Whitworth falls to Chapman in playoffs 18-16 after failed two-point conversion

For the first time in three seasons, the Whitworth Pirates will not advance to the second round of the playoffs.

A dramatic, last-second touchdown brought the Pirates on the brink of forcing overtime, but a failed two-point conversion handed Chapman a 18-16 win in the Pine Bowl on Saturday afternoon.

“Great football game,” Whitworth coach Rod Sandberg said in a press conference after the game. “Chapman man, they are so well-coached. I have so much respect for their program, their coaches, their players. Just a great battle of a football game.

“Obviously, we didn’t feel like we played our best game, but that could’ve been because of them. But I’m unbelievably proud of the character of this team and how they finished that game.”

The Pirates, fresh off a Northwest Conference title, drew a showdown with Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference champion Chapman in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament for the second time in three years. Whitworth had notched wins in the last three matchups against the Panthers.

Whitworth played Saturday’s game without its senior star running back Luis Salgado, who sat out due to injury.

The defenses showed out early, starting with a Chapman interception on Pirates quarterback Logan Lacio during the second play of Whitworth’s opening drive, which Panthers safety Jacob Gaudi returned 43 yards.

But the Whitworth defense held its ground, forcing the Panthers to kick a 40-yard field goal, which missed wide right.

Toward the end of a scoreless first quarter, Pirates senior linebacker Hunter Letteer picked off Panthers quarterback Tyler Pacheco to give Whitworth the ball in Chapman’s territory for the first time. But the momentum was upended by another Lacio interception on a third-and-long.

Chapman pounded the run game as it has all season with running backs Fischer Huss and Andrew Latu, but Pacheco’s ability to use his legs also puts pressure on defenses. The Panthers gained 198 rushing yards on the day from the trio.

“They run the ball,” Pirates linebacker Drew Cody said. “We knew it was going to be smashmouth coming into this, and we prepared for that all week.”

But it was a seven-yard connection between Pacheco and star receiver Kade Zimmerman that put points on the board first. An unsuccessful two-point conversion left Chapman’s lead at 6-0.

A field goal extended the Panthers lead to 9-0.

The Pirates offense began showing signs of life as it got running back Kurt Solano going. Starting in place of the injured Salgado, Solano finished with 83 rushing yards.

“We have a great group of running backs,” Sandberg said. “I thought Kurt (Solano) came in and balled out. Obviously, Luis (Salgado) is a special player and we would’ve loved to have him, but more importantly, probably for his sake – he’s given his heart and soul to this program.”

On a third down and threatening at the Panthers’ goal line, Lacio found receiver Chayce Gomes, who stretched to make the catch before diving for the pylon for a touchdown.

Chapman entered halftime clinging to a 9-7 advantage.

Into the second half, the Pirates got leading receiver Deacon Dietz going with a drive that saw Lacio complete six straight passes to the junior pass catcher.

Dietz paced Whitworth receivers with eight catches for 108 yards. Lacio completed 22 of 33 passes for 217 yards.

A field goal gave the Pirates its first lead of the day, but Chapman kicked another to make it 12-10.

Whitworth was forced to punt on consecutive drives, giving Chapman the chance to put the game away with just minutes left on the clock.

On fourth down from the Whitworth 28-yard-line, the Panthers eyed a knockout punch. As the Pirates brought pressure, Zimmerman went deep and Pacheco dropped it in for a touchdown.

Zimmerman led all receivers with 120 yards on eight catches. Pacheco, who won offensive player of the year in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, totaled 191 yards on 28 passes.

After the touchdown, Pacheco taunted the Whitworth sideline, landing the Panthers a 15-yard penalty that was enforced on the extra point. The attempt was subsequently missed, which kept the lead at 18-10 – a one-score game – and gave the Pirates’ sideline and fans a glimmer of hope.

Another unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the Panthers gave the Pirates strong field position with a minute-and-a-half remaining.

Lacio spread the ball around, piecing together an efficient, albeit hectic, drive all the way down to the six-yard line with one second remaining.

Lacio hiked the ball and pitched it to Dietz, who was flying behind the line of scrimmage on an end-around. Dietz seemed to have limited room to run before pulling up and flicking a pass to tight end Taylor Wells, who pulled in the touchdown, bringing the stadium to a roar.

With a two-point conversion away from tying the game, the Pirates stuck with its creative playcalling. Backup running back Owen Harris took the snap and charged forward before stopping and lofting a pass to Wells, but the pass was broken up, ending the game.

“I really like what our offensive coaches did,” Sandberg said of the play calls on the final drive. “They knew exactly how they wanted to attack that part of the field. Deacon Dietz obviously made an incredible play … Incredible throw there.

“Then the last play – it comes down to inches. This is a game of inches. We talk about that all the time. We talk about fighting for those inches in the offseason and the work that we put in. Just not able to make those inches right there.”

The victory was the first road playoff win in program history for Chapman and earned them a second-round matchup against Wisconsin-River Falls next weekend.

“Two good teams fighting hard until the end,” Chapman interim coach Casey Shine said. “We talked about it, it was going to come down to a couple plays, and it did. We were fortunate to come out on top.”

Despite a strong senior class, the Pirates could bring back a number of key pieces next season.

“You got to just watch them celebrate,” Cody, a sophomore, said. “You got to let it hurt. You let that hurt for a while and it slowly turns into determination. I think we’re going to build heavily on that this offseason and get back to work.”