Whitworth defense turns back Pacific Lutheran 10-6; Pirates remain in first place

Whitworth showed it has no plans to relinquish its spot atop the Northwest Conference as the Pirates notched their fifth straight win.

The defensive battle was a large contrast to the high-scoring victories that Whitworth had been picking up, but the Pirates mustered just enough offense to top Pacific Lutheran 10-6 at the Pine Bowl on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

“That’s what I told them after the game, I said, ‘Man, championship teams find a way to win,’ ” Whitworth coach Rod Sandberg said. “Last week it was the offense, this week it’s the defense. Awesome to be a part of a team that can do it a lot of different ways.”

Whitworth has done a fine job turning the page after dropping back-to-back nonconference games in September. The Pirates knocked off Linfield on the road before grabbing a thrilling win last week over Lewis and Clark to wrap up an undefeated October.

With just a few games remaining on the season, Saturday’s win was a strong start to November.

The first half was largely uneventful, with the two teams trading punts and bottling up two of the best running backs in the Northwest Conference – Whitworth senior Luis Salgado and Pacific Lutheran senior Jacob Schuh.

After some early offensive mistakes and penalties, the Pirates jumped ahead in the second quarter after an 11-play drive that ended with quarterback Logan Lacio finding receiver and Lakeside graduate Dawson Tobeck on a quick slant for a 2-yard touchdown.

Pacific Lutheran looked keen to respond, driving all the way down to the Whitworth 2-yard line. But senior defensive lineman Lane Watkins came up with a crucial interception to keep the Lutes scoreless.

Watkins also had six tackles – two for a loss.

“He’s the best defensive lineman in the conference,” Sandberg said of Watkins. “He’s just a beast right now. Dominating.”

Whitworth entered halftime up 7-0.

A 26-yard field goal from Iden Bone put the Pirates up 10-0 midway through the third quarter.

With the Lutes reaching Whitworth territory and threatening to score again, the Pirates defense capitalized on a mistake from quarterback Anthony Mahaffey. Junior defensive back Omari Williams came up with a diving interception – his first of the year – to leave the Pacific Lutheran offense empty-handed again.

“(The defense) had a very specific game plan to not give up big plays and make them move it down the field,” Sandberg said. “As we saw, they moved it a little bit, but they couldn’t get it in the end zone. We made some really big stops in the red zone.”

Mahaffey completed 19 of 30 passes for 209 yards and no touchdowns to go with his two turnovers.

The Lutes finally got points on the board from a 22-yard scamper from Schuh on the first play of the fourth quarter, but the extra point was blocked to leave Whitworth’s lead at 10-6.

Schuh, who is third in the conference in rushing yards, finished with 73 yards on 18 carries.

The Pirates had a chance to extend their lead, but Bone missed a 34-yard field goal attempt wide left.

With just over six minutes to go, the Lutes regained the ball with a chance to win it, but a holding penalty quickly spoiled the drive.

Pacific Lutheran converted only five of their 12 third downs on the day.

Two big third-down completions – a Tyson Hoke reception and a Salgado run – put the game away for the Pirates.

“We came out of our nonconference schedule and had some work to do and had a bye week,” Sandberg said. “I just feel like four or five weeks in a row, we just got better, just got better …It’s been probably one of the more rewarding years that I’ve ever had to see a team grow so much.”

Lacio was quiet but efficient on the day, peppering the ball to nine different receivers and racking up 233 yards on 34 passes with zero turnovers. Sophomore Caleb Northcroft led Pirates pass catchers with 51 yards.

After eclipsing 100 yards in four straight games, Salgado only had 44 yards on 15 carries.

Whitworth will travel to Willamette next weekend in hopes of keeping its perfect conference record alive. Kickoff is on Saturday at 1 p.m.