Rainy days and wedding days

By Mike Safford Jr. (posted Oct. 5)

Your wedding day is supposed to be filled with nervousness and anxiety, anticipating the moment when the woman you have called your girlfriend and fiancée walks down the aisle. 

For me, my wedding day last Saturday began in the rain at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, Wash. Instead of worrying about how my outdoor wedding later that evening was going to pan out, I was entertained by two of the top small college football programs on the West Coast. Linfield and Pacific Lutheran have combined for six NAIA and one NCAA Division III national titles since 1980, and both teams went into the game with unbeaten records.

As I walked the stadium's artificial surface prior to kickoff, I pondered about the past — a bit about how Liza Marie and I met and courted, and a bit about the field that I had grew up on. My father had played in the mud at then-named Viking Field in the late 1960's, and I was there when the old stadium burned, and as the new stadium was erected. I had watched Billy Joe Hobert and the Huard brothers sling touchdown passes here, and played in dozens of tilts on the fast track… but none was like this afternoon. It was the first time I had roamed the sidelines since my playing days.

A wondered what it would have been like if the game would have been played at Maxwell Field in McMinnville — a mud bowl I would have presumed, and it would have been tough to fit the 4,200 fans who were in attendance in the old bleachers — although I know the 'Cat Pack would have been in their end zone couches.

The Wildcats went through their pregame with precision — Carl Haberberger checking his footing on the wet astroturf — Curt Musser working the ball to Sonté Wong and John Nosler through the air. PLU wore their traditional white sweatshirts and used a similar work ethic — with 72-year old head coach Frosty Westering affirming his Lutes in his never fading gold sweatpants.

I moseyed up to the press box where veteran broadcasters Darrell Aune and Steve Thomas sat in separate booths, preparing for a game that could make a resumé tape for the ages. Sports information directors Nick Dawson and Kelly Bird paced up and down the hallway, each knowing what the game meant.

It wasn't just the No. 1 team in the country facing one of its longest-standing rival, it was PLU-Linfield, a Northwest tradition. And I had to leave as Scott Sarrensen kicked off, because I had the biggest night of my life in front of me.

Wildcats topple No. 1 Pacific Lutheran
I predicted in my weekly post on the NWC board a 34-19 Linfield win. Jay Locey's bunch must have been listening, as the Wildcats rolled up 471 yards on the NCAA Division III's No. 1 team and defeated Pacific Lutheran 38-28. Despite giving up 529 yards of total offense, Linfield (1-0, 3-0)took a 31-14 lead and hung on for the win. Tailback Carl Haberberger continued to haunt the Lutes (1-1, 3-1), rushing for 224 yards on 31 carries against the stingy PLU defense. Quarterback Curt Musser had the long-ball working all afternoon, hitting John Nosler from 51 and 43-yards out, and a 74-yard bomb to speedster Sonté Wong that gave the 'Cats the 17-point cushion at the end of the third quarter. However, PLU would not quit. Playing without two starting offensive linemen, quarterback Chad Johnson chucked-and-ducked all day, was 29-of-46 for 445 yards and three touchdowns, hitting Kevin Giboney from 41-yards out to cut the lead to 31-28. But Haberberger had the last laugh, going 20-yards on a 4th-and-1 sweep to set up the game-clinching touchdown with 2:15 left. Musser finished the day 12-of-23 for 255 yards, rebounding from a tough 56-23 loss at home against the Lutes in 1999. The victory ended the Lutes 13-game winning streak, and a 15-game home winning streak dating back to 1996.

Record-setting win for Cal Lutheran
No Chapman University team had ever taken a beating like this. After Matt Deter kicked a school-record 55-yard field goal to cut the Cal Lutheran lead to 25-20, the Kingsmen ran off 34 unanswered points en route to a 59-27 victory over the Panthers. The 59 points scored by CLU (1-2) was the most ever scored by a Chapman (1-3) opponent — Whitworth scored 49 points earlier this year against the Panthers to establish the mark. The Kingsmen rolled to 548 yards of total offense in the victory.

Pirates ride wild finish to victory
Talk about a wild game. Whitworth (2-2) quarterback Scott Biglin hit Dwayne Tawney from 11-yards out with two seconds on the clock to give the Pirates a come-from-behind 30-29 victory at Simon Fraser. The Pirates, who trailed 23-9 going into the fourth quarter scored a pair of touchdowns and a two-point conversion with 1:39 left to take a 24-23 advantage. However, the Clan did not quit. Troy Therrien hit Steve Maheu for a 23-yard completion inside Whitworth territory and fullback Mike Vilimek took a counter play the final 38-yards for the score with 46 seconds to go to give SFU the 29-24 lead. But Biglin drove the Bucs' 70-yards in 44-seconds, aided by a pair of costly Clan penalties. Vilimek finished the afternoon with 25 carries for 182 yards.

Around the region
Chris Setser hit his third field goal of the afternoon, a 47-yarder that clanked off the crossbar and through as time expired, giving Eastern Oregon (2-2) a 30-27 victory at home against Montana Tech. Brothers Chuck and Phil Nyby had an outstanding game for the Mountaineers. Quarterback Chuck was 20-of-27 for 331 yards, while receiver Phil caught 12 of his brothers throws for 215 yards and two touchdowns. … Joel Nelson ran for 169 yards as Colorado College (2-2) rebounded with a 28-7 victory against Principia. The Tigers ran for 327 yards on the afternoon. … Ryan Gocong rushed for 94 yards in the rain as Claremont (2-2) rebounded from a 49-7 pounding last week to defeat Lewis and Clark 20-3. The Stags defense held the Pioneers (1-2) to 37 yards rushing and had five quarterback sacks. … Occidental (1-0, 2-1) held LaVerne to 97 yards of total offense as the Tigers defeated the Leos 21-10 in SCIAC play. Kamrom Jones scored from 1-yard out in the final quarter to erase a 10-7 LaVerne (1-1, 1-2) lead. … Ryan Brown blocked two Willamette (0-1, 1-3) punts that were recovered for touchdowns, leading NCAA Division II Western Oregon to a 23-0 shutout of the defending Northwest Conference champions. It was the second blanking of the Bearcats this season. … Azusa Pacific turned five of six Redlands turnovers into touchdowns as the Cougars defeated the Bulldogs (1-0, 2-2) 56-30. Brandon Ford rushed for 174 yards for Redlands in defeat. … Menlo (2-2) bounced back from last week's nail-biting loss to San Diego with a 37-9 victory over Whittier (0-0, 0-3).

This week's non-conference games
Menlo at Cal Lutheran: Battle of two high-powered offenses — last team that has the ball will probably win

Pomona-Pitzer at LaVerne: Sagehens step up to the plate against SCIAC opponent to try and go 4-0

Chapman at Redlands: Both teams reeling after lopsided losses, a Bulldog win gives momentum to next week's SCIAC battle with LaVerne

Linfield at Whittier: Poets are coming closer each week, but Wildcats are flying-high after upset of PLU

Eastern Oregon at Pacific Lutheran: Can the Lutes stop 240-pound fullback Tim Sicocan?

Southern Oregon at Willamette: Tough schedule for Bearcats continues against highly touted Raiders

Colorado College at Kalamazoo: Both teams come into this one with a winning streak

SCIAC games this week
Claremont at Occidental: Both teams coming off solid victories with the defenses doing a number on their opponent…a win for Oxy puts the Tigers alone at the top of the SCIAC

NWC games this week
Lewis and Clark at Puget Sound: Loggers have had a week to prepare for a Pioneer offense that has struggled the past two weeks…UPS defeated L&C the past two seasons for their only NWC win

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