Winless Opponent No Easy Mark For Whitworth

Looks like there’s a good chance the Whitworth College football team can pick up another win this weekend.

The Pirates face Eastern Oregon University, a team that enters with an 0-5 record.

Not so fast, says Pirates coach John Tully.

“We have a tough schedule, but they really have a tough schedule,” said Tully, whose team enters the non-conference game at 2-3.

The Mountaineers are playing an independent schedule as they move to the NCAA Division III level along with the Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges.

Last week, EOU lost to NAIA No. 4 Pacific Lutheran 30-26. Two weeks ago, it lost to No. 6 Willamette 13-7 after leading 7-0 in the fourth quarter. And before that , it was defeated by Western Washington and Central Washington.

The Mountaineers opened the season with a 38-14 loss to Eastern Washington. In that game, freshman quarterback Chuck Nyby completed 10 passes for 96 yards while running EOU’s spread-option offense.

In five games, Nyby has completed 60 percent of his passes for 727 yards and four touchdowns. His main target has been Kyle Washburn. The sophomore wide receiver has caught 31 passes for 445 yards and two touchdowns.

“The main thing is that we’ll have to control their option. We can’t give up the big plays,” Tully said.

After winning back-to-back games, Whitworth came out flat last week, which resulted in a 28-3 loss to Linfield. The Wildcats held Whitworth to 178 yards and 0-11 in third-down conversions.

The Pirates offense ranks last in the NCIC, averaging 271 yards per game behind the tandem-quarterback system of Casey Doyle and Tim Mitrovich. Leading running back Damian Putney is averaging 3.2 yards per carry and has 279 yards and four touchdowns.

Last season, EOU beat Whitworth 37-23 after jumping to a big lead before the Pirates got going. EOU leads the series 13-9-2.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: COMING UP Saturday: Eastern Oregon at Whitworth, Pine Bowl, 2 p.m. Radio: KSBN 1230 AM