Lutes Host Loggers in Cross-Town Rivalry Game

THIS WEEK: Pacific Lutheran (1-4 overall, 1-1 Northwest Conference) hosts Puget Sound (0-5, 0-2) in a Northwest Conference game at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, Wash., Saturday, 12:30 p.m.

THE SERIES: Saturday's matchup will be the 84th meeting between Pacific Lutheran and Puget Sound, dating back to 1931. The Loggers dominated the series for most of the first 50 years, culminating in a 13-1 run for Puget Sound from 1966-79 that gave UPS an record of 41-11-5 all-time against PLU. Since that time, however, the series has been all Lutes. PLU has gone 23-3 in the last 26 meetings, including 20-1 in the last 21. The Lutes owned a 17-game winning streak from 1988-2004, and have won the last three games since a 23-13 defeat in 2005. Even with the recent PLU dominance, UPS holds an all-time advantage of 44-34-5 in the series.

LAST YEAR: Pacific Lutheran used two long second half drives and a couple of timely defensive stands to rally from a 7-0 halftime deficit and defeat host Puget Sound, 14-7 at Baker Stadium. Puget Sound took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter when Kavin Williams hooked up with Darrell Stewart on a 42-yard pass play with 12:03 remaining in the half. As it turned out, the PLU defense caught more of Williams' passes than his own teammates as he finished the game 1-for-7 with two interceptions. Still, the touchdown play, and the ensuing point-after-touchdown kick by Wyatt Evenson, loomed large as the second half started. The Lutes finally got on the board at 9:02 of the third quarter when Kyle Whitford took a pass from Michael Byrne and broke it for a 65-yard touchdown. The PAT kick by Nicklas Frid missed, however, and the Loggers maintained a slim 7-6 lead. The touchdown capped a four-play, 79-yard drive that took 1:47 of the clock, and that was all the time that the Lutes had the ball in the third period as the Loggers started a massive march to what may well have been the clinching touchdown. Starting at its own 13-yard line, Puget Sound took 18 plays and converted a pair of fourth downs to get the ball all the way down to the PLU 5-yard line. On first and goal, however, PLU defensive end Tony Slater stripped the ball from Silas Paul and Bryan Neumiller recovered for Pacific Lutheran. The momentum switch was huge, and the Lutes responded with their own 18-play, 97-yard drive to score the go-ahead touchdown. Along the way, Byrne hit Greg Ford with a 13-yard pass on a fourth-and-11 from the UPS 31-yard line. Facing a fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line, Byrne completed a touchdown pass to Blake Gorle to give the Lutes a 12-7 lead after the two-point pass attempt failed. The reception was the first of Gorle's career. On Puget Sound's next possession, Matt Wolford intercepted Williams, returning it to the UPS 41-yard line. The Lutes were eventually forced to punt inside final 1:30 of the game, and punter Doug Rickabaugh pinned the Loggers down on their own 2-yard line. On second down, Tony Slater broke through the line and sacked Williams in the end zone for a safety. After the Lutes got the ball on Puget Sound's kick, they ran out the clock. Other than the one scoring play and Puget Sound's impressive 18-play drive, the Pacific Lutheran defense turned in a stout performance, limiting the host Loggers to 200 total yards on 57 plays. Williams, the elusive and talented UPS quarterback, led the Loggers in rushing with 92 yards, but those came on 25 tough carries. Silas Paul carried the ball 18 times for a net of 48 yards, an average of 2.7 yards per attempt. The Lutes managed just 27 net rushing yards on 26 carries, though freshman Bryce Davis picked up 21 of those yards on six attempts.

ABOUT THE COACHES: Scott Westering is in his sixth year as head coach at Pacific Lutheran, where he has compiled a 24-26 overall record. Scott joined the PLU coaching staff in 1981 after playing tight end for the Lutes under his father, Frosty Westering. Since 1983, Scott has served as the Lutes' offensive coordinator, helping PLU to two NAIA Division II and one NCAA Division III national championships, as well as four runner-up finishes. He has coached 11 first-team All-Americans, including the 1999 NCAA Division III Player of the Year, Chad Johnson. Scott was a captain and All-American tight end on the 1980 PLU team that won the Lutes' first NAIA national championship. He was inducted into the PLU Hall of Fame in 1998. For the Logggers, Phil Willenbrock is in his eighth season leading the UPS football team. In his first seven seasons, Willenbrock has compiled a 24-40 overall record.

ABOUT THE LOGGERS: After facing a Willamette team that dominated the top of the Northwest Conference statistical categories, the Lutes will meet a Puget Sound team that has struggled tremendously on offense this season. Puget Sound has scored only six touchdowns and 45 points in five games this season, an average of 9.0 points per game. Defensively, the Loggers have given up a respectable 22.8 points per game, but with their offensive struggles it works out to a scoring deficit of nearly 14 points per game. Saturday's game will match the Northwest Conference's top passing attack with its worst, as the Lutes average 299.6 passing yards per game and 8.2 yards per attempt compared to only 97.4 yards per game and 4.6 per attempt for the Loggers. Five of the Loggers six offensive touchdowns have come through the air, but UPS quarterbacks are completing only 47.2 percent of their passes and their 487 yards are less than one third of the PLU total of 1498 through five games. Defensively, the Loggers have given up the second most yards per game (208.6) and yards per attempt (7.6) in the league and have only intercepted one pass all year. Overall, the UPS offense ranks last in the NWC with an average of 229.2 yards per game and 3.8 yards per play. Defensively, the Loggers rank ahead of only PLU and Lewis & Clark, giving up an average of 362 yards per game and 5.3 yards per play.

LAST WEEK: Willamette rallied from a 14-0 first half deficit, scoring three touchdowns in the final period to defeat visiting Pacific Lutheran, 35-17, at McCulloch Stadium. Sophomore tailback Jamiere Abney scored three touchdowns in the second half to lead the Bearcats to their sixth consecutive victory after a season-opening loss. PLU running back Drew Griffin scored a rushing touchdown and a receiving touchdown as the Lutes surged to a 14-0 lead. Griffin's two-yard scoring run with 8:50 remaining in the first quarter capped a 13-play, 70-yard drive. With 3:37 left in the half he took an AJ Palazzolo pass 12 yards for a score to put the Lutes on top, 14-0. The drive consumed 15 plays and covered 80 yards. Willamette responded with a 63-yard scoring drive, Terrell Malley scoring from six yards out to make it 14-7 at the half. The Lutes made it 17-7 on Richard Isett's 22-yard field goal with 8:04 left in the third period, and that kick capped another impressive 13-play, 69-yard drive. Again, Willamette responded with another scoring drive, going 74 yards with Jamiere Abney diving in from two yards out. With the score 17-14 in favor of the Lutes, the host Bearcats benefitted from three short-field drives to tally a trio of touchdowns. Scott Schoettgen caught a 3-yard pass from Kevin Ramay and Abney added 1- and 4-yard scoring runs. Schoettgen's touchdown with 6:48 remaining in the game gave Willamette its first lead at 21-17, and it would not trail after that. The three drives covered 21, 22 and 35 yards. The Lutes gained 429 yards to 325 for the Bearcats, but they threw four interceptions and lost one fumble. Jordan Rasmussen was 20-for-31 for 248 yards with two picks, and Palazzolo was 11-for-16 for 80 yards and two interceptions. Griffin led the Lutes with 11 receptions for 135 yard. Nick Caraballo, who converted from quarterback to wide receiver at the start of the season, had his best game with five catches for 63 yards.

LUTES ON THE AIR: All Pacific Lutheran football games may be heard in the Puget Sound area on KLAY 1180 AM with Steve Thomas calling the action and Karl Hoseth handling the color commentary. The games may also be heard online at www.klay1180.com.

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