Whitworth won’t take NAIA foe lightly
Whitworth College, coming off last Saturday’s 14-13 double-overtime road win over Wisconsin-Stout, will cap the non-conference portion of its 2006 football season this afternoon when it entertains Azusa Pacific in the Pine Bowl.
The Pirates (3-0) are ranked No. 17 in the D3football.com Top 25 poll, but they expect another stiff test from an NAIA school that has feasted on NCAA Division III opponents in the past.
Azusa Pacific (1-3), the alma mater of Whitworth coach John Tully, makes its first visit to Spokane, having played one of the most grueling early-season schedules imaginable.
The Cougars’ three losses have come to San Diego, which is ranked No. 1 in The Sports Network I-AA midmajor poll, and Wisconsin-Whitewater and Wisconsin-LaCrosse, which are ranked No. 2 and No. 8 among D-III schools.
“They are very talented and probably one of the better NAIA teams in the country, regardless of their ranking,” said Tully, who was Azusa Pacific’s first four-year starter at quarterback back in the early 1970s.
The Cougars had a 13-game winning streak against Division III foes snapped by their loss at Whitewater. This will be the second meeting between Whitworth and APU, with the Cougars having won the initial matchup 41-20 at home in 1999.
Azusa Pacific is led on offense by senior running back Marcus Lampkin, who ranks No. 9 on the school’s career rushing list with 1,566 yards.
Whitworth will again rely on senior quarterback Joel Clark to trigger its high-octane spread passing game. Clark threw for 248 yards in the win over Stout and engineered a 76-yard scoring drive in the final 66 seconds of regulation to force overtime.
“I have great respect for John Tully and the entire Whitworth team,” Cougars coach Victor Santa Cruz said. “They are very good and playing some excellent football right now. They force us to play sound football, particularly on defense.”
The Pirates won last week without junior running back Chris Ahsing, who suffered an ankle sprain in the 37-16 rout of La Verne the week before. Ahsing won’t play today, but he might return for next Saturday’s Northwest Conference opener at Pacific Lutheran.
Against Stout, Whitworth’s defense continued to grab its share of the spotlight, limiting the Blue Devils to 77 passing yards.
“Now our defense knows we’re going to stop people,” junior strong safety Jay Tully said. “Before, it was like, ‘We know the offense is going to score every time, so let’s get one stop and beat ‘em in shootout.’
“But now, everybody on the team believes the defense is going to stop people.”