Setting the Scene: Pacific Lutheran opens up its five-game home slate today, welcoming non-conference rival California Lutheran to Sparks Stadium.
Series History: This is the 27th all-time meeting between the Lutes and the Kingsmen in a series that dates back to 1967. Each program has won 13 games in the series with PLU winning the last three meetings (2019, 2016, and 2014) in Puyallup.
About the Lutes: Erik Bainter threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more as the Pacific Lutheran University football team steamrolled University of La Verne 41-0 on Saturday evening under the lights at Ortmayer Stadium.
Bainter finished the night 21-for-29 with 310-yards and four touchdowns while rushing for an additional 62 yards and two more scores.
As a team, the Lutes (1-1) absolutely dominated the Leopards (0-3), racking up 562 yards of offense including 337 threw the air and 225 on the ground. PLU's defense was equally proficient, limiting the hosts to a paltry 130 yards of total offense, including four total rushing yards on 23 attempts.
"We're proud of the improvements our guys made from game 1 to game 2. We talked about playing complimentary football all week and we did a better job of that tonight," said Head Coach Brant McAdams.
"Erik was fearless tonight and it was fun watching him cut loose within our offense."
PLU wasted little time registering points on the scoreboard with Bainter finding Noah Palitz for a 20-yard touchdown with 9:56 left in the first quarter, capping off a six-play, 55-yard drive.
Bainter hit John Walker for a 56-yard score just seconds into the second quarter before making it 21-0 just over three minutes later connecting on another deep ball, this time a 55-yard connection to Patrick McInerny.
Bainter plunged in from two yards out just before halftime as the Lutes enjoyed a 27-0 buffer at the break.
The misery continued for La Verne in the third with Bainter hooking up with Manuel Felan from eight yards out, capping off a 72-yard drive before Bainter made it 41-0 with 2:47 remaining in the third with his second rushing score of the day and his sixth TD overall in the blowout win.
Raysen Motoyama collected 82 yards on the ground, averaging 4.8-yards per touch while Felan hauled in nine passes for 118 yards and a score.
Defensively, the Lutes had seven sacks and an interception. Leading that charge was Ashton Barton with eight tackles, including 1.5 TFLs. Nico Golla had a pair of sacks, Gavin Hawley had six tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a forced fumble while Michael Gurr finished with an interception.
Saturday's performance was the Lutes' third shutout in their last five games, blanking Willamette University 24-0 on Oct. 30 and University of Puget Sound 33-0 on Nov. 6.
Attaways: Erik Bainter was tabbed the NWC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday for his six-touchdown performance against La Verne. Bainter was the first Lute to score six touchdowns since Marc Weekly had six in a 61-7 rout of Cumberland (Tenn.) in the opening round of the 1993 NAIA Division II Tournament.
About the Kingsmen: California Lutheran (1-2) dropped its opening two games of the season before edging Puget Sound 35-27 last Saturday in Thousand Oaks, California.
CLU's two losses were by a single point each. The Kingsmen opened 2022 with a heartbreaking 32-31 overtime loss in Texas against Southwestern. In that game, Cal Lu led 24-21 with just over five minutes left but the Pirates drilled a 34-yard field goal as time expired to force OT and converted a two-point conversion in OT to secure the win.
The following week, Cal Lu scored with 29 seconds left but was unable to convert the two-point conversion as Chapman held on for a 42-41 win.
Last week, the cardiac Kingsmen finally broke through, owning a 35-19 lead with under 10 minutes left in the game and held on for the seven point win.
Nick Lasher has thrown for 928 yards in the opening three games with 11 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Julio Angel has been Lasher's top target with 14 receptions for 228 yards while Dallas Martin has a team-leading four receiving touchdowns.
On the ground, it's Isaiah Martin with 395 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 4.9 yards per carry.
Jalani Blade leads the defense with 22 tackles on the season along with an interception while Gabriel Hernandez has 21 takedowns on the year.
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.
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.
Next Home Game:
Oct. 8 vs. Lewis & Clark at 1 p.m. (Homecoming)
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