Pacific Lutheran 49, Wartburg 14
Nov 27, 1999
WAVERLY, Iowa — Only one week removed from a late comeback win against Northwest Conference champion Willamette in the first round of the playoffs, seventh-seeded Pacific Lutheran had the better of the top-seeded Knights (10-1) from the opening kickoff in a 49-14 win. Nov 27, 1999
Related Information
Pacific Lutheran
The Lutes (10-1) forced a fumble on Wartburg's first possession and one play later scored on a 37-yard run by Shipley Ennis. Anthony Hicks added a 2-yard touchdown run to cap a 13-play, 66-yard drive to give the Lutes a 14-0 lead with 1:00 left in the first quarter. After PLU's defense forced another Wartburg fumble, the Lutes went 25 yards on two plays with Chad Johnson hitting Jacob Croft from 12 yards out. With 14:55 left in the half, the Lutes led 21-0.
Wartburg (10-1) drove 65 yards to cut the score to 21-6, but after an exchange of punts, PLU took the ball 95 yards on 11 plays, capped by Johnson's 1-yard TD run. The host Knights responded with a 71-yard scoring drive right at the end of the half to cut their deficit to 28-14.
The Lutes regained the momentum on their first possession of the third quarter, driving 63 yards on eight plays, capped by a 1-yard Hicks run. Then after holding Wartburg on a fourth down attempt, PLU went 59 yards on 10 plays with Johnson throwing to Hicks for eight yards and a 42-14 lead.
With 4:08 left in the game Hicks broke through the Wartburg defense for 65 yards and the game's final score. Hicks gained 125 yards on 21 carries to set a new PLU single-season rushing record with 1,327 yards, eclipsing the record of 1,226 by Jeff Rohr in 1983. With three rushing TDs and another one receiving, Hicks has a total of 20 touchdowns this season, two away from tying the PLU single-season record.
The Lutes had 303 rushing yards on 43 carries, with Ennis accumulating 93 yards on just six carries and Jacob Croft pitching in 75 on 12 attempts. Johnson, PLU's junior quarterback, was 14-for-18 for 175 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Tim Lax had nine tackles, eight unassisted, and Judd Hunter added nine tackles, six unassisted, to lead a PLU defense that held the Iowa Conference champion Knights to 344 yards, 110 yards under their season average. Wartburg had come into the game averaging 38 points per contest.