Sunday, October 30, 2011

Lewis and Clark beats Pacific Lutheran 34-32

The Lewis and Clark Pioneers remain undefeated after a 34-32 nail-biting victory over the Pacific Lutheran Lutes today. The team turned it on in the second half, scoring 27 pts and holding PLU to just 12. After a blindingly quick first 2 scores, PLU was up 14-0 and the Pioneers looked to be caught off guard by the Lutes. The Pios trailed 20-7 at the half. LC scored on the first drive of the 2nd half, which was followed by a PLU score. After a turnover was committed by either team, Lewis and Clark took the lead 27-26 early in the 4th quarter, and for the first time in the game. PLU turned the ball over on downs after trying a fake punt on 4th and 18, which was followed by a Lewis and Clark touchdown. LC led 34-26 when the Lutes scored to bring themselves within a chance to tie. Withe the score 34-32 PLU attempted a 2 point conversion which was a pass from Zack Halverson- it failed.Senior Chris Kelly fielded the ensuing onside kick from PLU for a 17 yard return, and Lewis and Clark kneeled the ball to run out the clock on their first victory over PLU since 1989. The Pios advance to 7-0 on the season and have guaranteed themselves a spot playing for the conference championship against Linfield. Next week the Pios take on Willamette at home in their last home game of the season, the senior game for the group of guys who were 1-8 their freshman year. Lewis and Clark rushed for 202 yards, while holding PLU to only 71 yds. 121 of those pioneer rushing yards were a result of the effort of the Pio offensive line in conjunction with their running back Joevante Mayes (Sr.) Curtis Shirey had 2 rushing TD's, Mayes with 1 rushing. Welch threw for 2, one to Shawn Evans and one to Andrew Frisina who made a shoestring catch. The Pioneer defense stepped up yet again, holding the Lutes to just 6 of 13 on 3rd down, sacking Halverson 3 times and forcing a fumble and an interception.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Player Spotlight: Keith Welch

Sophomore QB Keith Welch Jr. is ranked #5 in Total Offense and #4 in scoring among DIII football nationwide. Welch averages 336.3 yds/game and has been responsible for 144 points. On the season Welch has thrown for 1486 yards and rushed for 532, while maintaining a completion percentage of 59.89%

Keith is one of the many Northern California natives on the Pioneer football team, a graduate of Fairfield H.S. Welch is known on the team not only for his athletic skills, but also his jokes-which seem to come in an endless stream. After 7 A.M. practice he can often be heard looking for a ride to go to McDonald's and get breakfast. There is no doubt that Welch is a leader of the Pioneer football program, his talents and skills set him apart as a gifted athlete who continues to perform and post impressive stat sheets. He was named to the d3football.com Team of the Week last week for his 4 touchdown performance in the LC homecoming victory over UPS.

When asked about the team Welch said "I love these guys, they're my family." And when asked about the upcoming game at Pacific Lutheran he said "We understand it's going to be a battle, but we've been preparing for this war."

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

PLU Preview-Undefeated Pios travelling to Washington

How They Match Up Offense

Team Lewis and Clark Pacific Lutheran
Total Offense (Yds/Game) 476.33 (National Rank #12) 288.17 (National Rank #196)
Rushing Yds/Game 209.5 (National Rank #42)103 (National Rank #200)
Passing Yds/Game 266.83 (National Rank #30)185.17 (National Rank #131)
3rd Down Conversion %43.04 (National Rank #59)33.33 (National Rank #171)
Points Scored per Game40.5 (National Rank #11)17.67 (National Rank #191)
Overall Record6-04-2

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Undefeated Pioneers with another victory 31-28 over UPS

The Pioneers sure know how to keep their fans involved in their games, and once again the game ended with the opposition's hopes ticking down to zero along with the game clock. Puget Sound's last minute efforts at a comeback via laterals was stifled by the Pioneer defense; The same Pioneer defense that held UPS to 63 yards rushing on 27 attempts, and forced 2 turnovers. LC's offense had 488 total yards, 166 rushing and 322 passing. QB Keith Welch contributed most to those numbers with the 322 passing yards himself completing 23/36 passes and rushing for 142 yards. The end of the game was anything but dull, the Pioneers gained possession of the ball with 4:54 to go in the game, up 31-28 after a Monley field goal was followed up by a UPS touchdown. UPS kicked-off deep and the ball was returned to the LC 35. The Pios drove 58 yards on 10 plays down to the UPS 9 yard line, taking almost 4 minutes off the clock. The Pios elected to take the clock down a bit further on a fourth down attempt from the UPS 9, and were stopped. UPS gained possesion on their own 9, and 9 plays later were facing a hail-mary hope at a victory or tie to go to overtime. In a bit of trickery the QB Braden Foley (Fr. ) rolled right and tossed the ball laterally to his teammate across the field. The ball was kept alive for about 5 or 6 tosses before the ball was finally fumbled by Foley again at his own 7 yard line. With offensive penalty flags down, the referees picked up their laundry and jogged off the field, signaling an end to the crazy yet exciting end to the Pioneers 6th victory this season. For the Pioneer seniors-this leaves their all time record vs. Puget Sound at 3-1, and this leaves the Pioneers atop the conference alongside the only other undefeated team, Linfield.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Lewis and Clark Homecoming Preview

Joe Kopp (Jr.) Safety & Nate Kinney (Jr.) linebacker and all-around nice guy

How They Match Up Offense

Team Lewis and Clark Puget Sound
Total Offense Yards per Game 474 (National Rank #15) 387.83 (National Rank#72)
Points per Game42.4 (National Rank#10)21.33 (National Rank #162)

How They Match Up Quarterbacks

Team Keith Welch (LC) George Ka'ai (UPS)
Total Offense 1554(National Rank #9) 1458 (National Rank#21)
Points Responsible For120 (National Rank#4)60 (National Rank #90)

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

T.V. Spot Round 2-KGW Channel 8

> Lewis and Clark Football on "Out and About with Drew Carney"
Wednesday October 19 appeared on Portland KGW Channel 8 beginning at 5 am. Carney came last year to do a spot on the Pioneers prior to their game against Menlo, a former Conference opponent, turned NAIA school, that the Pioneers defeated last season. This year, Carney and the news team are spotlighting the Pios prior to their homecoming game against conference rival University of Puget Sound.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Pios roll on to 5-0: Lewis and Clark 30 Whitworth 22

The Pioneers ended yet another game in victory formation earlier today at home in Griswold Stadium. The Pios advance to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play. For LC, this is the first 5-0 start since 1962 and the first 2-0 start in conference since 1990, the same year many of the seniors on this team were being born. It was an overall team effort, led on offense by none other than Keith Welch (So.) Welch had 149 yards passing, 149 yards rushing and 31 yards receiving. Welch accounted for the team's 3 touchdowns, two rushing and one throwing to Shawn Evans (Sr.) Kicker Simon Monley also accounted for some points,he was 3 of 4 on field goals and perfect for extra points. A special acknowledgement should be given to ATH Tucker Laurence for his punting, holding, passing, receiving and blocking performances. Laurence really did it all in his contribution to the Pios win. The Pioneer defense showed up today creating 3 turnovers, and holding Whitworth to 0% 3rd down conversions in the 1st half. The Pioneer defense also sacked Whitworth QBs 9 times throughout the game, with senior Louie Baltazar leading that stat with 3 sacks alone.
The Pioneers look to take a 6th victory over University of Puget Sound next Saturday, Oct. 21. Many Pio fans and Logger fans alike will remember the UPS vs. LC games the last two years that came down to the wire. Lewis and Clark winning both of their last 2 meetings.

Whitworth vs. Lewis & Clark Pre-game Breakdown Continued

How They Match Up Turnovers and Special Teams

Team Lewis and Clark Whitworth
Turnover Margin 1.75 (National Rank #14) .60 (National Rank #63)
Kickoff Return avg ~20 yds. (National Rank #84)avg ~18.5 yds. (National Rank #129)
Kickoff Return Defense National Rank #32National Rank #192
Punt Returnavg. 17.43 yds. (National Rank #16)avg. 6.78 yds. (National Rank #146)
Punt Return Defense-3 Return yds. allowed (National Rank #3)163 Return yds. allowed (National Rank #212)

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Whitworth vs. Lewis & Clark Pre-Game Breakdown

Linebacker Evaristo Laron ('13) preparing for this weekend's test against Whitworth

How They Match Up Offense

Team Lewis and Clark Whitworth
Avg. Points Scored 45.5 20.4
Rushing Yardage928567
Passing Yardage1099922
Red Zone Scoring82%78%
Record4-01-4
The Game will be Oct. 15 at 1pm and can be viewed live on Ustream the day of the game.

Saturday, October 8, 2011

LC Watchin' Games this Weekend

Offensive Lineman Ken Scholz, Tony Zamora and Aaron Mowrer
The Pios had the saturday off as part of their bye week this weekend. The Pioneers finished out a week of practice healthy and ready to face Whitworth on Oct. 15. Around the league Linfield beat Puget Sound 73-7, Willamette defeated Pacific 49-7 and Pacific Lutheran beat Whitworth in a last second field goal to pull out a victory 20-17. Next Saturday the undefeated Lewis and Clark Pioneerss will take on the Whitworth Pirates at home in their first home game since the opening week Sept. 10. That game will be at 1pm. Catch the game live on Ustream

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Lewis and Clark 4-0

The undefeated Pioneers put another notch on their win belt yesterday afternoon in Forest Grove, OR against Pacific University. The Pios had 524 yards of total offense, led by star Pioneer quarterback Keith Welch. Welch accounted for 5 tds, 3 rushing and 2 throwing. He ran for 106 yards and threw for 273. The Pios 61 points scored were also aided by a Curtis Shirey punt return for a touchdown. The Pioneer defense was lead once again by performances by Chris Kelly and Logan Kotzian who had 8 and 9 tackles respectively. Pio special teams looked good, even with the hurt Long Snapper Matt Karsh standing on the sidleine. With this 61-35 victory, the Pios open there conference schedule 1-0 and head into a bye week to prepare for their first home game since Sep. 9 against conference rival Whitworth. That game will be played at Fred Wilson Field at 1pm Sat. Oct. 15.