Clark sparks Whitworth to triumph
TACOMA – Junior Joel Clark threw for 363 yards and five touchdowns and ran for 76 yards and another score Saturday as Whitworth College snapped a two-game losing streak with a 46-27 win over the University of Puget Sound in Northwest Conference play at Baker Stadium.
Clark completed 25 of 33 passes with no interceptions and led the Pirates (3-2, 1-1) in rushing yardage.
Whitworth jumped to a 20-0 lead on three Clark TD passes – 21 and 27 yards to Michael Allan and 31 yards to Nick Kuntz in the second quarter.
The Pirates took a 26-6 lead into halftime on Kyle Havercroft’s 22-yard TD run with 2 minutes, 27 seconds left in the second quarter.
NWC rushing leader Rory Lee’s 5-yard TD run with 3:50 left in the third quarter allowed the Loggers (3-3, 1-2) to cut Whitworth’s lead to 26-13. The Pirates soon fumbled to set up Paul Silas’ 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal with 12:49 remaining, pulling UPS within six points.
Whitworth increased its lead to 34-20 a little more than 2 minutes later. Clark threw a 19-yard TD pass to Allan on fourth-and-8 and hit Kyle Snell for the two-point conversion.
Clark’s 52-yard TD pass over the middle to Mathew Johnson boosted the edge to 40-20 with 4:58 remaining.
Clark capped the Pirates’ scoring with a 15-yard draw play.
Snell finished with eight catches for 83 yards and Kuntz had seven for 70.
Whitworth 46, Puget Sound 27
| Whitworth | 7 | 19 | 0 | 20 | — | 46 |
| Puget Sound | 0 | 6 | 7 | 14 | — | 27 |
WC–Allan 27 pass from Clark (Marshall kick)
WC–Allan 21 pass from Clark (kick failed)
WC–Kuntz 31 pass from Clark (Marshall kick)
UPS–Paul 1 run (kick failed)
WC–Havercroft 22 run (kick failed)
UPS–Lee 5 run (Stuckrath kick)
UPS–Paul 1 run (Stuckrath kick)
WC–Allan 19 pass from Clark (Snell pass from Clark)
WC–Johnson 52 pass from Clark (pass failed)
UPS–Behringer 35 pass from Carlson (Stuckrath kick)
WC–Clark 15 run (kick blocked)
A–1,121.
| WC | UPS | |
| First downs | 27 | 22 |
| Rushes-yards | 37-180 | 47-209 |
| Passing yards | 363 | 176 |
| Return Yards | 5 | 10 |
| Comp-Att-Int | 25-33-0 | 12-25-1 |
| Punts | 3-35.3 | 6-37.8 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-1 | 1-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-87 | 6-41 |
| Time of Possession | 26:39 | 33:21 |
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING–Whitworth, Clark 13-76, Ahsing 15-64, Havercroft 9-40. Puget Sound, Lee 19-93, Carlson 7-41, Paul 15-38, Cetinich 4-31, Olcott 2-6.
PASSING–Whitworth, Clark 25-33-0-363. Puget Sound, Carlson 11-22-0-174, Lelli 1-2-0-2, Grandstaff 0-1-1-0.
RECEIVING–Whitworth, Snell 8-83, Kuntz 7-70, Johnson 4-98, Allan 4-82, Koller 2-30. Puget Sound, Behringer 4-64, Cetinich 4-56, Bean 2-32, Paul 1-22, Patterson 1-2.