PACIFIC (4-2, 4-0 NWC) AT LEWIS & CLARK (0-7, 0-5 NWC)
Game No. 7 • Away Game No. 5Sat., Nov. 1, 2 p.m., Griswold Stadium, Portland, Ore.
Radio: 1360 AM KUIK (Tape Delay, Time TBA)
Play By Play: Matt Richert  Analyst: Scott Hermo
Live Stats & Video |
Live AudioRED HOT 'N' ROLLIN' AS BOXERS HEAD TO LEWIS & CLARKLosing their first two games of the season did little to dampen the spirits of the Pacific football team as they won their fourth straight game over the weekend with a 36-0 blanking of a first year George Fox program. The Boxers will look to add to their best conference start in program history and guarantee themselves no worse than second place in the Northwest Conference standings as they travel to Lewis & Clark on Saturday.
BOXER BYTES• After scoring single touchdowns in each of the first three quarters, Pacific put George Fox away with a 15-point fourth quarter as they battled through gusty winds & driving rain for a 36-0 shutout of the Bruins. It was Pacific's first shutout of an opponent since the end of the 1972 season.
• Pacific did it's damage on the ground with the wind blowing, rushing for 225 of their 393 yards of total offense. Devan McKinney rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown, all in the last series of the game.Â
Kamana Pimental rushed for 55 yards and a touchdown.Â
Bronson Barretto rushed for 50 yards while
Bobby Ladiges rushed for 40 yards and a touchdown.
•
Warner Shaw completed 11 of 17 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns. He found
Darin Kamealoha for two touchdowns. His two catches and 69 yards all came on scoring plays.
•
Brandon Harms put together his best return day of his Pacific career, returning three punts for a total of 105 yards. His ledger included a 70-yard return in the first quarter and a 38-yard return in the second quarter.
• Pacific again controlled time of possession, holding onto the ball for 33 minutes, 10 seconds. The Boxers enter the week leading the NWC and 16th in time of possession, averaging 33 minutes, 25 seconds per game.
A WIN OVER LEWIS & CLARK WOULD...• Give the Boxers their fifth consecutive win, matching the five-game win streak that Pacific had to begin the 2013 season.
• Give Pacific their first 5-0 start in conference play in the history of the football program and just their third five-win conference season in program history (1947, 1948, 1972).
• Give Pacific their third consecutive victory over Lewis & Clark.
• Guarantee Pacific their second consecutive winning season.
• Guarantee Pacific no worse than a tie for second place in the NWC standings, their best conference finish since 1972.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: LEWIS & CLARK
QUICK FACTSLocation: Portland, Ore.   Enrollment: 2,031
Nickname: Pioneers   Colors: Orange & Black
Conference: Northwest (NCAA Division III)
Stadium: Fred Wilson Field at Griswold Stadium (3.069, covered, AstroTurf)
President: Barry Glassner                Â
Interim Athletic Director: Mark Pietrok
Sports Information Director: Kristian Martin
SID Phone: 503-768-7067
SID E-Mail: martin@lclark.edu
Athletics Website: lcpioneers.com
Facebook: facebook.com/lc.pioneers     Twitter: @lcpioneers
Head Coach: Chris Sulages (Weber State 1995)
Sulages' Record At Lewis & Clark: 22-49 (9 Years)
Sulages' Record Overall: 22-49 (9 Years)
Assistant Coaches: Phil Magbanua (Asst. HC/OC), Eric Jackson (DC), Jacob Hales (DL), Ryan Flynn (OL), Ryan Lockard (LB), Nick Bodeman (Rec.), Matt DeRosa (Asst. OL), Mark Figueroa (Off.), Joe Kopp (LB), Kyle Lavender (RB).
2013 Record: 4-5Â Â Â Â Â Â NWC Record: 1-5 (6th)
All-Time Series: Lewis & Clark leads 34-29-4
Last Meeting: Pacific won 68-28 at Forest Grove on Nov. 2, 2013
About The Coach: Chris Sulages is in his 11th season on the Lewis & Clark coaching staff and his 10th season as the Pioneers' head coach. In 2011, he was selected as the D3Football.com West Region Coach of the Year after leading the Pioneers to an impressive 7-2 record as he led the team back from near extinction. Prior to arriving on Palatine Hill, Sulages spent two seasons as offensive line and tight ends coach at Cal State Northridge, three years as an assistant coach at Occidental and one year each on the staffs at San Diego and Weber State. Sulages plaued his college football at Weber State, where he was a two-time All-Big Sky Conference selection as an offensive lineman. After college, Sulages played two seasons for the Prague Panthers, where he earned All-European honors.
Last Meeting: Pacific posted their best rushing day since the program's 2010 return, going off for 386 yards in a 68-28 rout of the Pioneers at Hanson Stadium. Rushing accounted for the majority of their 560 yards of total offense and was just short of the 509 yards set against Pacific Lutheran in 1952. Seven of the Boxers' touchdowns came on the ground as Pacific scored on 10 of their 13 possessions and was forced to punt just once. The Boxers had a 34-14 lead at halftime thanks to two rushing scores by
Gunther Schultze and a 32-yard touchdown run by
T.C. Campbell. The Boxers added four more rushing touchdowns in the second half and seven-yard scoring pass from
P.J. Minaya to
Caleb Roher in the fourth quarter. Schultze carried 12 times for 134 yards and a pair of touchdowns while Minaya completed 9 of 14 for 129 yards and three touchdowns. Lewis & Clark quarterback Keith Welch completed 26 of 39 for 305 yards and three touchdowns.
LEWIS & CLARK NOTES• After their 2011 campaign where they finished 7-2 overall, Lewis & Clark has gone 5-20 over the last two-plus seasons. They have lost their last 12 games dating back to the 2013 season and 20 of their last 21 contests dating back to 2012.
• Lewis & Clark enters the week averaging 291.1 yards per game. They average 198.4 passing yards per game and 92.7 rushing yards per game, ranking sixth in the NWC in both categories. Â
• Quarterback Cody Rochon has completed 121 of 224 passes and has averaging 156.9 yards per game, but has been intercepted 10 times. Rochon is also the Pioneers' leading rusher, averaging 46.1 yards per game. Jake Constantino is the team's top receiver, averaging 42.4 yards per game.
• The Lewis & Clark defense is allowing 195.3 rushing yards and 243.4 passing yards per game. Andrew Traver leads the defense with 66 tackles, one sack, six tackles for loss and one fumble recovery.
• Lewis & Clark College was founded in 1858 as Albany Academy in Albany, Ore. The school became Albany College in 1867 and became Lewis & Clark College in 1942 when the school moved to it's current location on the "Fir Acres" estate donated by Julius Meier (of the historic Meier & Frank deparrment store). The school still maintains an affiliation with the Presbyterian Church USA.
• Notable alumni from Lewis & Clark College include Oregon U.S. Repsresentative Earl Blumenauer, actress Markie Post (Night Court, There's Something About Mary), Portland State University associate athletic director for media & communications Mike Lund, Major League Baseball player Pete Ward and former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
Going To The Ground In A Gale: The winds present during Saturday's game at George Fox did not lend well to the passing game, so the Boxers turned to the rushing game. A total of 225 of Pacific's 393 yards of total offense came on the ground and was almost even distributed primarily between four different players.Â
Kamana Pimental (So., Kaneohe, Hawaii) finished with 55 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.Â
Bronson Barretto (Jr., Mililani, Hawaii) finished 50 yards on seven carries while
Bobby Ladiges (Jr., Escalon, Calif.) finished with 40 yards and a touchdown on 41 carries.Â
Deven McKinney (Sr., Spanaway, Wash.), seeing his most playing time of the season, led the team with 62 yards and a touchdown on five carries, all of which came on the final drive of the game.
Add Rushing: The improvement of the rushing game has given the Boxers another dimension to their offensive attack. Pacific is averaging 183.8 rushing yards per game, ranking fourth in the NWC and 84th among NCAA Division III teams.Â
Bobby Ladiges ranks fifth in the NWC with his 62 rushing yards per game.Â
Kamana Pimental ranks seventh with 58 rushing yards per game. The Boxers' 13 rushing touchdowns ranks fourth in the NWC, led by four rushing scores each by Ladiges and Pimental.
Many Happy Returns: During the first two quarters against George Fox,
Brandon Harms (Sr., Canby, Ore.) was a force in the return game. Harms finished the contest with 105 yards on three punt returns and led the Boxers with 105 all-purpose yards. In the first quarter, Harms broke off a 70-yard punt return, which ranks as the second longest in school history and is tied for the 21st longest in Division III this season. In addition to his return work, Harms finished with six solo tackles as the Boxers' starting cornerback. A Second Team All-NWC and Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-District selection in 2013, Harms is bound to be considered for all-conference honors as both a cornerback and a return specialist. On special teams, Harms enters the week leading the NWC and ranks 10th among Division III players with his average of 16.5 yards per return. He has helped the team move into 17th nationally with an average of 16.46 yards per punt return. Defensively, Harms leads the NWC with 13 passes broken up and is eighth with 31 solo tackles. He ranks third among Division III players with his average of 2.2 passes broken-up per game.
Making The Most Of His Touches: Darin Kamealoha (Sr., Waipahu, Hawaii) only had two receptions in Saturday's win over George Fox, but the senior certainly made the most of his opportunties. Kamealoha led the Boxers with 69 yards on the two receptions and turned both into touchdowns. His first came in the first quarter, catching a 10-yard touchdown pass from
Warner Shaw (Jr., Waimea, Hawaii) with 9:11 to go. The second came with 4:42 left in the third quarter when Shaw found Kamealoha on a screen pass, which he took 59 yards down field to the end zone. After having had an injury-riddled career since arriving in Forest Grove, the fifth-year senior has emerged as a critical part of the Pacific passing game. He enters the week ranked third for the Boxers with 276 receiving yards and is second with three reciving touchwons. His average of 19.7 yards per catch leads the team and would lead the NWC, but he falls below the conference minimum of three receptions per game.
Continuing To Impress: While the wind limited the passing game production,
Warner Shaw continues to lead the Boxers well at quarterback. Shaw completed 11 of 17 passes against George Fox for 168 yards and two touchdowns to help lead the Boxers to their 36-0 shutout of the Bruins. Shaw enters the week ranked first in the NWC and eighth among NCAA Division III quarterbacks with a .690 completion percentage. He also ranks 36th in Division III with a pass efficiency rating of 154.1. He also enters the week ranked third in the NWC with 1,303 passing yards and an average of 217.2 passing yards per game.
A Landmark Shutout: The 36-0 shutout of George Fox on Saturday was the first for the Boxers in a long time. The shutout was the first for Pacific since the 2010 reinstatement of the program and was also the first since the Boxers laid a 35-0 shutout on Southern Oregon to end the 1972 season. That season also marked the last time Pacific shut out a conference opponent in a 21-0 blanking of Willamette. Ironically, Pacific has shut out George Fox more than any other team in program history. In the 13 all-time meetings with the Bruins, the Boxers have shut them out 10 times.
After Two Losses, A Historic Winning Streak: The two non-conference losses to being the season did little to slow the Boxers. The Boxers enter this week's game with a four-game win streak and an unblemished 4-0 conference mark. The 4-0 start to the NWC season is the best start to a conference season in program history. Should the Boxers win on Saturday, the 5-0 start would equal the five-game win streak that started the 2013 season. The team record for consecutive conference victories is six, set during the 1972 season (Pacific lost the NWC season opener that year to Linfield, 27-7, before winning their final six). It would also be just the fourth time in program history that the Boxers have won five games in conference play. The Boxers last won five or more conference games in 1972.
Second Place Is In Reach: Should Pacific beat Lewis & Clark on Saturday, Pacific will be assured no worse than a tie for a second place finish in the NWC standings. The win would move Pacific to 5-0 in the league standings, with the next four teams each with two losses (Whitworth, Pacific Lutheran, Willamette, Puget Sound). Should that happen, it would be Pacific's first second place finish since 1972.
Big On Third Down: Pacific continues to make the most of their chances on third down. The Boxers converted 8 of 13 on third down in their victory against George Fox. That improved the Boxers to 45 of 84 on the season on third down opportunities. The team's third down conversion percentage of 53.6 percent leads the NWC and ranks fourth among NCAA Division III programs. Guilford is the Division III leader, having converted 59.1 percent of their third down opportunities.
Putting The Flag Away: Pacific continued to keep the penalties to a minimum. The Boxers were flagged six times for 40 yards against George Fox while the Bruins' six penalties resulted in 91 yards. In their six games, Pacific has been flagged 36 times for 315 yards, ranking third in the NWC. Pacific's 315 penalty yards ranks as the 32nd fewest in Division III. Pacific had a season low of one penalty for 10 yards in the Oct. 18 game against Pacific Lutheran.
Holding On To Time: Pacific continues to make time of possession a big part of their offensive strategy. The Boxers held onto the ball for 33 minutes, 10 seconds in the win at George Fox on Saturday. They enter the week ranked first in the NWC and 16th in Division III with an average time of possession of 33 minutes, 25 seconds per game. Pacific had a season high time of possession of 39 minutes, 6 seconds, against Whitworth on Oct. 6.
In The NCAA Division III Stats: Pacific this week in ranked in the NCAA Division III top-100 in 27 different statistical categories. Topping the team list, Pacific is fourth is third down conversion percentage (.536), sixth in completion percentage (.686), 16th in time of possession (33:25), 17th in punt returns (16.46 yards per return), 20th in kickoff returns (24.63 yards per return) and 25th in rushing defense (103.8 yards allowed per game). Individually,
Brandon Harms is ranked third with his 2.4 passes defended per game and 10th with his average of 16.5 yards per punt return.Â
Bronson Barretto (Jr., Mililani, Hawaii) is tied for fourth with his one kickoff return for a touchdown.Â
Warner Shaw is ranked eighth with his .690 completion percentage. The complete list can be found at
http://stats.ncaa.org/team/index/11980?org_id=2751.
Boxers Picked Close Fourth In NWC Preseason Poll: In terms of how they will perform in conference games, Northwest Conference coaches do not expect a fifth year slump from the Boxers. Pacific was picked in close fourth place in the annual preseason poll conducted in August. Pacific received 34 votes, just two less than Willamette, who was picked third with 36 points. The Boxers finished fourth in the NWC in 2013, amassing a 3-3 conference record. Pacific Lutheran was picked second in the poll with 42 points. Linfield was the runaway pick to win the conference. The five-time defending champions received all but one first place vote and a total of 56 points.
The (Not) Goin' To Chicago Blues: The Pacific 2014 schedule was shortened to nine games with the cancellation of the Sept. 27 game at the Univ. of Chicago. The game at Chicago's Stagg Field was canceled after a fire was intentionally set on Sept. 26 at the Federal Aviation Administration's radar control center in Aurora, Ill., which caused a ground stop at both of Chicago's major airports. The ground stop forced the cancellation of over 2,000 flights, including Pacific's scheduled flight to Chicago Midway International Airport.
It's Hanson Stadium Now: It not only looks different, but Pacific's home stadium answers to a different name as well. A roof was added to the main stadium grandstand over the summer, providing coverage for over 1,100 fans who sit on the field's south sideline. Along with the roof came a name change to Hanson Stadium, which was approved by Pacific University's Board of Trustees in May. The moniker honors Trustee Rich Hanson and his wife, Joy, who provided the leadership gift to start fundraising for the stadium roof project. Mr. and Mrs. Hanson were honored by conducting the coin toss prior to the College of Idaho game on Sept. 6. Formerly known as Lincoln Park Stadium, Hanson Stadium was opened for the 2007 season and is home to Pacific's football, soccer, women's lacrosse and track and field programs.
From Scrimmage Line To Sideline: Some of Pacific's top players from the 2013 season have moved from the field to the sidelines to begin their coaching careers. Eight graduates from last year's team will help to lead the Boxers as part of the coaching staff. The list includes
Sean Bangs (defensive assistant),
Gabe Flory (assistant linebackers),
Eric Gietzen (assistant offensive line),
Aaron Koford (kickers),
Bryan Mills (safeties),
P.J. Minaya (quarterbacks),
Michael Smith (assistant defensive line) and
Brian Taylor (tight ends). Pacific is developing into a great starting spot for coaches. Over four years, seven coaches have moved on from Pacific to NCAA Division I coaching positions.
Yoro Promoted: In addition to the addition of eight coaches from Pacific's Class of 2014, Head Coach
Keith Buckley has promoted
Jacob Yoro to assistant head coach. One of two assistants who have been with the program since the 2010 reinstatement, Yoro serves as the Boxers' defensive coordinator and as the program's recruiting coordinator.
Season Honors: The following Pacific players have been recognized with NWC or national weekly honors this season...
Avery Richardson: D3Football.com Team of the Week for the week of Sept. 29-Oct. 5. The linebacker finished with eight tackles, including six solo tackles, and three sacks for losses of 22 yards in the Boxers' victory over Whitworth.
Nathan Suyematsu: NWC Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week and D3Football.com Team of the Week for the week of Sept. 29-Oct. 5. The wide receiver and punter finished an average of 43.5 yards per punt on four punts. Three of the four punts landed inside the 20-yard line and the fourth was a touchback. His wrok included a season-long 61 punts, the third longest in school history.
Â
Jack Perez: NWC Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week for the week of Sept. 1-7. The linebacker finished with 16 tackles against the College of Idaho on Sept. 6; D3Football.com Team of the Week for week of Oct. 13-19 for his 10 tackles and two pass break-ups against Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 18.
Bronson Barretto: NWC Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week for the week of Sept. 1-7. The running back and kick return specialist finished with 179 all-purpose yards and had four kick returns for 155 yards against the College of Idaho. He capped his day with a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, the third longest in program history.
Pacific One-Liners (And Sometimes Two)• Two Pacific players spent the spring as key members of the Boxers' baseball program. Wide reciever/kicker
Nathan Suyematsu was a First Team All-NWC selection as a second baseman after hitting .342 with 53 hits, 29 runs and 13 doubles.Â
Kyle Treadway was one of the Boxers' starting pitcher, finishing with a team-leading 2.68 earned run average. Both Suyematsu and Treadway played summer baseball, with Treadway finishing as a Golden State Collegiate Baseball League all-star after a standout season with the Atwater Aviators.
• Offensive lineman
Riley Rankin is a cousin of late all-pro football player and Monday Night Football personality Don Meredith. In fact, Meredith predates Rankin's arrival on the Pacific campus by 52 years as he was part of the 1960 Dallas Cowboys' team that opened training camp in Forest Grove. Following in Meredith's footsteps, Rankin holds a Work Study job as a public address announcer for Pacific sporting events.
• Twenty-nine Pacific players hail from Hawaii, continuing a long-standing Pacific tradition. Nearly one-third of Pacific's undergraduate student body comes from the 50th state.
• The only state with more representation on the roster is California, with 42 athletes coming from the Golden State.
• Defensive lineman
Eddie Carrillo is in his second year as president of Pacific's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He is the first multi-year president of the body.
