by Henry Miller | Staff Writer
The Pirates won their second straight game after beating the Loggers 38-23. Ian Kolstee, ‘18, made his first start since suffering an ankle injury against George Fox, and the return was triumphant. Kolstee threw for 224 yards and three touchdowns in his return. With Kolstee back, the passing game was back. Kolstee’s experience and connection with his receivers allowed the offense to operate at its normal high-octane level. In this game Kolstee also broke the Whitworth record for total offensive yards, passing Joel Carl who set the previous record between 2003 and 2006. Kolstee was pulled in the second half as the Pirates had a wide lead and didn’t want to risk another injury. Running Back Mason Elms, ‘19, rushed for 144 yards and scored the first touchdown of the game coming from a 52-yard run. Tariq Ellis, ‘20, also had a breakout run of 50 yards to make it two weeks straight with a touchdown run of more than 50 yards.
Whitworth continued its pattern of efficient offense, holding the ball for three less minutes than the loggers. The real triumph for the Whitworth offense was the perfect mixture of a dynamic run game with an experienced passing game behind it. They had more than 200 yards of passing offense with an additional 245 rushing yards.
The Whitworth secondary improved their performance, forcing two turnovers. Linebacker Patch Kulp, ‘18, and defensive back Taylor Roelofs, ‘18, each intercepted a pass from Puget Sound quarterback Tanner Diebold. Roelofs had a phenomenal game forcing a fumble, recording nine tackles as well as his interception. The Bucs defense held the Loggers to only five third down conversions out of 15 attempts, while also completely stopping the run game, only allowing 76 yards of total rushing offense. The Pirate defensive line also contributed four sacks for a total of minus ten yards.
The Bucs continue to face problems with turnovers, losing two fumbles as well as throwing an interception. This didn’t affect the outcome of the game, but is starting to become a trend for the Pirates.
Next week the Pirates travel to Forest Grove, Oregon to face off against Pacific University (3-2).