Setting the Scene: Crosstown rivals Pacific Lutheran University and the University of Puget Sound battle on the gridiron for the 100th time ever today at Sparks Stadium on Senior Day.
Series History: The two Tacoma schools first met in 1931— PLU's first season as a varsity program. The two have battled ever since with the Loggers holding a slim 49-45-5 edge in the all-time series that has been contested annually every season since 1983.
Pacific Lutheran has won the last three meetings by a combined 110-17 scoreline including a 42-7 victory last season at Baker Stadium.
On the line for the two teams beyond city bragging rights is The Trophy— a 17-inch tall trophy of Mount Rainier that goes to the winner of the game since it was created prior to the 2021 game.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (6-3, 4-2 NWC) looks to close the regular season on a high note and has a chance to tally the program's best record since the 2014 campaign.
The Lutes enter the regular season finale having won four of their last five games with the lone stumble coming last weekend at 17th-ranked Linfield University, falling 38-10 in McMinnville.
The host Wildcats jumped to an early 17-0 lead before Cole Sargent booted a career-long 42 yard field goal to get the Lutes on the board as time expired on the first half. Darius Chaffin would scramble 36 yards late in the fourth quarter to score PLU's lone touchdown of the day, a run that capped off a four-play, 71-yard drive.
The Lutes threw for 287 yards but were undone by four interceptions on the day. Linfield's swarming defense made the Lutes one dimensional, holding the usually effective PLU ground attack to just six total yards.
Jase Ellamar headlined the receiving corps, finishing with eight catches for 125 yards while Connor Meade had four catches for 80 yards.
Kalen Davis-White led the defense with 10 tackles, including eight solo takedowns while Nico Golla had a pair of sacks.
Darius Chaffin has thrown for 1,843 yards this season with 14 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The senior had completed 64.7 percent of his passes this fall for a Lute team that is averaging 220.8 yards per game through the air. Chaffin has additionally been a threat with his legs with a team-leading six rushing TDs.
PLU averages 164.9 yards per game on the ground with Jacob Schuh shouldering a big chunk of the load with a team-high 472 rushing yards this season along with four touchdowns. Motoyama has five touchdowns, one of five Lutes with at least 100 yards this season.
Thor Stepina leads the team through the air with 42 catches for 587 yards and seven touchdowns. All told, seven different Lutes have caught a touchdown pass this fall.
Kalen Davis-White is the team leader on defense in tackles with 68 on the season while Micah Ragaza-Bourassa has 51 takedowns this year. Nico Golla has 16 TFLs and a team-high 7.5 sacks with Cole Becker adding 5.5 sacks for a defense that ranks ninth nationally (out of 239 Division III teams) in rushing defense and is 11th in TFLs and 14th in sacks.
All-Star Attaways: This fall the Lutes have had four individuals earn NWC Player of the Week honors. Cole Sargent (Oct. 28) and Connor Meade (Oct. 14) have both earned NWC Special Teams Player of the Week while Sam Morasch (Nov. 16) and Kalen Davis-White (Sept. 9) have both earned NWC Defensive Player of the Week honors.
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 Loggers: Puget Sound (2-7, 1-5 NWC) heads to Sparks Stadium having dropped five of its last six games. The Loggers' lone victory during that stretch was a 38-23 home victory at the expense of Willamette University on Nov. 2.
In that game, UPS finished with 502 yards of total offense, including 351 yards through the air as signal caller Mason Binning completed 31 of his 43 attempts and tossed three touchdowns.
Last Saturday saw the Loggers fall behind 42-7 in the first half, falling short 55-28 to Lewis & Clark College on Senior Day. Joe Gallagher was the primary target with 19 of the teams 31 receptions while racking up 252 receiving yards.
Puget Sound enters Saturday averaging 432.8 yards per game with 318.4 of those yards coming through the air.
Mason Binning is the squad's primary signal caller, tossing for 2,608 yards through the first nine games with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Binning has completed 60 percent of his attempts this fall with receiver Joe Gallagher by far his most popular target with 122 catches for 1,162 yards and six scores. All told, eight different receivers have scored a touchdown this fall.
Henry Hernandez leads the ground game with 724 rushing yards, averaging 4.9 yards per rush with seven touchdowns.
Max Arneklev is the defense's top tackler, collecting 49 on the season, including 5.5 TFLs and two sacks. Tamaalelei Maalona has 48 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
Lute-Logger Rivalry at 100
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.
Thank You Seniors!
This year's senior class have won 22 games over their four-year careers and are one win shy of being the winningest class since the 2015 seniors. A win today would additionally give the program its best overall record since 2014. The seniors additionally own a 3-0 record against their crosstown rivals.
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