MENLO FOOTBALL
Pacific Lutheran Lutes (5-2)
vs.
Menlo Oaks (1-5)
Saturday, November 6, 2004
1:00 PM
Connor Field – Atherton, Ca.

GETTING READY FOR THE LUTES: Pacific Lutheran is coming off a heart-breaking loss to Willamette last Saturday afternoon at home in Tacoma. Two short running touchdowns by the Bearcats in the last three and a half minutes secured the victory and gave the Lutes just their second loss of the season, both coming at home. Starting quarterback Dusty Macauley completed 8-19 pass attempts for 165 yards. Mark McCall had 4 receptions for 127 yards. Chase Reed gained 82 yards on 7 carries and Matt Steiner had 80 yards on 13 carries.

LAST TIME OUT: Menlo fell to 1-6 as the second-ranked Linfield Wildcats equaled a school-record with seven touchdown passes and won its 31st straight regular-season game, 69-13 Saturday at Maxwell Field in McMinnville. The Wildcats erupted for five touchdowns during an eight-minute span of the second quarter, turning an otherwise close game into a rout. Though Menlo controlled the ball for 21 minutes of the first half, Linfield took advantage of turnovers and special teams plays to open up a sizable lead. Linfield opened the scoring with a 13-play, 92-yard march to the end zone. Casey Allen capped the drive with a 1-yard reception from Elliott, giving the hosts an early 7-0 lead. Ray DeSenna booted a 26-yard field goal make it 7-3. After a Menlo turnover, Brandon Hazenberg took an Elliott pass and scooted into the end zone. Menlo marched 69 yards in 16 plays but had to settle for a 20-yard field goal by DeSenna. After another Oaks drive stalled, Hazenberg took a DeSenna punt to the end zone, racing a school-record 92 yards for the score. The Wildcats found pay dirt twice more before intermission, as Elliott passed 64 and 7 yards to Allen for a 49-6 lead with 1:38 left. After another Linfield score, Adam Hazel, in for Guglielmelli, hooked up with Russ Fukushima for the Oaks\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' first touchdown of the game, a 23-yard TD toss that made it 56-13. Fukushima now has three touchdown catches on the season. Marvin Stickel led the Oaks with six catches for 95 yards. Eddie Conner rushed for a game-high 100 yards on 27 carries for the Oaks. Guglielmelli was 11 for 24 for 161 yards. Hazel completed 3 of 12 for 49 yards. Linfield tallied 514 yards, including 313 through the air. The Oaks managed 331 yards of offense, 220 of which were passing yards.

THE SERIES: Saturday’s game will be the third meeting between the two schools. Each team has won one game in the series. Menlo won the first game in this match up, 32-29 in overtime, in 2002 in San Jose, Calif.

LAST SEASON: The Lutes won last year’s ball game 35-28 at Sparks Stadium on a touchdown with 6:34 left in the game.

WHEN THE OAKS HAVE THE BALL: Freshman Dustin Guglielmelli continues to be the starter for the Oaks as they approach Saturday’s match up with the Lutes. Last Saturday, Guglielmelli went 11for 24, passing for 161 yards. Eddie Conner ran for 100 yards Saturday, the second time this season. (147 yards against Cal Lutheran). Conner leads the Oaks with 449 yards on the ground this season. Marvin Stickel continues to be the top target for the Oaks. Stickel has 38 catches for 508 yards and six touchdowns on the year. Russ Fukushima has 13 catches for 169 yards and two scores in the last two games. The Oaks are averaging 377 yards of offense this season.

THE LUTES ON DEFENSE: Senior Linebacker Chris Linderman is the leading tackler for the Lutes with 43.5. Linderman has also recovered two fumbles and has a sack on the season. Defensive back Kurt Van Selus has 42.5 tackles on the season to go along with two interceptions and one fumble recovery. Linebacker Alex Jeffries has a team-high five and half sacks on the year, and 12 and a half tackles for losses. The Lutes are holding their opponents to 354 yards of offense this season.

WHEN THE LUTES HAVE THE BALL: The Lutes have a strong running game, averaging 259 yards on the ground, and ranking 19th in the nation. Running backs Matt Steiner and Ryan Simpson have both rushed for over 500 yards this season. Steiner leads the team 640 yards and four touchdowns. Simpson has run for 521 yards and four touchdowns. Mark McCall and Chase Reed are both listed as receivers, but both are considered threats on the ground. McCall leads the Lutes with five rushing touchdowns this season.

THE OAKS ON DEFENSE: The duo of defensive backs Kenny Wolfe and John North lead the defense for the Oaks. North has recorded a team-high 39 tackles and has one interception on the year from his safety spot. Wolfe has registered 37 tackles, including five and a half tackles for loss, and one sack. As a defense, the Oaks are giving up 388 yards of total offense by the opposition. The rush defense is giving up 169 yards per game, which will be a key number against PLU’s strong ground game.

IT\'S SENIOR DAY!: Menlo College will honor it\'s seniors this Saturday with a pre-game cerimony before competing in it\'s final home game of the 2004 season.

THE NORTHWEST / BAY AREA CONNECTION: The Lutes are made up of student-athletes from the Northwest. In fact, there is only one player on the PLU roster from the state of California. Menlo’s roster has no one from the state of Washington.