Putney Seeks Record In Whitworth Finale

Barring an injury on the last day of the season, Whitworth College tailback Damian Putney will break a 36-year-old school record today.

Putney, a senior from Harrington, Wash., has 1,167 yards rushing and needs 51 more to break Charlie Reed’s record of 1,217 yards set in 1963.

Whitworth’s opponent is Lewis & Clark, a team that brings an 0-8, 0-4 Northwest Conference record into the Pine Bowl. Last year, the Pirates defeated the Pioneers 50-7 in Portland.

The Pioneers, whose roster includes 22 freshmen, have averaged 8.7 points per game this fall while allowing 47.6 points per game.

Whitworth (4-5, 1-3) broke a four-game losing streak last Saturday, when they gained a dramatic 31-28 victory over Eastern Oregon. The Pirates scored in the final 32 seconds on quarterback Josh Parbon’s 16-yard pass to Matt Stueckle.

“Lewis & Clark looks like a team we had here three years ago,” Whitworth coach John Tully said. “Our focus will be on finishing the season playing well.”

Three years ago, the Pirates went 1-8. They have improved to 2-7 and 5-5 since. With a win today, the favored Pirates will finish 5-5 for the second consecutive year and finish in fourth place, just as league coaches predicted in the preseason poll.

Fourteen Whitworth seniors will play in their final game.

Looking at the conference’s big picture, if Willamette beats Linfield today in Salem, Ore., the Bearcats will win the title with a 5-0 conference record. But if Linfield wins and Pacific Lutheran defeats Puget Sound, there will be a three-way tie among the Bearcats, the Wildcats and the Lutes.

The Northwest Conference does not receive an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III tournament. However, last year, champion PLU earned the conference’s first at-large bid then lost to St. John’s (Minn.) 33-20 in the first round.