Pirates games give off Pine sense

It is – and this is an unresearched fact – the most charming place to watch a football game, and that was true during the 2-7 seasons just as it is now in this extraordinary 100th year of Whitworth College football when the Pirates have won 10 games and more admiration.

Oh, things change at the Pine Bowl. But no more than they stay the same.

The Hawaiian Club’s chicken teriyaki bowl remains a steal at three bucks, and there is still room in the starting lineup for a 5-foot-8, 145-pound refugee of 8-man high school ball. The athletic director fills in as the public address announcer. A luxury suite is a thick blanket and a hot thermos on the berm next to the bleachers.

On the other hand, there is NFL talent at tight end – and live Internet video streaming.

“I can’t believe I’m watching the Pirates in Egypt,” Erik Bruckner – a former admissions officer and cross country coach – e-mailed the press box during the first quarter Saturday.

Hey, it was just as hard to believe in person, starting with the National Anthem. Not only did the vocal stylist invent several new words, but also several new notes – and not just new to the song, but to the chromatic scale. It wasn’t exactly Roseanne, but it had the players looking over their shoulders to see who was responsible for the commotion.

But it must have stirred up the blood, because the Pirates and Puget Sound scored 28 points in the first 7 minutes. From that reckless pace, it was a quick skip to Whitworth’s happy ending – a 44-27 romp – and the drink-bucket bath for coach John Tully. Let’s assume that’s a Pine Bowl first, too – the program’s other high points predating that custom.

But this is the highest point. Ten-and-oh. The school’s first outright Northwest Conference football title.

There are playoffs ahead and more goals to grasp at, but Saturday was a good time to gauge the rewards of what’s been built by Tully and his staff – and by players who aren’t trading their sweat for an education, but who apparently still consider football a privilege.

“At this level, everybody just loves to be on the field,” noted Nick Koller, the little receiver from LaCrosse who even in pads can look like a fencepost on a hunger strike. “There are no scholarships, just opportunity – especially for someone my size. Even at this level, I’m the smallest guy by far – it was like this in high school, but not to this extent.”

There was an amusing scene Saturday when Michael Allan, the remarkable tight end who has a foot and 120 pounds on Koller, was in the midst of a 66-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown – this after opening the game with a 74-yarder. With two potential tacklers closing in, Koller was blocking downfield.

Apparently.

“I just know there was one guy on my back hip, so I was just trying to run away from him,” recalled Allan. “And I was getting cut off by the other guy. ‘Squeaks’ was right there and he hit a perfect block on the guy.”

Yeah?

“I think he threw Nick into the guy,” receivers coach Jason Tobeck said.

“I was just a deer in the headlights,” Koller laughed. “Mike’s a lot bigger than the guys I was trying to block.”

It was a classic Division III football moment, except that there’s nothing Division III about Allan. Even at 6-7 and 264 pounds, he lines up at split end as often as he lights up tight and runs away from NWC safeties – on Saturday for a Whitworth-record 251 yards.

And yet he’s very much a part of the unique Pirates dynamic.

“He’s a special talent, so I think it forces everyone to raise their level,” said Nick Portrey, a senior linebacker from Ritzville. “But except for Mike, none of us are going to play again after Whitworth. So it’s not all about yourself. You’re playing to win and for each other.”

Portrey proved as much just coming back to play this year. He could have graduated – he’s taking a water aerobics class just to be eligible.

Hey, Matt Leinart took ballroom dancing. Who says Whitworth and USC are in different football universes?

“I wanted to be here for the other guys on the team – and for myself,” Portrey said. “I worked too hard not to stick around to enjoy the fruits of my labor.”

There have been unbeaten seasons before, but in the big picture not a lot of football fruit. Tully has reversed that – but Tobeck, who himself played for good and not-so-good Pirates teams, senses some of Whitworth’s mind-and-heart magic working beyond the current 80-man roster.

“It’s a real celebration,” he said. “We’re excited about our team and how we’ve done, but I’ve had more calls from guys who played back in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s saying, ‘Can I get a copy of my game films’ – just because now they’re excited about Whitworth and their experiences.”

Meanwhile, over the P.A. system Saturday, there were more reminders about the evening’s jazz concert than there were plugs for sponsors and advertisers.

At the Pine Bowl, it’s still the same game. But very different.