Whitworth was running out of quarterbacks at an alarming rate last week.

So much so that when the Pirates took the field against the University of Puget Sound on Saturday their third-string signal-caller, Taylor Eglet, was under center, giving the true freshman his first career start.

Four quarters later, Eglet was celebrating his first victory.

Eglet shredded the Loggers’ defense in the second quarter, tossing three touchdown passes as the Pirates notched their 14th consecutive win over UPS with a 24-15 triumph at Baker Stadium.

Whitworth (3-4 overall, 1-2 Northwest Conference) lost starting quarterback Andrew Durant and backup Cub Jansen in last week’s 38-20 loss to No. 7 Linfield, forcing the Pirates to turn to Eglet.

And Eglet definitely responded, throwing for 104 yards on 10-of-16 accuracy, doing most of his damage during the final eight minutes of the first half when he was 6-of-10 for 91 yards with three touchdowns.

UPS, which last defeated Whitworth in 1995 (48-35) dropped to 0-5 on the season and 0-2 in the NWC.

The Loggers finished with 322 yards of total offense, getting a season-high 140 rushing yards on 28 carries from Casey Larson.

“It’s frustrating,” Larson said about the loss. “We came out and showed that we could move the ball against them on the opening drive and that definitely helped with our confidence, but then we’d make costly mistakes. That’s been the story for us this season.”

Larson also hauled in an 11-yard touchdown reception from Kavin Williams, who completed 14-of-28 passes for 141 yards with an interception.

Williams added his second TD pass with a minute to play, throwing a 33-yard scoring strike to Chad Koening to produce the final score.

Already playing without injured linebacker Tyler Vlasak, who leads the nation in tackles (56) through the first four games of the season, the UPS defense took another hit when linebacker Trevor Beck, second on the team in tackles, limped off the field late in the first quarter after suffering an injury to his left knee.

Both were sorely missed as Whitworth reeled off 24 unanswered points in the second quarter, taking advantage of a big run from Milton Nelson, Eglet’s arm and a costly UPS turnover.

The Loggers chewed up nearly 61/2 minutes on their opening drive, marching 62 yards in 13 plays, capped by a 39-yard field goal from Peter Topolski that gave UPS its first lead of the season.

The lead lasted until midway through the second quarter when Eglet hooked up with Dale Entel on a 24-yard touchdown completion, giving the Pirates a 7-3 advantage with 7 minutes, 34 seconds remaining in the first half.

Nelson, who finished with 112 rushing yards, ripped off a 54-yard run on the first play of Whitworth’s next possession, giving the Pirates a first-and-goal at the UPS 10.

The Loggers clamped down and held Whitworth out of the end zone, leading to a 23-yard Andy Largent field goal to put the Pirates ahead, 10-3.

The UPS defense was right back on the field after Williams fumbled the snap on the first play of the Loggers’ ensuing possession, giving the Pirates the ball at the UPS 28.

Two plays later, Eglet threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Scroggins, increasing the Pirates’ lead to 17-3 with just less than 2 minutes to play in the half.

After UPS went three-and-out on its next possession, the Pirates got the ball again with 48 seconds until halftime. That was enough time for Eglet, who hit Brian Brady on a 30-yard completion to give the Pirates a first down at the Loggers 7. He then connected with Brady on a 3-yard touchdown, giving Whitworth a 24-3 halftime lead.

Following a scoreless third quarter, UPS added to its score with Larson’s touchdown with 6:06 remaining, cutting the deficit to 24-9.