Presented with a rare opportunity to, perhaps, take a few plays off against an obviously inferior opponent on a postcard-like Saturday afternoon in the Pine Bowl, the Whitworth College Pirates opted to take the high road.

Instead of just mailing in their effort, the Bucs took the approach of playing passionately – and productively – from the opening kickoff, and it paid off in a 48-10 non-conference football win over winless Menlo College.

Junior quarterback Joel Clark threw for 239 yards and three first-half touchdowns, and sophomore defensive back Ryan Marshall had a hand in two second-half turnovers that led to two scores as Whitworth (4-2 overall, 1-1 in the Northwest Conference) handed independent Menlo its seventh loss of the season and kept alive its own hopes for an at-large berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

“We’re in a situation now where we just have to win, win, win,” Pirates coach John Tully said. “This was just another one of those games, and our guys did it. I was very, very pleased with our approach and the way we played.”

Clark, who entered the game ranked third nationally in total offense, completed 11 of 16 passes – tossing a pair of touchdown passes to tight end Michael Allan and another to Drew Griggs. He also rushed for 53 yards on eight carries before giving way to junior backup Zach Henningsen early in the third period with the Bucs leading 42-3.

Allan’s second touchdown reception came late in the second quarter after Menlo had called a timeout hoping to stop Whitworth on a third-and-long from inside its own 10-yard line with under 30 seconds left in the opening half.

But instead of trying a third-straight dive play into the middle of the Oaks’ defensive line, the Pirates went upstairs. Clark hit Allan with a short pass over the middle and then watched as the 6-foot-6, 242-pound junior outran a couple of Menlo defensive backs on a touchdown play that covered 82 yards.

“He’s becoming a complete player,” Tully said of Allan, who went to Whitworth as a wide receiver, “and he gives us a uniqueness with his size. Any time you have somebody who’s 6-6 and go up for the ball like he can, it’s pretty nice.”

Whitworth’s defense also had a big day, limiting Menlo to just 7 rushing yards on 23 carries. And Marshall capped the effort with his pick and forced fumble, both of which set up short second-half touchdown drives.

“It was really exciting,” said Marshall, a 5-11 sophomore from Salem, Ore., who did a sensational job of stripping the football from Menlo’s top receiver Eddie Eyo on what looked to be a big-gain pass play. “No one was in my zone, and I heard one of the coaches yelling, ‘Someone’s coming! Someone’s coming!’ so I just turned and got my hand in there.”

“Our coaches have really stressed that all year. If anything, we haven’t done a very good job of forcing turnovers, but today we got a few.”

The Pirates now get another week off, courtesy of Lewis & Clark College’s decision to cancel its Northwest Conference games this season because of a shortage of players.

The Pirates entertain NWC rival Willamette in the Pine Bowl on Nov. 5 and then close their regular season at Pacific Lutheran on Nov. 12.

Whitworth 48, Menlo 10

Menlo	0	3	0	7	—	10
Whitworth	7	28	7	6	—	48

WC–Ahsing 4 run (Marshall kick)

WC–Havercroft 2 run (Marshall kick)

WC–Allan 27 pass from Clark (Marshall kick)

MC–FG Gresham 21

WC–Griggs 22 pass from Clark (Marshall kick)

WC–Allan 82 pass from Clark (Marshall kick)

WC–Ahsing 1 run (Marshall kick)

WC–Senll 21 pass from Henningsen (kick blocked)

MC–Conner 1 run (Gresham kick)

A–1,750.

	MC	WC
First downs	19	23
Rushes-yards	23-7	48-203
Passing	295	269
Comp-Att-Int	25-46-2	13-21-0
Return Yards	19	40
Punts-Avg.	3-35.7	4-39.0
Fumbles-Lost	1-1	0-0
Penalties-Yards	6-40	9-77
Time of Possession	27:24	32:36

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Menlo, Yanez 2-20, Mahasin 5-8, Souza 1-2, Kawai 1-2, Conner 9-(minus 5), Hazel 5-(minus 20). Whitworth, Ahsing 15-79, Havercroft 14-60, Clark 8-53, Quarless 3-8, Morrison 3-5, Stonemetz 3-4, Koller 1-0, Henningsen 1-(minus 6).

PASSING–Menlo, Hazel 25-45-2-295, Mahasin 0-1-0-0. Whitworth, Clark 11-16-0-239, Henningsen 2-50-0-30.

RECEIVING–Menlo, Eyo 8-128, Conner 5-30, Marin 3-33, Lyle 2-50, Ledbetter 2-22, Faria 2-6, Johnson 1-15, Kawai 1-14, Boggs 1-(minus 3). Whitworth, Allan 5-156, Snell 4-43, Johnson 1-29, Griggs 1-22, Kuntz 1-10, Stockton 1-9.

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