SPOKANE, Wash. – Ian Kolste accounted for 454 yards of total offense and ran for three touchdowns to lead Whitworth past visiting Pacific 50-33 in a Northwest Conference football game on Saturday afternoon at the Pine Bowl.
The Pirates bounced back from their first loss of the season last week and improved to 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the NWC. The Boxers dropped to 5-3 and 3-2.
Whitworth rallied from a 21-10 deficit in the second quarter with 33 straight points to blow the game open midway through the fourth quarter.
Whitworth got on the board late in the first quarter when Duke DeGaetano carried in from two yards out to cap a 97-yard drive that made the score 7-0 with 2:12 to go in the first. Kolste set up the touchdown with an 18-yard run to the Pacific three-yard line after escaping a heavy pass rush.
But Pacific took only one play to tie the game when Warner Shaw used misdirection to set up Nathan Suyematsu with a short screen pass and Suyematsu went 70 yards for a touchdown.
Rehn Reiley's 45-yard field goal with 22 seconds left in the opening quarter gave the Pirates the lead back.
But it took Pacific only 28 seconds to retake the lead. Bronson Baretto's 45-yard run on the first play of the Boxers' next possession set up a 20-yard touchdown pass from Shaw to James Berry that gave Pacific a 14-10 lead.
The Boxers stretched the lead to 21-10 after an 87-yard drive that took six minutes. This time it was Zac Porche who caught the 20-yard touchdown pass from Shaw.
Whitworth answered quickly when Kolste hit Michael McKeown with a 59-yard touchdown to pull the Pirates to within 21-16 after a failed two point conversion.
After forcing Pacific to punt for only the second time in the game, the Pirates went 78 yards to retake the lead 23-21 when Kolste ran in from five yards out on 4th and 1 with 1:23 to play in the half.
The Boxers did not sit on the ball to close the half and it backfired when Taylor Roelofs intercepted Shaw at the Whitworth 37 yard line. The Pirates were able to move the ball deep into Pacific territory before Reiley hit a 19 yard field goal with four seconds left in the half, giving Whitworth a 26-21 lead at the break.
Shaw was intercepted again on Pacific's opening possession of the second half when Kelvin Mackey stepped in front of a pass at the Whitworth 31 yard line. The Pirates then drove for a touchdown that extended the lead to 33-21 when Kolste scored on a 19-yard run.
Kolste's final touchdown run of the game, this time from eight yards out, capped a 79-yard drive with 1:32 left in the third quarter and gave Whitworth a 40-21 lead.
The Pirates finished the 33-0 run with Reiley's third field goal of the game, from 32 yards away, with 9:57 left to play in the fourth quarter.
Pacific finally got back on the board when backup QB Campbell Summerfield threw a 13-yard TD pass to Berry with 5:50 to play.
After an unsuccessful onsides kick DeGaetano accounted for 49 of the 51 yards on Whitworth's final touchdown of the game. He ran in from one yard away to make the score 50-27 with 2:29 to go.
Pacific added a final touchdown with 1:24 to play when Summerfield hit Berry from 10 yards out.
Kolste completed 25 of 46 passes for 386 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. He also ran for 68 yards and had the three TDs on the ground. Garrett McKay caught ten passes for 116 yards while McKeown finished with seven grabs for 122 yards and a score. DeGaetano ran for 166 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries.
Shaw left the game after a hard hit late in the third quarter. He went 13 of 25 for 194 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He had come into the game with only two previous interceptions all season. Summerfield completed 14 of 23 passes for 187 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Berry caught nine passes for 120 yards and three touchdowns. Barretto ran 17 times for 107 yards.
There were 1,227 yards of combined total offense as Whitworth rolled up a season-high 648 yards in the game.
Daniel Portillo led the Whitworth defense with nine tackles, including a ten-yard sack. Mackey had eight stops to go with his interception. Patch Kulp had seven tackles and an interception.
Whitworth will return to action next Saturday at Willamette (2-5, 2-3).