College Football
Saturday, December 18
Division III title a family affair for PLU
Associated Press

SALEM, Va. (AP) -- With its unusual offensive formations, heavy doses of misdirection and maybe even its hand-holding players, Pacific Lutheran knows it will take teams a while to figure them out when seeing them for the first time.

Tim Lax
Rowan's Mike Warker gets pulled down by Pacific Lutheran's Tim Lax, left.

On Saturday in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, Rowan never did adjust and the Lutes rode Chad Johnson's near-flawless play and a defense that stifled the Profs' rushing attack to a 42-13 victory and the NCAA Division III championship.

The title, in only the Lutes' second NCAA season, also kept alive Rowan's dynasty of disappointment. The team from Glassboro, N.J., has made five trips to the Stagg Bowl in the last seven years, and has gone home empty each time.

But they never saw anything like what Pacific Lutheran offered up.

"It's so hard to scout us because we do so many different things," Johnson said after completing 18 of 28 passes for 276 yards, two touchdowns.

"When a team hasn't played us, it takes a while for them to adjust to us. You feel like you can do what you want for a while," Johnson said.

Pacific Lutheran (13-1), which moved up from NAIA Division II before last season, won the fourth football championship in Frosty Westering's 28 years as coach, adding the NCAA Division III title to NAIA crowns in 1980, '87 and '93.

Westering, 72, won his first title with son Scott playing tight end, and got this one with his son as his offensive coordinator and his grandson at quarterback. In the end, though, for this team, it's all one big family.

"We have so many guys who could be THE GUY on most teams," Johnson said. "But they've given up their ego to be part of something much bigger. That's neat."

Rowan (12-2) stunned longtime nemesis and Division III powerhouse Mount Union 24-17 in overtime last weekend, but had nothing left for the Lutes. They turned the ball over four times and had minus 63 yards rushing, a Stagg Bowl record.

"My worst fears were realized," said Rowan coach K.C. Keeler, adding that he was concerned about having time to prepare for the Lutes' complex offense.

"Our defense has played well against a lot of different offenses this season," Keeler said. "But they were giving us some stuff we hadn't seen before."

Johnson, a former Lutes ballboy, also managed to avoid the mistakes that fueled Rowan's defense-led run to the championship game. The Profs forced 21 turnovers in their first four playoff games with 15 interceptions, but had just one meaningless fumble recovery in the final minute in the championship.

"We didn't go from a great team that beat Mount Union to a bad team," Keeler said. "You have to give a lot of credit to what (the Lutes) did out there."

Former University of Washington running back Anthony Hicks also had a big day for the Lutes. The 230-pound fullback bulled his way to 73 yards and two touchdowns, giving him a record 11 during the Lutes' five-game run. He also caught four passes for 78 yards, including a screen he turned into a 45-yard gain.

The Lutes, who extended to 23 their streak of games without attempting a field goal, took a 7-0 lead just 2:07 into the game after freshman tailback Jason Frabasile fumbled at his own 31 on Rowan's first offensive play.

On the next play, Johnson zipped a pass into the hands of Todd McDevitt between defensive backs and McDevitt took it into the end zone. The pair also combined on a 13-yard TD after another turnover early in the third quarter.

Rowan pulled even at 7-7 with 2:10 left in the first quarter on freshman quarterback Mike Warker's 1-yard dive, but didn't score again until it was 35-7.

The Lutes other TDs came on a 5-yard run by Kevin Lint on a misdirection that froze the Profs defenders, and a 1-yard dive by Johnson 1:05 before halftime.

Taman Bryant caught a Stagg Bowl record 13 passes for 141 yards for the Profs, including a leaping 26-yard touchdown grab in the left corner of the end zone.

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