Whitworth sleepwalks through second half of 31-19 win over Eastern Oregon

There are mileposts in football seasons.

An early one is the first- to second-week improvement.

Whitworth’s defense came up with seven turnovers a week ago. The Pirates’ offense had plenty of room for improvement.

A week later, the offense had much to be happy about in a 31-19 nonconference win over Eastern Oregon Saturday afternoon in the Bucs’ home debut at the Pine Bowl.

It was Whitworth’s 13th consecutive regular-season win and seventh consecutive win at home. But the Pirates’ excitement about their start Saturday lasted two quarters.

In the second half, Whitworth (2-0) was nothing short of uninspiring.

Whitworth led 31-0 at halftime but manufactured little during the final two quarters.

Pirates coach Rod Sandberg predictably congratulated his players on the win in the postgame huddle. That was his first point. He challenged his team immediately and apologized for his instructions at halftime because he apparently didn’t have his team ready for the second half.

Counting a 40-7 win last week, the Pirates had scored 71 points in six quarters. Nobody saw such a flat effort coming in the second half Saturday.

Whitworth will need to correct its mistakes quickly with Chapman (California), a team the Pirates beat twice last season, including a playoff victory, visiting on Saturday.

Chapman is likely going to play aggressively after what it saw from Whitworth in the second half against Eastern Oregon.

No doubt Whitworth is good and is going to get better, but it begins with playing four solid quarters.

First, Sandberg praised the offense for its start. The Pirates scored on all of their first five possessions – four touchdowns and a field goal.

“I thought they were clicking,” Sandberg said. “The coaches did a good job calling the first half, taking the plays that were there. We just lost momentum and energy in the second half.

“It was very, very poor football – offense, defense, special teams, penalties, leadership, my leadership,” Sandberg said. “Hopefully, we can learn from it.”

The final statistics show that Whitworth piled up 438 yards. They also show the Mountaineers finished with 414 – and it can’t all be pinned on the defense. Not when the offense didn’t show up in the final two quarters.

Whitworth scored on its first possession, driving 58 yards on eight plays, with quarterback Ryan Blair hitting Caelin Johnson on a 13-yard scoring strike.

The Pirates needed just three plays on their second possession, scoring on Luis Salgado’s 1-yard plunge.

A rout appeared on when Whitworth went up 21-0 one play into the second quarter after Blair hit Evan Liggett on a 9-yard connection.

Whitworth made it 28-0 when Liggett and Blair teamed up a second time with 9 minutes, 18 seconds to go before halftime.

On Whitworth’s final possession of the first half, Iden Bone connected on a 44-yard field goal with 3:44 to go before haltime.

Salgado led the Pirates on the ground, rushing 24 times for 146 yards.

Blair completed 17 of 26 passes for 211 yards and three touchdowns. Liggett had nine catches and Johnson had eight.

“We’re going to play a much better team Saturday – a playoff team, a conference championship team,” Sandberg said.

“We need to know how to play for four quarters.”

Salgado said there were some good signs in the first half, especially for the offense.

“Last week we got away from the run a little bit, but I know if we keep pounding with an experienced (offensive line) we’re going to be a hard team to stop,” Salgado said.