Setting the Scene: Pacific Lutheran begins Northwest Conference play today, welcoming in-state rival and the reigning league champion Whitworth University to Sparks Stadium for the annual homecoming game.
Series History: The Lutes and Pirates have battled 80 times since the series began in 1931 with Pacific Lutheran enjoying a commanding 52-28 edge in the series. Whitworth has dominated the series as of late, winning nine of the last 10.
Last year, host Whitworth prevailed 42-13 en route to winning the league crown. The last time at Sparks Stadium was Oct. 15, 2022 with the hosts emerging with a 28-7 victory.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (2-1) returns to the gridiron off a bye week, beginning Northwest Conference play after winning two of its three non-conference games.
The Lutes opened the season by running roughshod over first-year program Simpson University 43-0 on Sept. 7 before running into trouble the following week in a 31-3 home setback to Concordia College (Minn.). The Lutes closed out the non-league slate on a high not back on Sept. 21, downing California Lutheran University 27-17.
PLU's ground game was more than effective in the win over Cal Lu, rushing for 278 yards and three touchdowns, averaging 6.5 yards per rush. On the other end, the Lute defense put the clamps on the Kingsmen run game, limiting the hosts to just 2.7 yards per rush and only 75 rushing yards on the day.
Jacob Schuh ran for 120 yards on just 17 attempts, gaining over seven yards a carry while signal caller Darius Chaffin ran for 94 yards and a score while also completing 12 of his 18 pass attempts. Raysen Motoyama scored twice on the ground, ending the day with 47 yards on nine carries.
David Waters led the defense with eight tackles while Zachary Gable had six takedowns and a fumble recovery.
Cole Sargent was on point, booting two field goals and hitting all three extra points.
Jacob Schuh leads the Lute ground attack this season, netting 211 yards on the ground and averaging 5.0 yards per carry.
Darius Chaffin has thrown for 512 yards and four touchdowns through the opening three games with Thor Stepina the top target with nine catches for 198 yards and two scores.
Kalen Davis-White is the team's top tackler with 22 takedowns over the opening three games while Micah Ragazza-Bourassa has 16 and four TFLs. Nico Golla has a team-leading 5.5 TFLs while Cole Becker had a team-best four sacks.
In the secondary, Sam Morasch leads the team with three interceptions.
Meet the 2024 Team Captains
This year's team captains are Jacob Schuh and Nico Skinner on offense and Nico Golla and Karen Davis-White on defense.
About the Pirates: 19th-ranked Whitworth (3-0) opens its NWC title defense undefeated, after rolling up three victories in non-league play.
The Pirates opened the season on the road, overpowering Gustavus Adolphus College (Minn.) 40-7 on Sept. 7. It was a game that saw Whitworth scored the game's opening 20 points, while scoring 20 more points in the fourth quarter for the blowout win.
Whitworth rolled NAIA Eastern Oregon University 31-19 the following week in the home opener at the Pine Bowl before escaping with a 35-28 victory over Chapman University.
Ryan Blair tossed five touchdowns in the win over Chapman with four different receivers catching those passes, including two TD receptions for Evan Liggett.
The Pirates come to Puyallup averaging 374 yards of total offense per game, racking up 272.3 through the air and 101.7 per game on the ground.
Ryan Blair is the Whitworth signal caller, throwing for 750 yards and 12 touchdowns during the non-conference slate. That includes just one interception and a 63.8 completion percentage.
Evan Liggett is the most popular target, with 309 receiving yards while scoring seven of the team's 12 receiving touchdowns. All told, five different receivers have caught a touchdown this season.
Luis Salgado is the Pirates' top running back, averaging 4.2 yards per carry with 254 total yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Zach Brooks is the leading tackler with 32 on the young season, including 15 solo tackles. Caleb Shawen adds 20 tackles while Dylan Owen has a team-best 3.5 sacks. Daniel McKeirnan is a ballhawk with a team-leading three interceptions. As a squad, Whitworth has picked off seven passes this season.
Weekend Rewind
The PLU football team was on the bye but we have plenty of highlights from last weekend. Some big wins for men's and women's soccer, and volleyball, including Head Volleyball Coach Kevin Aoki's milestone 500th win!
Football Volunteers in the Community
During fall camp the PLU football squad continued a Lute tradition of service by volunteering at the Tacoma Communities in School's "Stuff the Bus School Supply Drive."
During this event, the PLU football team helped set up booths for vendors, hand out backpacks and school supplies to children, pass out food to families, and many other tasks necessary for this event to run smoothly.
"I'm from Tacoma… and it just feels great to give back to the community. I see a little bit of myself in each one of these kids out here and it's awesome to be around it," said Kellen Meade.
NWC Coaches' Poll
This August, the Lutes were picked to finish fourth in the NWC standings in the annual coaches' poll. Last fall, PLU finished tied for third in the league standings.
Welcome to Luteville Chase!
The PLU football team grew a bit bigger this fall, signing 13-year old Chase Grover from Team Impact in a special draft day ceremony.
Sam Morasch Mic'd Up
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace last fall through the department's partnership with Opendorse. But don't stay on the sidelines, get involved and connect with PLU student-athletes on the Luteville Marketplace: LINK
The Luteville Marketplace is the first dedicated NIL marketplace in Division III on the Opendorse platform that directly connects student-athletes with fans, supporters, and business partners in an easy to use website.
Last spring PLU became just the second Division III school in the nation and the first school in any division in the State of Washington to partner with Athlete's Thread. Athlete's Thread allows every Lute student-athlete to sell customizable gear and jerseys with their name and number and receive monetary compensation for a portion of each sale. Check out the link above to order your gear today!
Stay connected to your favorite teams by downloading the official mobile app of the Pacific Lutheran University athletic department powered by SIDEARM Sports, available in the Apple App Store and on Google Play.
Featuring real-time news alerts, schedules, exclusive multimedia content, gameday details and more, the new PLU Athletics app is free and compatible with both iOS and Android devices.
Next Home Game:
Oct. 19 vs. Willamette at 1 p.m.
PLU Non-Discrimination Policy: Pacific Lutheran University does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability or age in its programs and activities. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies: Title IX Coordinator Jennifer Childress-White; 253-535-7361; TitleIX@plu.edu