Whitworth’s Football Opener On Saturday
Whitworth head football coach John Tully and his 1995 Pirates kick off the season Saturday as the Pirates will take on Eastern Oregon State College at La Grande, Ore., at 1:30 p.m.
The game will be broadcast in Spokane on radio station KSBN 1230 AM.
This year, Whitworth will be competing in the Mount Hood League with Lewis & Clark, Linfield, Pacific Lutheran, Puget Sound and Willamette. Eastern Oregon is in the Mount Rainier League with Central Washington, Simon Fraser, Southern Oregon State, Western Oregon State and Western Washington.
The two leagues make up the Columbia Football Association.
In last year’s matchup between EOSC and Whitworth, the Mountaineers reeled off 16 unanswered fourth-quarter points to beat the Pirates 23-7.
Both Whitworth and Eastern Oregon are coming off 3-6 seasons. In the six losses for Whitworth, the average margin of defeat was three touchdowns while EOSC lost by an average margin of two TDs.
In order to be successful against the Mountaineers, Whitworth will have to contain junior running back Chris Vogt. Vogt was the second-leading rusher in the CFA last year with 770 yards on 177 carries and six touchdowns.
EOSC also has junior quarterback Richie Davis, who threw for 1,194 yards and seven touchdowns.
Returning on defense for EOSC is last year’s first-team senior defensive lineman Leonard Sanchez.
As for the Pirates, senior quarterback J.J. Green returns to head the offense, along with tailback Brion Williams and fullback Jon Olson.
The Pirates will have an entirely new offensive line with Ryan Buxton at left tackle, Victor Garcia at left guard, Matt Miethe at center, Harry Suzuki at right guard, Keith Browning at right tackle and Travis Ernst at tight end.
Green will be throwing primarily to flankers David Glenn and Scott Sund and wide receivers Andre Wicks and Chet Doughty.
On defense, the Pirates will have a solid front seven in a 4-3 alignment. The strength of that defense may rest in the linebacking corps of Eric Bird, Jeff Baxter and Shay Smith.
Notes
In last week’s alumni game, the alums scored 13 second-half points against a young second- and third-string defense to grab a 20-19 victory.
The Pirates offense scored three first-half touchdowns including a 37-yard strike from Green to Wicks. Green finished the game with four completions in nine attempts for 75 yards.
Williams rushed for 57 yards on 10 carries and scored a touchdown in the first half. Defensive lineman Terry Borders recovered two fumbles, intercepted a pass and recorded a sack in the first half.
, DataTimes