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2008 Football Outlook
The loss of 28 seniors from last season’s Northwest Conference second place team puts Pacific Lutheran in an unfamiliar position heading into the 2008 season. Only five starters return this year, two on offense and three on defense, but head coach Scott Westering is not dwelling on the losses.
“We’ve never had a year like this, even all the years I coached with my dad (Hall of Fame member Frosty Westering). We’ve never had this kind of wholesale turnover. You could say ‘woe to us,’ or you can look at it as the glass being half full, and we are excited about it. We have some solid returning kids and some exciting new kids.” Of the 17 Pacific Lutheran players who earned Northwest Conference postseason honors last year, only five remain on the 2008 squad. While it’s always difficult to replace the talent of offensive players such as Chase Reed and Craig Chiado, both three-time first team All-NWC players, and defensive first team selections Andrew Eisentrout and Robert Thomsen, the Lutes believe that they have the talent and heart to overcome any lack of experience. Westering explains his optimism by saying that “it would be difficult if the corral was empty, but it’s exciting to see the potential that sits there.” With an incoming freshman class of more than 40 players, many of them ready to play right away, the corral looks far from empty for the Lutes. Senior quarterback and co-captain Michael Byrne will step into the full-time starting role this season, replacing second team all-conference quarterback Brett Gordon. According to Westering, Byrne is “going to be one of the keys, no question, to how we perform on offense. He can throw every kind of pass that we ask him to throw.” Westering raves about Byrne’s strong, accurate arm and ability to step right into a pressure position as starting quarterback. Last season, Byrne had a week to prepare for the Puget Sound game after Gordon went down with an injury, and he put on a show with 271 yards and two touchdown passes on 11-for-17 passing. He finished the year completing 63 percent of his passes for 449 yards and four touchdowns. Westering anticipates this year’s team to focus more on the passing game than in recent years, based primarily on Byrne’s arm and several athletic receivers on the Lutes’ roster. Sophomore Greg Ford will look to replace Craig Chiado as PLU’s number one big play threat. The 2007 second team all-conference receiver will lead a group of talented players with little experience entering the season. Isaac Moog, Kyle Whitford, Luke Terwilliger, Drew Griffin and Luke Absher will comprise the rest of a receiving corps that is eager to prove its ability to step right into the game for the Lutes – the group combined for only 11 catches last season.
The offensive line will be anchored by senior guard and co-captain Kyle Edwards. Candidates for other spots on the line include sophomores Brad Johnson (tackle), Robert Haney (guard) and Scott Wall (center), senior Leif Hansen (guard), and junior Kyle Connolly (center). Freshmen tackles Keoki Mawae and Cameron Persian, as well as guard Nick Oglesby, and sophomore transfer Sten Koos will compete for playing time in the trench. One player that will be missing from the offensive line and especially from the locker room this season is Brady Freeman, who tragically lost his life in a car accident in April. Freeman became the second member of EMAL football to have his life cut short by tragedy in the past two years – during the summer of 2006 Eric Fergen passed away in a drowning accident in Lake Stevens. Senior Aaron Murphy enters the season as the top returning running back, while sophomores Alec Simmons and Dustin Chadwick, as well as freshman Bryce Davis, will all challenge him for time on the field. With only three returning starters – Giustin Jenkins (defensive tackle), Neal Chalmers (linebacker) and Justin Kelly (invert) – the defense will rely on athleticism and team speed, especially in the early part of the season. Other key players on the line to start the year include junior ends Slater and Nick Edwards, tackle Kevin LaFranchi, sophomore Cameron McMillan and freshmen Branden Tipton, Eric Magnussen and Conner Skurja. At linebacker, senior Haden Gienger has impressed in preseason workouts and is slotted to start alongside co-captain Chalmers, with Tim Cumming and Bryan Neumiller also in the mix for playing time. Kelly will start at invert, with Tony Rice, Lawrence Woods III and Andy Sturza competing for the other starting spot and places in the rotation.
Cornerbacks Matt Wolford and Pat Burke are scheduled to start, with Colby Davies taking over at free safety for second-team all-conference selection Jeff Ebel. The special teams unit enters the season as a bright spot of experience for the Lutes. Senior co-captain Doug Rickabaugh returning after earning second-team all-conference honors as a punter last season, and Wolford maintain his role as returner after earning first-team honors. Freshman Richard Isett will compete with Chalmers for the place kicking position. In the preseason Northwest Conference poll, the coaches predicted a third-place finish for the Lutes in 2008, behind Linfield and Whitworth. Linfield has been the favorite in the previous seven consecutive polls, while Whitworth beat out the Wildcats last season for its second consecutive conference championship. The Lutes open the season September 13 at St. Olaf in Northfield, Minnesota. Pacific Lutheran and St. Olaf last met on the gridiron in 1948, that also in Northfield, and the Lutes have a 2-0 series lead. PLU plays its first home game one week later at Sparks Stadium against California Lutheran. While some may see PLU’s lack of experience and think that it will limit the team in its ability to make plays and be consistent, Westering explains that the team has a much different mindset. “We are going to be innovative, exuberant, and absolutely unafraid to succeed,” he said. Attaway, Lutes. |
