TACOMA, Washington (October 19, 2024) - Logger Football (1-5, 03 NWC) was on the verge of stunning the conference this afternoon as the rain barely held off on Peyton Field at Baker Stadium.

The Whitworth Pirates, entering the weekend at #14 in the national coaches polls, won the toss and opted to receive. From the start, it could be argued that Whitworth did not play like a top 25 team. Thomas Goeglein kicked off the game, only for the Pirates to fumble the return, which they recovered. Their first drive ended in frustrations as they drove down the field to be stopped by the Logger defense at the Puget Sound 14 yard line. After a full set of downs, Puget Sound forced the Pirates to settle for a field goal. Puget Sound's ensuing drive ended with a punt, after efforts from Henry Hernandez and Mason Binning were nullified by a false start penalty. Once again, the Logger defense held strong, forcing a turnover on downs.

Head Coach Jeff Thomas took over on the defensive side of the ball just a few weeks ago. Today's play, both in style and in result, reflect this coaching change and was a stark difference from the Logger defense that started the season.

Whitworth started the 2nd quarter leading 0-9, scoring again but missing a second PAT to bring the score to 0-15. Puget Sound scored on the next three drives, with a touchdown, a field goal, and another touchdown after the halftime break. The Loggers' first touchdown was caught by Tommy Milton, who has been a quiet source of anxiety for opponents all season. Milton isn't often targeted, but when he is, he makes the most of it - this time, wide open in the secondary, cradling the lob from Binning and cruising 66 yards to the end zone. The Logger defense once again stood tall, forcing another turnover on downs, this time on the UPS 15-yard line. Led by Binning's scrambling nature, an assortment of runs from Willisione Johnson and passes to the entire receiving corps, the Loggers got on the board again to end the half by way of a field goal by kicker Bryson Boyea-Quiton. 

Binning started the half with a touchdown, calling his own number as he scrambled - and diced - his way through the Whitworth secondary, blowing through three defenders on his way to the pylon. The Pirates plagued by a series of unsportsmanlike conduct penalties, including "Contact with an Official" and "Simulating Brandishing a Weapon". Unfortunately, the Loggers would only hold the lead for a short while longer, and then retake it just once as Whitworth began to pull away.

Coach Thomas stressed to his team at the end of the game that they're capable of playing a new level of football. Today, the Loggers played to the level of their opponent. "Clearly," Thomas began, "if that's how we played in any of our first four games, we would have won - by a lot... we need to do a better job at executing." The Loggers held strong and stuck with the Pirates in the first two quarters, but the discipline was lacking in the 3rd and 4th, said Thomas, who praised the early-game efforts.

The Loggers will travel to McMinnville next weekend to take on the Linfield Wildcats, another NWC opponent who is ranked nationally in the top 25. The game will kick off at 1:00 PM.