North Central pounces on Whitworth, ending Pirates’ season with 42-17 rout in Division III playoffs
NAPERVILLE, Ill. – If playing top-ranked North Central in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs wasn’t enough for the Whitworth Pirates, they had to battle blistering cold.
A wind chill of 3 degrees at kickoff made Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium seem almost 30 degrees colder than it was in Spokane at that time.
The Cardinals were no more accommodating as they ended the Pirates’ season with a 42-17 victory that will allow them to play Hope (Michigan) in the third round.
The Pirates (10-2) took the ball to start, but Ryan Blair (230 yards on 29-of-48 passing) immediately threw an interception to Will Vernon, who ran it back 29 yards and gave the Cardinals (11-0) a lead 14 seconds in that they didn’t give back.
It didn’t help that Whitworth’s defense entered with a flurry of injuries. All-Northwest Conference first-team defensive end JT Munoz was out with concussion symptoms. The Pirates also dealt with knee injuries to starting defensive tackle Ephraim Watkins and defensive back Omari Williams. Another defensive back, Micajah Weisner, also was banged up.
“We struggled with some injuries on and off throughout the year,” said Pirates linebacker Zach Brooks, whose 11 tackles were second to Daniel McKeirnan’s 16. “And myself and other leaders on our defense have stepped up when those injuries have happened.”
What’s more, Pirates kick returner Cameron Sheley injured his ankle and had to be taken off the field on a stretcher while wrapped in an air cast.
“I think they’ll be able to reset that ankle,” Pirates coach Rod Sandberg said. “And hopefully, he’ll be on the flight back with us.”
A shorthanded Whitworth defense had trouble against a North Central offense led by reigning Gagliardi Trophy winner Luke Lehnen. While Lehnen only threw for 137 yards, he was part of a rushing attack for which the Pirates had no answer.
“The thing that North Central does really, really well is they run the ball,” Sandberg said. “And in a lot of different ways, a lot of different people.”
Joe Sacco did the most damage with 10 carries for 198 yards, more than any previous Pirates opponent’s effort on the ground this season.
The Cardinals scored on their first two possessions with Myles Walton’s 17-yard touchdown reception and Sean Allen’s 8-yard touchdown run. Although the Pirates forced a punt their next time on defense, Sacco ran 75 yards to the end zone on the first play from scrimmage on the defensive possession that followed.
The Pirates’ offense didn’t get a first down until the first play of the second quarter. That led to their first trip to the red zone and their first points on Jake Gaffaney’s 33-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 21-3.
Shortly before halftime, Kurt Solano ran 30 yards on third-and-1 to advance Whitworth into North Central territory, and Blair completed three straight passes to get back into the red zone. But a spike and two straight incompletions brought Gaffaney back out, and his 32-yard field-goal attempt went wide left.
After a Sacco 56-yard run in the third quarter set up a Thomas Skokna 5-yard touchdown reception, Whitworth, aided by a pass interference call, marched to the red zone again. This time, Blair completed a 1-yard pass to Caelin Johnson on fourth down to set up first-and-goal.
The Pirates still couldn’t reach the end zone, though, and turned the ball over on downs to conclude a drive that lasted nearly half the quarter and burned two timeouts.
The Cardinals made them pay with a 54-yard Lehnen pass to Isaac Banker and Sacco’s second touchdown run from 12 yards out for a 42-3 lead.
Whitworth broke through for two fourth-quarter TDs on Nathan Owens’ 41-yard run and Blair’s 2-yard pass to Michael Workman.
“I don’t think there was gonna be anything that was gonna take any of us off that field unless it was an injury,” Blair said. “But we were just gonna fight until the end with our brother next to us.”
“The young guys, they’re gonna bring a lot to the table (next season),” said Pirates graduate tight end Evan Liggett, who had three catches for 34 yards. “And I’m super excited to see what they can do.”