In Plu, Pirates Get Tough Test
It might not be the warmest of welcomes for the Whitworth College alumni who attend Saturday’s 1:35 p.m. homecoming football game against Pacific Lutheran University.
The cold facts …
Whitworth: Winless in four attempts this year.
PLU: NAIA Division II national playoff qualifiers 14 of the past 17 years.
Whitworth: Coming off a 40-6 thrashing against Simon Fraser University last Saturday.
PLU: Off to a 3-1 start, which includes a 31-3 victory over Simon Fraser.
Whitworth: Eternally unranked amidst a 12-game losing streak dating back to last season’s first game.
PLU: Ranked 13th in the NAIA Division II Top 25 poll and national champs three times since 1980 and as recently as 1993.
“They’re one of the perennial powers in college football. (And ranked No. 13), they’re probably better than that,” were the first words out of Pirates coach John Tully when asked to assess this week’s NCIC league-opening opponent at the Pine Bowl. However, if there’s a flaw in the Lutes’ perfection, it’s in their passing defense. PLU is last in the league, giving up 303.8 yards per game and nine touchdowns. In four games, opposing quarterbacks have completed 72 of 144 passes for 1,215 yards.
Whitworth quarterback Casey Doyle and his top receiver Brion Williams would like to add to those lofty numbers. But Doyle, a redshirt freshman, must get busy.
Doyle is 21 of 49, compiling 251 yards and two touchdowns. Williams, a senior, has caught 18 passes for 237 yards. Last week against Simon Fraser, Williams scored on the first play from scrimmage on a 74-yard run.
“They (quarterbacks Doyle and reserve Rob Leslie) just need experience, and that’s what they’re getting,” noted Tully.
This week, the Pirates defense will try to stop the conference’s No. 1 all-purpose yardage gainer, Peter Finstuen. The senior, with sophomore eligibility, is averaging 207 yards per game.
Last week in a 49-30 win against Western Washington, the 5-foot-10, 190-pound back had 398 all-purpose yards and scored five touchdowns, earning him conference player-of-the-week honors. Finstuen finished with a school-record 292 yards rushing, and scored on runs of 94, 71 and 80 yards.
“We’re going to stay with what we’ve been doing,” Tully said. “The guys continue to work hard. All we ask is for them to take care of the things they can control.”
Injuries are not one of those things as three of the Pirates’ key players will be sidelined. Defensive tackle Justin Messman, who accounted for two tackles totaling losses of 14 yards, including a 9-yard quarterback sack last week, is out with a bad knee.
Nose guard Terry Borders is sidelined due to a sore ankle. Offensive lineman Harry Suzuki will miss his third game because of a death in the family.
, DataTimes MEMO: On TV The Pacific Lutheran at Whitworth game will be shown live on KXLY X-tra at 1:35 p.m.