The Whitworthian

Issue date: 9/25/07 Last Updated: 9/30/07

Media Credit: Nick Elliott Capping the end to the Whitworth Pirates' 56-yard drive in the last 1:07 of the fourth quarter, wide receiver/defensive back Jay Tully catches the game-winning ball from quarterback Kory Kemp against the Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils on the final play of the game. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Nate Chute Highlights from Whitworth's 23-21 win over Wisconsin-Stout

A rowdy Whitworth Pirates football team topped the astonished University of Wisconsin-Stout Blue Devils defense Sept. 22 at the Pine Bowl, pulling ahead as time expired to capture a 23-21 victory.

Junior quarterback Kory Kemp threw to senior wide receiver/defensive back Jay Tully from the one yard line to win the game and set the pace for the Pirates going into next weekend's home game against Menlo College.

Adam Anderson, a sophomore running back from Elk, Wash., carried three times in a row but was continuously denied by a strong Wisconsin-Stout defense. It was a 23-yard Andy Largent field goal that put Whitworth on the board for the first time with only 9 minutes and 40 seconds left in the first half.

The loud cheers of the "Red-Sea" of Whitworth students led Stout to use its final timeout of the half, but the Devils danced into the end zone once more giving them the 14-3 lead with only 2:15 left to play in the half. The punt was fielded by Tully, and Kemp completed a pass to senior wide receiver Steve Silva to get the first down. But the drive stalled and led to a Pirate punt, leaving a disappointed Pirates team down by 11 at the half.

Whitworth scored only once in what proved to be a rather uneventful first half for the Pirates, but came out swinging in the remainder of the game.

"In the first half our offense had their backs up against the wall, but that didn't stop the boys from battling hard," Head Coach John Tully said.

A Devils kickoff gave Whitworth generous field position, resulting in the first Pirate touchdown of the game. The pass was caught by sophomore wide receiver Andy Largent, but Whitworth failed to add the extra point.

Whitworth sophomore and fan Mitch Nelson decided early in the third quarter that the Pirates were playing much more like themselves in the second half.

"Our offense has improved greatly since the first half; we are moving the ball well, the quarterback looks more comfortable, and they've created a good flow. If defense keeps playing hard I think we can lock this one up."

A 66-yard touchdown with nearly six minutes to play in the third quarter put the Pirates in the lead for the first time. On the ensuing play, Kemp hooked up with senior tight end Drew Griggs for the two-point conversion and a 3-point Whitworth advantage. Cheers roared from the Pine Bowl: "We are: Whitworth! We are: Whitworth!"

The visiting Devils regained possession but were immediately shut down by both junior defensive back Jordan Marshall and senior linebacker Marc Grow on back to back plays. The motivated Pirate defense denied the Devils and forced a punt to give Whitworth possession to begin the 4th quarter.

"Coming out at the half I knew we needed to take the first drive, go down and make a statement, then all of the sudden we found ourselves up 17-14," Tully said about his halftime remedy. "The team did a phenomenal job."

The crowd chanted "You got pillaged!" when Jay intercepted with nearly four minutes remaining.

A relentless Pirate defense applied pressure to interrupt the Devils next drive, but on fourth and seven with two minutes to play, the offense completed a pass that sent the Devils deep into Pirate territory.

After a 15-yard Devils touchdown pass to Dan Lytle from quarterback Tanner Kattre, the Pirates found themselves down by 4 and in pursuit of a touchdown of their own. A kick return from sophomore defensive lineman Brandon Martin and back to back receptions from senior wide receiver Nick Koller kickstarted the game-winning drive.

"Our line blocked well and Kory made some great plays, especially in those last two minutes. At that point, you don't have time to think about anything in particular," sophomore strong tackle Jeff Kintner said. As the Pirates marched down the field for the winning score, Kintner said the team wasn't even worried.

"I knew we were going to score. We all did," Kintner said.

Contact Danika Heatherly at danika.heatherly@whitworthian.com.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools

The Whitworthian encourages readers to comment on any content on the whitworthian.com. Article comments can be posted by anyone. The opinions expressed are not necessarily the opinion of The Whitworthian, its editors or its staff. The Whitworthian strives to monitor and delete comments with profanity, advertisements, obscenity, plagiarism, personal attacks, threats of violence or that violate the law or common decency. However, since The Whitworthian does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not find offensive or inaccurate comments on occasion.

For this reason, The Whitworthian asks readers to be responsible and respectful in any comments posted. The responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not the whitworthian.com. Readers are also encouraged to report questionable comments by e-mailing editor@whitworthian.com.