Pacific Lutheran coach Scott Westering tried to give his players words of encouragement after their 45-7 loss Saturday to No. 5-ranked Linfield in McMinnville, Ore.
“A good whuppin’ never hurt a good athlete,” he said.
Westering didn’t sugar coat the loss. The Lutes (4-2 overall, 2-1 Northwest Conference) turned the ball over five times, were held to 195 yards of total offense and didn’t score until late in the fourth quarter.
“Linfield played super today,” Westering said. “They made the plays in every aspect of the game. We didn’t.”
PLU senior quarterback Zack Halverson completed 16 of 30 passes for 149 yards but threw three interceptions and was sacked five times.
Linfield led 14-0 after the first quarter and was up 17-0 late in the second quarter when the Wildcats scored on a fake field goal. Holder Taylor Skore ran 23 yards for the touchdown, and the Wildcats (6-0, 4-0) led 24-0 at the break.
“That was a key deal just from what the score was and where the momentum was at,” Westering said.
The Wildcats added two more touchdowns in the third quarter, capitalizing on two PLU fumbles.
“Against a great team like Linfield, there’s no way you can do that,” Westering said. “You’re not doing yourself any favors.”
PLU sophomore Brandon James rushed for 45 yards on 12 carries. Freshman receiver Daniel Herr scored PLU’s lone touchdown on a 1-yard run with 4:25 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Wildcats had 472 yards of offense — 326 through the air.
Linfield junior quarterback Mickey Inns threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns on 23-of-33 accuracy, though he was sacked five times.
At Lewis & Clark 31, Puget Sound 28: This was how coach Jeff Thomas envisioned games going in his second season – efficiently played and down to the wire.
In the end, the Loggers (0-7, 0-4 NWC) were done in by too much Keith Welch, the run-pass quarterback who rushed for 142 yards and four touchdowns, and passed for 322 yards for the Pioneers.
The big play came with three minutes to go when Welch converted a third-and-10 on a mad scramble.
“He is the best player in the conference,” Thomas said.
UPS accomplished things it had not all season. It got turnover-free play from quarterback Braden Foley (256 yards and two TDs passing on 28-of-52 accuracy; another rushing TD). It put together the longest scoring drive by number of plays (17) in Thomas’ tenure – marching 69 yards in 7:03 – capped by Foley’s 1-yard plunge to cut the deficit to 28-21 with 9:35 to play. And it scored four TDs in five red-zone trips.
After the Pioneers (6-0, 3-0) made it 31-21 on Simon Monley’s 41-yard field goal, UPS scored right away on Foley’s 13-yard strike to Adam Kniffin to trim the lead to 31-28 with 5:03 remaining.
But Lewis & Clark won it on Welch’s conversion on third down – and have a 3-0 league mark for the first time since 1966.
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