted a Kevin Whipps pass in the end zone, the Lutes drove 68 yards in 16 plays before settling for a 28-yard field goal by Pat Burke. On Willamette’s next possession, punter Clint Moran fumbled the snap and the Lutes took over at the Bearcats’ 11-yard line. One play later, Gordon hit Jacob Washburn with a touchdown pass, giving the Lutes a 24-7 halftime lead.After a scoreless third quarter, Pacific Lutheran scored on the first play of the fourth period when Gordon threw long across the middle to Chase Reed, who turned the play into a 77-yard catch-and-run touchdown. Pacific Lutheran’s final touchdown came on a 2-yard keeper by senior reserve quarterback Chris Maine with 3:08 remaining. Other than a first half in which the Bearcats turned the ball over five times, the game was fairly even at the intermission with PLU accumulating 187 yards of offense to 163 for the Bearcats. In the second half, however, the Lute defense limited Willamette to just 72 yards of offense. Linebacker Chad Blau and defensive end Andrew Eisentrout played a big part in PLU’s stifling defense. Blau finished the game with 10 total tackles, two tackles for loss, a quarterback sack and a fumble recovery, while Eisentrout finished with nine tackles and five of the Lutes’ six quarterback sacks. LUTE NOTES:
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