Setting the Scene: Pacific Lutheran closes out the season today, welcoming Oregon rival Pacific to Sparks Stadium.
Series History: The Lutes and Boxers have met 47 times since the series began during the 1939 season with PLU holding a 31-13-9 edge in the series. The Lutes are 6-5 since Pacific restarted its football program during the 2010 season.
About the Lutes: Pacific Lutheran (6-3, 5-1 NWC) closes out the regular season today, looking to cap off the program's best season since the 2014 campaign.
The Lutes sit in second place in the NWC standings, having won five of their last six games. PLU's lone blemish was a setback to sixth-ranked Linfield on Oct. 22 but has since rebounded, steamrolling Willamette 53-0 and crosstown nemesis Puget Sound 35-10 last Saturday.
PLU's ground game was dialed against the Loggers, averaging 4.0 yards per carry as a team while finding the end zone three times. Kaden Reimer accounted for two of those scores, ending the day with 76 rush yards on 13 carries.
Erik Bainter tossed two touchdowns, finding Noah Palitz on a 41-yard pass and Patrick McInerny on an 18-yard pass.
On the season, the Lutes average 105 yards per game on the ground. Raysen Motoyama is the Lutes' leading rusher, netting 353 yards on the season. Of PLU's eight rushing TDs, five have come from the legs of quarterback Erik Bainter who has also thrown for 1,479 yards with 19 TDs and just four interceptions.
John Walker has scored nine of the Lutes' 22 receiving touchdowns, racking up 478 yards on the season. Manuel Felan leads the receiving corps in both catches (44) and yards (581) while also adding five touchdowns.
Kalen Davis-White leads the defense with 61 tackles on the season, including 10 TFLs. Lord Tuttle had a team-high seven sacks with Nico Golla netting 6.5 this fall. The ballhawking Lute defense has 11 interceptions on the year with Jared Elwin and Cheyn Tam-Switzer leading the way with three picks apiece.
Attaways: Twice this season, the Lutes received national attention with Ashton Barton earning a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week on Oct. 11 and Jared Elwin landing the distinction on Oct. 4.
About the Boxers: Pacific (4-4, 3-3 NWC) heads to Tacoma having lost three of the last four. The Boxers lone win during that stretch was a 56-41 barnburner over Lewis & Clark on Oct. 29. Sandwiched around the win was a 42-21 setback to fifth-ranked Linfield, a 21-7 setback against George Fox and a 28-17 loss to Whitworth last weekend.
It was a one possession ballgame against Whitworth last Saturday heading into the fourth quarter before the visiting Pirates scored two touchdowns to extend the lead to 28-10. Pacific had a quick strike 69-yard touchdown to Jaden Ramos with just over two minutes left but it was too little, too late for the Boxers.
Ryan Helt has thrown for 1,876 yards, completing 62 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns and just four interceptions. The top target is Isaiah Pitre with 38 catches for 579 yards and eight touchdowns while Tyler Vargas has hauled in four TDs.
Kash Taylor leads the Pacific ground game, chewing up 600 yards on the season with four touchdowns. Brody Bantolina has 414 rushing yards, scoring twice while boasting a 7.1 yards per carry average.
Sancho Eskridge is the Boxers leading tackler with 67 on the year, including 40 solo takedowns. Rstin Williams has 58 tackles and a team-best 8.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks. Zion Booker has been tough against the aerial attack with two interceptions and 10 breakups during the fall.
Trailblazing NIL the D3 Way: PLU Athletics continues to lead the way nationally in Name, Image, and Likeness, unveiling the Luteville Marketplace on Wednesday through the department's partnership with Opendorse. Learn more about the deal here: LINK. 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.
Thank You Seniors!
Senior Salutes- Defense
Senior Salutes- Offense & Special Teams
Hidden Lute Talents: The PLU Athletic Department welcomed back its student-athletes on September 12 in an event that included a rock, paper, scissors competition, a student-athlete talent show, and a buddy team reveal. PLU football stole the show, crushing the field in the talent show.
Hall of Fame Class of 2023: The Pacific Lutheran University athletic department will induct six individuals and one team into the Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday, March 18 as members of the 32nd induction class. Those entering the Hall of Fame will be softball players Shannon (Fritzke) Cotton and Melissa Korb, baseball's Brock Gates, volleyball's Beth Peckham, swimming's Kersten Fairbairn and Glenn Preston, and the 2012 national championship winning softball team.
Next Home Game:
Sept. 2, 2023 vs. Redlands
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
Credits:
Alberto Nunez