Setting the Scene: Pacific Lutheran is back at home today, welcoming Northwest Conference rival Willamette University to Sparks Stadium.
Series History: The Lutes and Bearcats have met 53 times since the series began during the 1966 season with PLU enjoying a 34-17-2 edge in the series. That includes winning seven in a row, including a 62-7 thrashing last season in Salem, Oregon, a game quarterback Darius Chaffin tossed four touchdowns and ran for another.
PLU has outscored the Bearcats 139-7 over the last three meetings, earning a 53-0 victory the last time the two squads met in Sparks Stadium during the 2022 campaign.
About the Lutes: Connor Meade returned the opening kickoff 90-yards to the endzone as the Pacific Lutheran University football team spoiled Pacific University's homecoming last Saturday, etching out a 34-18 Northwest Conference victory on the road at Hanson Stadium.
Noah Palitz caught the opening kickoff and lateraled it to Meade who did the rest, rumbling 90 yards for the score to give visiting PLU (3-2, 1-1 NWC) the early 6-0 lead.
The host Boxers (3-2, 1-1 NWC) drove down the field on the next possession but their drive stalled out on the PLU 12-yard line after a Micah Ragaza-Bourassa break-up on third down, settling for a 30-yard field goal.
PLU tallied another touchdown on its next drive, covering 80 yards on nine plays, including a two-yard plunge from Jacob Schuh to make it 13-3. Quarterback Darius Chaffin played a big role in the drive, running 40-yards into the Boxer red zone.
Pacific made it a third point game early in the second quarter but a three-yard run by Darius Chaffin made it 20-10 PLU with 70 seconds left before halftime. A 36-yard Thor Stepina set up the score as the Lutes enjoyed a 10-point buffer at the halftime intermission.
PLU was full throttle in the third, mounting a 88-yard scoring drive in its first drive of the second half. A 46-yard Noah Palitz scamper put the Lutes inside the red zone before Raysen Motoyama scored from eight yards out.
Kalen Davis-White stuffed the Boxers on a fourth and one later in the quarter setting the Lute offense up on the Pacific 28-yard line. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty made the distance even shorter and PLU needed just two plays for Jacob Schuh to score his second TD of the game, making it 34-10.
The Boxers scored another touchdown with 5:07 left in the game but it was too little, too late as the Lutes secured the 16-point victory.
PLU racked up 371 yards on the day, including 221 on the ground, averaging 5.7 yards per rush and scoring four touchdowns.
Darius Chaffin was 12-for-17 on the day while rushing for 73 yards. His top target was Thor Stepina who had three catches for 55 yards. Noah Palitz had 67 yards on just three rushes while Schuh had a pair of touchdowns.
Ragaza-Bourassa had 10 tackles on the night, including one tackle for loss while Davis-White also had 10 stops. Sam Morasch had eight takedowns and two pass beak-ups while Nico Golla had a pair of sacks.
As a team, the Lutes average 176.8 yards per game on the ground with Jacob Schuh the top back with 310 yards this season and three touchdowns.
Darius Chaffin has 245 yards and three scores on the ground while also passing for 862 yards and tossing five touchdowns. Thor Stepina is his top target with 20 catches for 347 yards and two touchdowns.
Kalen Davis-White is the team's top tackler with 38 tackles on the season with Micah Ragaza-Bourassa has 31 on the year. Cole Becker has a team-best five sacks while Nico Golla has a team-leading 10 tackles for loss.
In the secondary, Sam Morasch leads the team with three interceptions.
All-Star Attaways: Connor Meade's outstanding play in Forest Grove last Saturday earned the Tacoma native NWC Special Teams Player of the Week accolades on Monday afternoon.
Meade finished the game with 105 kick return yards and a touchdown while also catching two passes for 43 yards. Meade is the third Lute to win player of the week this fall, joining defensive stalwarts Sam Morasch (Sept. 16) and Kalen Davis-White (Sept. 9). Meade is also the first Lute to earn Special Teams Player of the Week since Syi Campbell received the accolade on Oct. 31, 2022.
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 Bearcats: Willamette (2-3, 0-2 NWC) heads to Sparks Stadium looking to snap a two-game slide. The Bearcats opened the 2024 season with a thrilling 27-24 double overtime victory over University of La Verne (Calif.), before falling to George Fox University 37-14 the following week in a non-conference clash. Willamette closed its non-league schedule on a high note with a 21-18 win over Simpson University (Calif.).
It's been tough sledding for the Bearcats since conference play began, falling to nationally-ranked Linfield University 72-0 on Oct. 5 before falling 48-0 last week to nationally-ranked and defending NWC Champion Whitworth University.
Willamette limited Whitworth to just seven points in the opening quarter last week on the road but the floodgates opened in the second quarter with the Pirates piling on 28 points.
Willamette enters today averaging 240.2 yards of offense a game, almost evenly split between running the ball and passing the ball. The Bearcats average 116.6 yards through the air and 123.6 on the ground.
Alex Rivera IV is the Bearcats' signal caller, throwing for 578 yards and five touchdowns and seven interceptions. Elijah Romero is the top target with 17 receptions for 191 yards and three TDs.
Gabriel Herrera has a team-best 281 yards on the ground with one touchdown while Jerrick Little adds 211 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per rush.
Defensively, Hogan Smith paces the Bearcats with 32 tackles on the year, including 1.5 sacks. Friday Raj has 5.5 TFLs while the team has six interceptions from six different players.
Weekend Rewind
Pacific Lutheran has been on fire in October. Across the team sports of men's and women's soccer, volleyball, and football, the Lutes own a 12-2 record this month. Check out highlights from last weekend, including a big win on the gridiron along with great performances on the soccer pitch and volleyball court.
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:
Nov. 2 vs. George Fox 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