Ford Has Huge Day But Lutes Lose on Late TD

ST. PETER, Minn. - Greg Ford had the kind of day on Saturday you can't help remember, but might want to forget, in Pacific Lutheran's heart-breaking 34-33 non-conference football loss to host Gustavus Adolphus.

Ford, a junior wide receiver, broke his own school record with 292 receiving yards on Saturday, but his effort went for naught when the Gusties scored the winning touchdown on a 1-yard pass with 12 seconds remaining in the game.

The visiting Lutes (1-3 overall) took a 33-22 lead with 10:17 left when Ford caught the final of his four touchdown receptions, a 34-yard strike from AJ Palazzolo. Gustavus (2-3 overall) promptly drove 63 yards and scored on Jordan Becker's 6-yard pass to Blake Noennig, cutting the PLU lead to 33-28 with 6:28 left.

PLU picked up one first down on its ensuing possession but eventually punted, and a 31-yard return by Cody Sukalski gave the hosts the ball at their own 44-yard line with 3:52 remaining. They methodically drove down the field, converting a 4th-and-6 with a 7-yard pass that set them up with a 1st-and-goal at the PLU 2-yard line. After the Lutes held on two downs, Becker threw in the flat to Elliott Herdina, and he plucked the ball off his shoe tops, turned and dove into the end zone for the winning score.

Ford caught 13 passes for 292 yards and four touchdowns. The 292 yards eclipses the school record 272 receiving yards he had last year in a PLU victory over Lewis & Clark. With 13 receptions, he fell one shy of tying the school record 14 catches set by Gavin Stanley, now Ford's receivers coach, against Western Washington in 1993.

Ford caught 57- and 33-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Rasmussen in the second quarter and 23- and 34-yard scoring aerials from Palazzolo in the fourth period. The Lutes' other touchdown opened the scoring and came on a 28-yard pass from Palazzolo to Kyle Whitford.

The Lutes finished the game with 499 yards of total offense, including 415 through the air. For the second straight game, Rasmussen and Palazzolo successfully shared the quarterback duties. Rasmussen started the game and completed 12-of-16 passes for 207 yards, while Palazzolo finished 16-of-22 for 208 yards. Neither quarterback threw an interception. PLU was less effective on the ground with 27 carries for a net of 84 yards, including 36 yards on six carries by Drew Griffin.

Becker completed 26-of-41 passes for 310 yards and five touchdowns for the Gusties. Herdina had 11 receptions for 141 yards and two scores.

Defensively for PLU, Andy Sturza finished with 12 tackles, and both TJ Suek and Erik Magussen had 10 tackles.

The Lutes return to action next Saturday when the play Willamette in a Northwest Conference game scheduled for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff in Salem, Ore.

- PLU -