Pacific University Athletics

Boxers Enjoy A Football Season To Remember In 2013

12/20/2013 9:53:00 AM

Football 2013 Season Review

 
Dalton anchored a stout Pacific offensive line that protected one of the top passing offenses in Division III.  The Boxers finished ranked No. 12 in Division III in passing efficiency as the line allowed only 1.7 sacks per game.  Dalton finishes his career as a four-time All-NWC selection.  He was also recognized as an honorable mention in 2010 and 2011.
 
"Sean has consistently been one of the top offensive tackles in the conference, protecting out quarterbacks' blind side since day one," Pacific Head Coach Keith Buckley said.  "He will leave Pacific as one of the all-time greats at that position."
 
After missing most of 2012, Fukumoto regained his spot as one of the top wide receivers in the league.  He finished the season ranked fourth in the NWC with 712 receiving yards and an average of 71.2 yards per game, leading the Boxers in both categories.  His 18.7 yards per catch led the league.  His season was topped by a 197-yard performance in Pacific's victory over Occidental on Sept. 14.  He earned NWC Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week and D3Football.com Team of the Week honors with his 197 yards and three touchdowns on seven catches, including a season-long 74-yard reception.
 
"Jordan is one of those players that opposing teams have to plan for each week and, with that focus on him, he still found ways to have a major impact in our success in the fall," Buckley said.  "His athleticism and football intelligence allowed him to be a three-time all-conference player, with the fourth only alluding him due to injury."
 
 
A four-year starter at defensive line, Bangs finished the second leading the Boxers and ranked second in the NWC with eight sacks.  He finished fifth for the Boxers with 42 tackles, including 45 solo efforts, and led the team with 11.5 tackles for loss.  In addition, Bangs ranked 45th among Division III players with an average of 0.8 sacks per game.  Bangs finished with a season-high seven tackles at Menlo on Sept. 21.  His season-high 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss came at Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 19.
 
Lagorio was another four-year anchor for the defensive line, finishing sixth for the Boxers with 38 tackles with 2.5 sacks and eight tackles for loss.  He led the Boxers and the NWC once again and set a Pacific season record for blocked kicks, stopping three.  Lagorio's season best effort came at Whitworth on Oct. 5, finishing with six tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack.
 
Harms proved an exceptional two-way threat for the Boxers on defense and special teams.  At cornerback, Harms finished third for the Boxers with 55 tackles and was ninth in the NWC with 40 solo tackles.  He recovered three fumbles, ranking first in the NWC and ranking 41st in Division III.  The league's top punt return man, Harms finished ranked 12th among Division III players with an average of 12.4 yards per return.  He had a season highs of 10 tackles and 71 return yards at Willamette on Nov. 9.  He returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown against Puget Sound on Oct. 12.
 
Mills completed his Pacific career as a three-time All-NWC selection, earning honorable mention in 2011 and 2012.  Mills tied for the team lead and finished 10th in the NWC with 60 tackles and ranked seventh with 43 solo tackles.  He finished second in the NWC and ranked 64th among Division III players with four interceptions.  Mills posted a season-high 10 tackles against Chicago on Oct. 26 and had two interceptions against Puget Sound on Oct. 12, earning him selection as NWC Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week.
 
 
Villareal-Gomez finished as the conference's top place kicker, earning a repeat Second Team All-NWC selection.  He finished the season leading the NWC with a Pacific season record 11 field goals made and a .690 field goal percentage.  He also finished second in the NWC in points scored (72) and third in point-after attempts made with a school season record 39.  He earned NWC Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week.  He was honored for a school-record tying eight point-after attempts made against Puget Sound on Oct. 12 and for hitting three field goals against Linfield on Nov. 16.
 
In the process, Villareal-Gomez extended a pair of career records in the kicking department.  At season's end, he had tallied 84 career point-after attempts made and 27 career field goals made.  His 45-yard field goal made at Willamette on Nov. 9 ranks as the third longest field goal in school history.
 
HONORABLE MENTION SELECTIONS: Pacific's All-NWC selections include nine honorable mentions.  The list includes quarterbacks T.C. Campbell and P.J. Minaya, running backs Deven McKinney and Gunther Schultze, wide receiver Jakob Lawrence, offensive lineman Eric Gietzen, punter Aaron Koford, linebacker Tim Hastie and defensive lineman Alex Willeford.
 
 
The chances for an incredible season showed in the Boxers' opener, which came on the longest road trip in the history of the program to Adrian, Mich., for a Sept. 6 match-up with defending MIAA champion Adrian.  The Boxers never trailed and limited the Bulldogs to only one score on offense (a 20-yard field goal) as Pacific scored a 20-10 victory.
 
The home opener on Sept. 14 was the first of three routs the Boxers laid upon opponents as they rolled up 598 yards of total offense in a 67-30 thumping of Occidental.  Of the Boxers' 10 scoring plays, four were touchdown passes of 40 yards or more.  Pacific improved to 3-0 with a 28-21 win at Menlo and won their first conference opener since 1989 with a 31-21 road victory at Whitworth.
 
The Boxers' second home game was a milestone as the Boxers beat Puget Sound 56-14 on Homecoming.  The victory lifted Pacific to 5-0, marking the best start in the entire history of the program.  The Boxers punctuated the game with five interceptions, including a return by Brandon Harms 23 yards for a first quarter touchdown.
 
The win streak came to a fluke end on Oct. 19 at No. 19 ranked Pacific Lutheran.  Coming back from a 14-0 deficit, Pacific took a 16-14 lead on a third quarter Moses Villareal-Gomez field goal.  The Lutes missed two field goals of their own in the fourth quarter, but Nick Kaylor managed to make a 20-yarder with two seconds left, thanks to the ball re-directing off the helmet of a Pacific lineman, to escape with the 17-16 victory.
 
The Boxers did not stay down for long, returning home the next weekend with a 21-6 win over the Univ. of Chicago on Oct. 26 and followed that up with a 68-28 home rout of Lewis & Clark on Nov. 2.  The wins improved Pacific to 7-1 on the season and caught the attention of coaches nationwide, who gave Pacific in No. 25 ranking in that week's American Football Coaches Association Division III Coaches Poll.
 
Pacific ended the season with two close losses, but remained in contention for a potential NCAA Division III playoff spot right up until the final minutes.  Pacific saw a 17-7 lead slip away in the fourth quarter at Willamette as a pair of long Josh Dean touchdown passes gave the Bearcats a 21-17 win.  In the season finale on Nov. 16 in Forest Grove, Pacific had the vaunted Linfield program on the ropes before a pair of fourth quarter touchdown runs allowed the Wildcats a 28-22 victory.
 
Pacific finished the season with a 7-3 record, the Boxers' first winning record since 1987, and made the 2013 team one of just five teams to finish with seven or more wins.  The team's 3-3 NWC record was good enough for fourth in the conference.  It marked the program's first .500 or better conference record since 1988 (3-3 in CFA Mt. Hood Division) and their first .500 or better NWC mark since 1978.
 
PUTTING THE EVIL EMPIRE ON THE ROPES: Coming into their game with Pacific, Linfield had averaged 48.8 points per game and made a habit of blowing out their Northwest Conference opponents.  Trailing 13-7 at halftime, Linfield had to rally to score three second half touchdowns as they survived an upset score with a 28-22 victory over the Boxers at Nov. 16.  The Boxers led by as much as 16-7 early in the third quarter before the Wildcats scored three the three touchdowns to keep their undefeated season intact. 

Pacific gave Linfield, ranked No. 2 in the D3Football.com Poll and No. 3 in the AFCA Division III Coaches Poll, their closest game of the year.  The Boxers outgained the Wildcats on offense 381 to 313 and dominated time of possession, holding onto the ball for 35 minutes.  Turnovers proved to be the Boxers' nemesis as Linfield came up with two interceptions and a fumble recovery.  The game proved to be a defining moment for Pacific, who finishes with seven wins just four years after restarting the program from scratch in 2010. Pacific said farewell to 38 seniors who helped build the program from the start.
 
Head Coach Keith Buckley praised the play of his squad on an emotional day, but did not hide the fact that everyone came away disappointed.  "From where we started to where we were a year ago to where we are, there is absolute progress in this football program," Buckley said.  "But we had a chance.  We were up and we didn't close it out, and that hurts.  Ultimately, though, we are proud of what this team has accomplished."
 
Quarterback P.J. Minaya was strong in his Pacific finale, completing 17 of 31 passes for 188 yards.  T.C. Campbell completed 11 of 17 passes for 114 yards and the Boxers' only passing touchdown.  Jakob Lawrence was the top target, catching six balls for 105 yards and a touchdown, while Gunther Schultze capped his Pacific career by rushing for 47 yards on 13 carries.  Punter Aaron Koford was critical to the field position game, punting four times for an average of 46.8 yards per punt and a career-long punt of 55 yards.  Three of his four boots were inside the 20-yard line.
 
Linfield quarterback Josh Yoder completed 10 of 16 passes for 89 yards and also rushed for 82 yards and three touchdowns to lead Linfield.  Josh Hill rushed for 100 yards and a touchdown while Evan Peterson and David Sigler each finished with 20 receiving yards.
 
 
Pacific's passing game continued to be the key to Pacific's success.  The team's 249.2 passing yards per game ranked third in the NWC and accounted for 25 of the team's 45 touchdowns.  Pacific's two-quarterback system of P.J. Minaya and T.C. Campbell proved very effective.  Minaya led the Boxers with an average of 142.6 yards per game, completing 108 of 167 passes with 16 touchdowns.  His pass efficiency rating of 159.63 was first in the NWC and 14th among Division III players.  Minaya set a school single season record with a .647 completion percentage on his way to setting a Pacific career mark of .643.
 
Campbell gave Pacific a nice second look, returning to the squad after missing most of the 2012 season due to injury.  Campbell averaged 98 yards per game, completing 65 of 103 passes with nine touchdowns.
 
 
Senior Gunther Schultze was the Boxers' most potent rushing threat, rushing 104 times for a net of 515 yards and an average of 51.5 yards per game.  He finished the season ranked third in the NWC in yards per rush, seventh in rushing yards and yards per game and ninth in rushing attempts.  Junior Deven McKinney averaged 48.9 rushing yards per game with 489 bet yards, ranking ninth in the NWC in both categories.  McKinney was the Boxers' most frequent scorer on the ground with seven touchdowns.
 
SEEING RED: When Pacific got the ball inside the 20-yard line, the Boxers made the most of their opportunities.  The Boxers finished the season ranked sixth nationally in red-zone offense, scoring inside the 20 on 89.7 percent of their opportunities.  They converted on 35 of 39 opportunities in the red zone.  Two of those opportunities failed on missed field goal attempts and the other two ended because the first half ended.  In their final three games, Pacific converted on 12 of 14 opportunities.
 
EARNING THE FIRST DOWN: When push came to shove, Pacific was one of the best of turning later downs into first downs.  The Boxers finished the season ranked 10th among Division III teams in third down conversion percentage, converting on 48.4 percent of their opportunities (62 of 128).  The Boxers posted a season best .636 conversion percentage against Lewis & Clark on Nov. 2, turning seven third downs into first downs.
 
 
In addition, Pacific's tacklers made a huge contribution to the defensive bottom line.  The Boxers finished fifth nationally in sacks, making 3.5 per game.  The Boxers were ranked 25th in tackles for loss, making 4.7 per game, 83rd in blocked kicks with three (all by Devin Lagorio) and 87th with 12 interceptions.
 
SACK MASTERS: Opposing defenses spent a lot of time watching their quarterback's back side when they played the Boxers.  Pacific finished the season with 35 sacks and 75 tackles for loss, leading the NWC in both categories.  The Boxers finished ranked fifth among NCAA Division III teams in sacks, averaging 3.5 per game, and 25th in tackles for loss with an average of 4.7 per game.
 
Senior Sean Bangs led the Boxers in both categories.  He led the Boxers and ranked fifth in the NWC with 11.5 tackles for loss.  His eight sacks on the season ranked third for the Boxers and his average of 0.8 sacks per game ranked 47th among Division III players.  Junior Alex Willeford finished with 10.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks.  He ranked 55th among Division III players in sacks.  In all, a total of 23 players finished with at least one tackle for loss and 12 earned credit for a sack.
 
A TOUGH SCHEDULE: Pacific's 7-3 record came in the midst of what was one of toughest schedules in all of Division III football.  Pacific finished 24th on the NCAA's matrix of toughest schedules, which is figured by the cumulative win-loss records of the teams that they played against.  At one point in the season, Pacific ranked as high as fourth in the category.  Pacific's opponent had a combined win-loss record of 46-32, a .590 winning percentage.
 
WELL ATTENDED: Fans made Pacific a great place to go to watch a football game.  The Boxers ranked 74th out of 239 NCAA Division III teams in home attendance, averaging 2,140 fans for the five home games.  The Boxers were fourth among NWC teams on the list, which is figured by total attendance.  Willamette was the top NWC team, ranked 55th with an average of 2,151 fans per game.  The top attendance for a home game came in the finale as 3,200 fans came to watch Pacific play Linfield on Nov. 16.
 
SEASON SUMMARY
Overall Record: 7-3
NWC Record: 3-3 (4th)
Record At Home: 4-1                        Record On The Road: 3-2
Highest National Ranking: 25 (AFCA Poll, Nov. 4)
 
SEASON HONORS
First Team All-Northwest Conference: Sean Dalton (OL), Jordan Fukumoto (WR)
Second Team All-Northwest Conference: Moses Villareal-Gomez (K), Sean Bangs (DL), Devin Lagorio (DL), Brandon Harms (DB), Bryan Mills (DB)
Honorable Mention All-Northwest Conference: T.C. Campbell (QB), P.J. Minaya (QB), Deven McKinney (RB), Gunther Schultze (RB), Jakob Lawrence (WR), Eric Gietzen (OL), Aaron Koford (P), Tim Hastie (LB), Alex Willeford (DL).
Capital One/CoSIDA Division III Academic All-District VIII Team: Jordan Fukumoto (WR), Brandon Harms (CB)
NWC Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week: Jordan Fukumoto (Week of Sept. 9-15)
NWC Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week: Craig Bailey (Week of Sept. 2-8), Bryan Mills (Week of Oct. 7-13)
NWC Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week: Moses Villareal-Gomez (Week of Oct. 7-13, Week of Nov. 11-17)
D3Football.com Team of the Week: Craig Bailey (Week of Sept. 2-8), Aaron Koford (Week of Sept. 2-8), Jordan Fukumoto (Week of Sept. 9-15), Sean Bangs (Week of Nov. 9-16)
All-Star Game Selections: Devin Lagorio (National Bowl Game), Craig Bailey (Tazon de Estrellas)
 
RECORD BROKEN OR TIED IN 2013
INDIVIDUAL GAME
PAT Kicks Made: Moses Villareal-Gomez, 8 vs. Lewis & Clark (Nov. 2), 8 vs. Puget Sound (Oct. 12), 8 vs. Occidental (Sept. 14) (Tied own record of 8 vs. Puget Sound, 2012)
 
INDIVIDUAL SEASON
Pass Completion Percentage: 64.3, P.J. Minaya (Previous: 64.0, Minaya, 2012)
PAT Kicks Made: 39, Moses Villareal-Gomez (Previous; 25, Cub Shulund, 1986)
Field Goals Made: 11, Moses Villareal-Gomez (Previous: 10, Kevin Buckner, 1988)
Field Goals Attempted: 16, Moses Villareal-Gomez (Tied with Carlos Valdivia, 1989)
Assisted Tackles: 43, Bryan Mills (Tied with Tom Weeks, 1986)
Blocked Field Goals: 3, Devin Lagorio
 
INDIVIDUAL CAREER
Pass Completions:
Pass Completion Percentage: 64.3, P.J. Minaya (2010-13)
PAT Kicks Made: 84, Moses Villareal-Gomez (2011-13, extends own record)
Field Goals Made: 27, Moses Villareal-Gomez (2011-13, extends own record)
 
TEAM SEASON
Total Offense Yards: 3,990 (Previous: 3,561 Yards, 2012)
Total Offense Average: 399.0 per game (Previous: 395.7 Yards, 2012)
Total Points: 346 (Previous: 297, 1949)
Scoring Average: 34.6 points per game (Previous: 29.7, 1949)