Setting the Scene: The Lutes, winners of two straight and three of the last four, welcome Lewis & Clark to Sparks Stadium for the penultimate home game of the regular season.
Series History: The Lutes and Pioneers have met 57 times since the 1933 season with Pacific Lutheran enjoying a 45-11-1 advantage in the all-time series. That includes winning 25 of the last 27 games. Last fall, the Lutes rolled the Pios 47-21 inside Sparks Stadium with Manuel Felan having a big day with 135 yards and two receiving touchdowns.
About the Lutes: An offensive onslaught not seen since 2001 was more than enough for the Pacific Lutheran University football team on Saturday afternoon. Darius Chaffin threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as the Lutes scored 55 unanswered points in a 62-7 thrashing of Northwest Conference rival Willamette University.
The Lutes (3-3, 2-1 NWC) ran roughshod over the Bearcats (1-5, 0-3 NWC), racking up 572 yards of total offense, including 432 through the air in PLU's biggest scoring output since laying 62 on the University of Puget Sound during the 2001 campaign.
"We're very excited to see our offense and defense put up big numbers today," said Head Coach Brant McAdams.
"We're taking steps towards playing complimentary football and we'll get back to work this week to keep moving in that direction."
The Lutes established the tone early, scoring an opening drive touchdown after Chaffin hit Thor Stepina for a 30-yard score.
The host Bearcats scored on their ensuing drive but it was all Lutes after that, scoring 55 unanswered for the blowout win.
Raysen Motoyama found paydirt from five yards out for the Lutes' second score of the opening quarter. A seven yard catch from Manuel Felan capped off a 96-yard drive early in the second quarter before Chaffin scrambled 21-yards for a TD later in the frame as the Lutes enjoyed a 28-7 lead at the halftime intermission.
Colby Rhinelander had a pick-six just 48-seconds into the second half, part of a 24-point onslaught in the third. Laakea Ane caught a pass from three-yards out for a score later in the frame before Patrick McInerny hauled in a catch and sprinted 38-yards for a 49-7 advantage.Cole Sargent booted a 29-yard field goal with 44 ticks left in the third to cap off the third quarter scoring frenzy.
In the fourth, Logan Rodriguez hit Jase Ellamar on a 72-yard pass before Sargent connected on his second field goal of the day, splitting the uprights from 22-yards out.
Chaffin was deadly accurate on Saturday, completing 22 of his 28 passes for 252 yards and four touchdowns while also adding a rushing touchdown. Backup Rodriquez slung it for 95 yards and a TD.
Noah Palitz had two carries for 51 yards while Motoyama had 49 yards on nine attempts.
Stepina had his second 100-yard game of the season, collecting seven catches for 100-yards and a score while Ellamar finished with two catches for 82 yards.
Jesse Canda and Nico Golla led the Lutes with seven tackles. Canda has an interception as did Mouse Williams and Rhinelander while Golla had a team-high 2.5 TFLs.
Sargent scored 14 points on the day, hitting a pair of field goals and all eight extra points.
Kaysen Higa is seventh in the nation in fumbles recovered while Nico Golla is 11th nationally in sacks per game (1.17) and 13th in TFLs per game (2.0). As a team, PLU sits fifth in the nation in punt return defense, into in sacks, and 19th in fumble recoveries.
Darius Chaffin has thrown for 1,249 yards on the season with 11 touchdowns. The junior has completed 65 percent of his passes while also rushing for three more TDs. Manuel Felan has been the top target with 28 catches for 389 yards while Thor Stepina has 267 yards and two TDs in just three games.
Raysen Motoyama leads the Lutes in rushing yards with 241 and three scores through the opening six games while Noah Palitz averages 8.0 yards per touch.
Kalen Davis-White is PLU's leading tackler with 54 on the season, including 8 TFLs and 4.5 sacks. Nico Golla is second on the team with 35 tackles and a team-best 12 TFLs and seven sacks. Kellen Meade has a team-leading two interceptions and is one of six Lutes to pick off a pass this fall.
About the Pioneers: Lewis & Clark (3-3, 2-1 NWC) sits tied for third place in the conference standings with the Lutes after earning a 51-35 road victory over Pacific University last Saturday.
Trey Morris threw for 306 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another while the ground game raked in 227 yards, including 160 and two scores off the legs of Elijah Washington.
Justin Hope was everywhere defensively against the Boxers, finishing with 18 tackles, one TFL, one fumble recovery, and a pass breakup.
Lewis & Clark had opened the NWC slate back on Sept. 30 with a 37-31 win over host George Fox before coming up short 57-15 against powerhouse Linfield the following weekend.
Pioneer signal callers Cruz Montana and Trey Morris have combined to toss 16 touchdowns and throw for 1,700 yards on the season.
Six of the 16 touchdowns have landed into the hands of Elijah McGee who has 18 catches for 378 yards. Devon Guest has 374 receiving yards on the year with a trio of touchdowns while Ben Burnham has scored three times and has 373 yards receiving.
On the ground its largely been Elijah Washington who has rushed for 400 yards and three TDs, averaging 4.6 yards per carry.
Defensively, Justin Hope leads the team with 44 tackles, including 4 TFLs while Andrew Baum has 30 tackles and three QB hurries in 2023.
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.
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. 4 vs. Linfield 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