Whitworth Runs Past Pacific 48-6
SPOKANE, Wash. -- Sometimes a team has to make its own breaks. Whitworth, whose season so far has been defined by the breaks that have gone against it, posted season highs in points, total yards and rushing yards during a 48-6 win over visiting Pacific in a Northwest Conference game on Saturday afternoon at the Pine Bowl.
Whitworth improved to 2-5 this season a 1-2 in the NWC. The Boxers (0-7, 0-4), who restarted their program in 2010, left still looking for their first victory since the restart.
Ronnie Thomas led the way with 159 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Overall the Pirates outgained the Boxers 474-193, held a 34:27 - 25:33 edge in time of possession, had 23 first downs to Pacific's 11 and ended with a 3-0 advantage in turnovers.
Thomas ran for 97 yards in the first half, scoring the Pirates' first two touchdowns - a 2 yard run on Whitworth's first possession and a 13 yard run that culminated a 90-yard drive early in the second quarter.
Those scores were sandwiched around a 38-yard field goal by Moses Villareal-Gomez.
Whitworth scored on a ten-yard touchdown pass from Zac Hill to Jake DeGooyer with 22 seconds left in the second quarter. A second straight missed PAT made the score 19-3. The Bucs then had a chance to add on to that when Paul Miller intercepted Boxer starting QB T.C. Campbell near midfield and returned the ball to the Pacific 10 yard line with one second left. However an illegal block penalty moved the ball back out to the 45 yard line.
Thomas scored the Pirates' first touchdown of the second half, breaking off a 46 yard run on fourth and two. The two-point pass from Austin Ehlo to Wade Meyer lifted Whitworth's lead to 27-3.
Villareal-Gomez kicked his second field goal of the game on Pacific's first possession of the half, making it from 37 yards to close a 40-yard drive.
Sean Scott ran for two second half touchdowns and Hill found Meyer wide open for a 51-yard score at the beginning of the fourth quarter to post the final three Pirate scores.
Scott finished with 44 yards on 13 carries as Whitworth rank for 313 yards as a team. The Pirates averaged 5.8 yards per rush - a season-best mark.
Hill completed 10 of 16 passes for 161 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions in his first start since the season-opener at Chapman. Meyer caught three passes for 63 yards and one touchdown, while DeGooyer had three catches for 27 yards and a score.
Whitworth used three interceptions to limit Pacific's normally-potent passing attack. In addition to Miller's pick at the end of the first half, fellow freshman DB Kainoa Raguindin added one in each half.
Campbell finished 5 of 14 for 66 yards with two of the interceptions. P.J. Minaya played the second half and completed 10 of 18 passes for 85 yards with one interception. All-NWC wideout Jordan Fukumoto caught four passes for 44 yards. The 151 passing yards and 193 total yards were season-lows for the Boxers.
Pacific was held to 42 yards rushing on 23 carries. Davis Jacobs had 18 yards on eight rushes.
Miller, Jonathan Allen and Ryan Loutsis led the Whitworth defense with six tackles each. Miller had his first interception of the season. Loutsis played only his second full game of the year and Allan made his first start and was in on three tackles for loss.
Bryan Mills had 12 tackles for Pacific, while Tim Hastie made eight stops.
Next Saturday the Pirates will travel to Salem, Oregon to take on Willamette University at 1:30 pm. Pacific will host Puget Sound.
