TACOMA, Wash. – For the first time this season the Whitworth Pirates found themselves trailing in the second half of a football game when Puget Sound took a 24-21 lead midway through the third quarter. The visiting Pirates responded by outscoring the Loggers 21-0 the rest of the way for a 42-24 Northwest Conference win at Baker Stadium.
Whitworth improved to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the NWC, clinching an 11th straight winning season under head coach Rod Sandberg. Puget Sound dropped to 1-5 overall, 0-3 in the NWC.
Ryan Blair completed 20 of 34 passes for 363 yards with five touchdowns and no interceptions for the #12/#14 Pirates. Evan Liggett caught two of those TDs to increase his season total to 12 and Nathan Owens caught two. Tight end Michael Workman caught his first touchdown pass as a Pirate in his fifth season of college football.
The Pirates appeared in control when they took a 15-0 lead in the second quarter. The Bucs concluded their opening possession with a 29-yard field goal by Iden Bone. Two possessions later Blair found Liggett on a swing route out of the backfield and Liggett only had to break one tackle before running up the sideline for an 87-yard touchdown reception.
Five minutes into the second quarter Blair found Owens on a 19-yard fade route for a touchdown that increased the lead to 15-0. Whitworth missed both PATs.
But just over one minute later Puget Sound got on the board when QB Mason Bining hit tight end Tommy Milton wide open over the middle for a 66-yard touchdown completion. The Loggers then held the Pirates on downs at their own 15-yard line and drove the length of the field for Bryson Boyea-Quiton's 29-yard field goal just before halftime.
Coming out of the locker room with momentum, UPS took the opening possession 72 yards in 11 plays for a go-ahead touchdown. Bining managed to avoid a sack and scramble to the right for a 14-yard scoring run. The extra point gave UPS a 16-15 lead.
When the Loggers stopped the Pirates on their first possession of the half, UPS looked ready to increase its lead. But JT Muñoz jumped on a Logger fumble at the UPS 27-yard line. Two plays later Blair hit Liggett for a 28-yard touchdown pass to put Whitworth back in front 21-16. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
Puget Sound did not back down, retaking the lead with a touchdown set up by a 51-yard run by Henry Hernandez that was stopped just short of the goal line by a shoestring tackle from Omari Williams. Two plays later Mining hit Joe Gallagher for a two-yard touchdown reception. The same pair connected for a two-point conversion that gave UPS its 24-21 lead with 2:32 left in the third quarter.
The lead lasted one play. On Whitworth's first play from scrimmage Owens went in motion and took a short shuffle pass from Blair around the right end for a 73-yard touchdown pass. The PAT made it 28-24 Pirates.
Whitworth stopped UPS on fourth down at the Loggers' 44-yard line on a tackle in the backfield by Muñoz. On the next play Luis Salgado broke several tackles and scored on a 44-yard touchdown run. The extra point made it 35-24.
Puget Sound moved the ball the length of the field and had first and goal at the Whitworth two-yard line after a pass interference call in the endzone. The Pirate defense forced three incomplete passes and the Loggers missed a field goal. Whitworth went 80-yards in only three plays for the final score. Two of those plays were consecutive 31-yard runs by Salgado. Blair found Workman for a three-yard scoring pass to cap the drive.
Puget Sound made one more drive deep into Pirate territory and had another first down at the Pirates' two thanks to a penalty. Once again, the Whitworth defense held firm, forcing four straight incomplete passes to take over possession with 1:53 to play.
Puget Sound nearly doubled the Pirates in time of possession (39:14 – 20:46) and had a 27-20 advantage in first downs. However, Whitworth was much more explosive, rolling up a season-high 547 yards in 55 plays (9.95 yards per play). UPS totaled 517 yards in 99 plays (5.2 yards per play).
Salgado ran for a season-high 169 yards on 15 carries (11.2 ypc). Owens finished with six catches for 133 yards, three of them on the short shuffle pass. Liggett caught four passes for 130 yards.
Joshua Lawson led Whitworth with 11 tackles, a career-high, and a pass breakup. Micajah Weisner added nine tackles. Zach Brooks, who leads the NWC in tackles this season, finished with six stops. Williams had five pass breakups to go along with four tackles.
Bining completed 37 of 68 passes for 382 yards. He was sacked three times, one each by Muñoz, Dylan Owen and Ephraim Watkins. Gallagher, who came into the game with 60 pass receptions to lead NCAA Div. III, finished with 20 catches for 162 yards.
Whitworth will continue on the road next weekend with a game at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.