Polished Pirates Put Together Complete Game

The Whitworth College football team found its groove Saturday and the timing couldn’t have been much better.

The Pirates are two games into the season and defending NCAA Division III champion Pacific Lutheran University is coming to town.

Coach John Tully was looking for consistency in his team’s non-conference matchup with Chapman University on Saturday, and he got it.

His offense clicked, his defense made big stops and his special teams shined on the way to a 49-22 victory over the Panthers of Orange, Calif. About 1,500 fans watched Whitworth’s home opener in the Pine Bowl on the hot and sunny day.

“I told the guys and the coaches the whole week that I thought we played well last week,” Tully said, referring to his team’s 20-7 season-opening loss at the University of Redlands (Calif.). “The formula for success was to play like last week but make one more play. As you can see, they did.”

Whitworth made a lot of plays.

There were Ty McGregor’s three touchdowns, two rushing and a 25-yard catch from Jesse Parbon.

There were Billy Condon’s two 1-yard scoring runs. There was Joel Robnett’s 100-yard kickoff return in the third quarter that tied a school record.

There were the two big stops by the Pirates’ defense in the first quarter, when Chapman was well into the red zone. Robnett intercepted a Stan Villanueva pass to spoil Chapman’s opening drive.

You get the point.

Whitworth (1-1) gained 443 yards of offense - 276 rushing and 177 passing - and scored on its first two drives for a quick 14-0 lead.

McGregor, who Tully said is “lighting it up,” put his team on the board first on a 6-yard run 3:16 into the game.

“We just started the game with a lot of excitement and adrenaline,” said McGregor, a senior from Leavenworth, Wash. “The offense was great and the defense was great as usual. It was one of those games when everything was clicking.”

After Chapman opened the third quarter with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Villanueva to Greg Garand, Whitworth responded immediately. Robnett broke three tackles and went 100 yards to score on the ensuing kickoff for a 35-14 lead.

Robnett then forced a fumble late in the quarter that led to the Pirates’ final touchdown, a 7-yard run by quarterback Jesse Parbon 6 seconds into the fourth quarter. Parbon and Scott Biglin shared quarterback duties.

Tully praised the defense and his defensive coaches for making adjustments because four starters were out with injuries.

Biglin praised everybody.

“The line blocked, the receivers got open, the running backs made their runs and the defense did their job,” he said. “You can’t really ask for much more than that.”

Chapman (0-2) produced most of its yards in the air.

Villanueva completed 13 of 22 passes for 194 yards and an interception. Backup Todd McLean was 5 for 12 for 45 yards with an interception. The team finished with 239 passing yards and just 112 rushing.

Whitworth, meanwhile, hopes to come out just as prepared for Saturday’s 1:30 p.m. showdown with PLU.

“If we play like this, we should give them a run for their money,” McGregor said. “PLU is a great team, but we’re a great team, too. We’re excited.”

Pacific Lutheran 42, Simon Fraser 28

Senior quarterback Chad Johnson threw for 379 yards and three touchdowns and freshman halfback Aaron Binger had 245 all-purpose yards and scored twice to lead the Lutes (2-0) over the Clansmen (1-1) at Puyallup, Wash.

Western Washington 41, West Texas A&M 17

Quarterback Scott Mitchell tied a school record by passing for five touchdowns and receiver Greg Dykstra tied another mark with three TD catches as the NCAA Division II No. 25-ranked Vikings (2-1) defeated the Buffaloes (1-2) at Bellingham, Wash.

Cent. Washington 64, W. Montana 0

Three interceptions - two returned for first-quarter touchdowns - sparked the NCAA Division II Wildcats (2-1) to a victory over the NAIA Bulldogs (0-3) at Dillon, Mont.

Central’s Zak Hill went 17 of 25 for 201 yards and three touchdowns.