TACOMA, Wash. - Casey Larson (Coupeville, Wash.) put together
140 yards rushing and the Puget Sound Loggers outgained the
Whitworth Pirates 322 yards to 285 but in the end, it was the
Pirates who escaped with the 24-15 victory with a monster second
quarter in a Northwest Conference football game on Saturday on a
wet Peyton Field at Baker Stadium in Tacoma, Wash.
The Loggers (0-5, 0-2 NWC) got off to an early lead on a
line-drive 39 yard field goal by Peter Topolski (University Place,
Wash./Covenant) with 5:59 remaining in the first quarter, the first
time this season that the Loggers had led a game.
Whitworth scored the first seven of their eventual 24
second-quarter points at the 7:34 mark when freshman quarterback
Taylor Eglet found Dale Entel for a 25-yard touchdown catch and the
kick by Andy Largent was good as Pirates took the 7-3 lead.
Whitworth made it 10-3 with 2:47 remaining in the half following a
23 yard field goal by Largent.
Just 61 seconds later, the Pirates found themselves in the
endzone again as Kyle Scroggins caught a 28-yard pass from Eglet
following a Logger turnover. The final score of the first
half came with just 10 seconds remaining as Brian Brady collected a
three-yard pass from Eglet to cap a five-play, 49 yard drive that
gave Whitworth a 24-3 halftime lead.
With nobody scoring in the third quarter, the Loggers finally
got back on the board with 6:07 left to play in the game when
Larson collected a deflected pass from Kavin Williams (Ocean
Shores, Wash./North Beach) and took the ball 11 yards into the
endzone to put the score at 24-9 following a missed PAT. The
Loggers scored again when Chad Koenig (Portland, Ore./Central
Catholic) caught a 33-yard pass from Williams along the right
sideline for his first touchdown of the season but the two-point
attempt following a bad snap on the PAT was no good as the Loggers
took the loss, 24-15.
Puget Sound was led offensively by the 140 yards on 28 carries
from Larson. Williams finished with 141 yards passing on 14
of 28 attempts with two touchdowns and one interceptions.
Freshman Ross Zuhl (Issaquah, Wash.) collected five receptions for
57 yards while Cory Dunn (Portland, Ore./Central Catholic) led the
Loggers on defense with nine tackles, including one for loss.
Whitworth was led offensively by 112 yards on the ground from
Milton Nelson. Eglet finished his first collegiate start with
104 yards passing and three touchdowns. Brandon Martin led
the powerful Whitworth defense, making 10 tackles, including three
tackles-for-loss and one sack.
The Loggers head to Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, Wash. next week
for their annual battle with Pacific Lutheran. Kickoff with
the Lutes is set for 12:30 p.m.
