SPOKANE, Wash. – Two-thirds of the way through its football schedule and Whitworth University remains unbeaten in 2023. The Pirates will put that to the test in a Northwest Conference road game at Lewis & Clark this Saturday. The game kicks off at 1:00 pm and can be heard live on KSBN 1230am and on KSBN.net.
Whitworth (6-0 overall, 4-0 NWC) defeated Pacific University 42-20 last Saturday in the Pine Bowl. Lewis & Clark (3-4, 2-2) is coming off a 49-14 loss at Pacific Lutheran. Check the Whitworth football schedule above for live coverage of the game.
The Pirates: Whitworth led 35-7 at halftime and 42-7 after three quarters before Pacific put up two late touchdowns in the Pirates' 42-20 victory. Whitworth posted season-highs in total offense (553 yards) and first downs (28).
Whitworth averaged 8.4 yards per play and threw for a season-high 390 yards. Austin Ewing completed 22 of 26 passes for 353 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Evan Liggett caught two of those touchdown passes (12 yards and 44 yards) and finished with seven receptions for 105 yards. Dillon Kuk added to his scoring totals with a 40-yard catch and run in the second quarter. Backup tight end Taylor Wells caught his first career TD. Luis Salgado rushed for 113 yards on only 13 carries (8.1 ypc) and scored a touchdown. Ryan Blair played the final 18 minutes of the game at quarterback and ran for Whitworth's final score. He completed 4-6 passes for 37 yards.
The Pirate defense limited the NWC's top runner to 81 yards on 19 carries and no touchdowns. Daniel McKeirnan was selected as the NWC's Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week following his two interception, nine-tackle performance. Zach Loveless made a team-high 11 tackles. Zach Brooks had eight tackles and a fumble recovery. Both tackles by JT Muñoz went for loss – a five-yard sack and a four-yard tackle for loss on a running play. Whitworth held Pacific to 4-13 on third down conversions.
Spencer King only had to punt twice in the game, but both were big efforts, 49 and 43 yards. Iden Bone made all six of his extra points and missed his only field goal attempt (34 yards) at the end of the first half. He averaged 61.3 yards per kickoff, with two touchbacks.
Team Captains: The Pirate team captains in 2023 are WR Dylan Ashbeck and QB Ryan Blair from the offense and safety Atticus Templeton and CB Tiliti Adams from the defense. A special forces captain is selected on a week-by-week basis. Last game was receiver Cameron Sheley.
Whitworth's special teams captains, week by week: Sept. 2 – LS Marcus Viramontes; Sept. 9 – KR Cameron Sheley; Sept. 16 – LB Zach Brooks; Sept. 30 – Luke Roberts; Oct. 7 – Zach Loveless; Oct. 14 – Jacob Brandvold; Oct. 21 – Cameron Sheley.
Offensive Defense: Whitworth's defense has been downright offensive this season, scoring four touchdowns. JT Muñoz had a 33-yard fumble return for a touchdown on the final play of the first half against Pacific Lutheran on September 30th. Muñoz now has two defensive touchdowns in his career following a fumble recovery touchdown against Puget Sound in 2022.
At Willamette on October 7th, Dylan Ventress and Atticus Templeton returned fumbles for touchdowns, while Omari Williams took an interception to the endzone. Whitworth's four defensive touchdowns leads the NWC and ranks third in NCAA Division III. The Pirates lead the Northwest Conference, and rank 12th in NCAA Division III, in turnover margin (+1.50 per game) with 18 takeaways and nine turnovers this season.
Party in the Backfield: The Whitworth defense has been disruptive in other ways this season. The Pirates lead the NWC and rank fourth in NCAA Division III in sacks (3.83 per game). Whitworth has sacked opposing quarterbacks 23 times for 135 yards in losses. It has been a team effort with 16 different players sharing at least one sack. The Bucs also lead the NWC in tackles for loss per game (7.3). Whitworth has 43 total tackles for losses of 170 yards.
Winning in the Redzone: Through five games of 2023, Whitworth has won the redzone on offense and on defense. On offense, the Pirates have scored 26 out of 32 trips into the redzone, a .812 average that ranks second in the NWC. The Bucs have been even better on defense, limiting opponents to 12 scores on 21 trips to the redzone, a .571 clip that ranks second in the NWC and ranks 17th in NCAA Division III.
To Protect and Serve: Whitworth had to replace four starters on the offensive line in 2023 and that group has developed into a strong unit for the Pirates. Kiefer Furness (LT), Jake McCabe (LG), Patton Miller (C), Jake Trost (RG) and Dillon Helle (RT, the only returnee) comprise the starting O-line. Whitworth ranks second in the NWC and ninth in all of NCAA Division III in tackles-for-loss allowed per game (3.5). The Pirates are also second in the conference in sacks allowed per game (1.17).
He can really Kuk: Dillon Kuk has been an explosive receiver this season. He has nine touchdown catches this season, which leads the NWC and ranks 19th in NCAA Division III. Kuk leads the NWC and ranks sixth in Division III in yards per catch (24.74).
NWC/NCAA Leaders: Solo Hines leads the NWC and ranks second in Division III with three blocked kicks this season. On offense, Luis Salgado leads the conference and 35th in the nation in rushing touchdowns with eight, while Austin Ewing leads the conference and is 5th in the nation in passing efficiency (194.7). On defense, Daniel McKeirnan leads the NWC and ranks third in the country with five interceptions (0.8 per game).
Leading the Evergreen State: Since Rod Sandberg took over as head coach in 2014, Whitworth has the best winning percentage of any football playing university in Washington State. Heading into 2023, the Pirates are 64-21 since 2014, a winning percentage of .753. That figure is better than the University of Washington (73-37, .664), Washington State (61-46, .570), Eastern Washington (72-35, .673), Central Washington (59-28, .678), Pacific Lutheran (34-42, .447) and Puget Sound (33-48, .407).
400+: Whitworth won for the 400th time in school history on October 16, 2021 vs. PLU. The Pirates' all-time record in football now stands at 413-417-18. The last time Whitworth was over the .500 mark in football was 1928, when the Bucs were 32-31-2 all-time following an 0-3 season. Whitworth won its 100th game in 1959, during Heritage Gallery member Sam Adams' second season. The 200th victory came in 1981 under Bruce Grambo and the 300th win came in 2006 when John Tully led the Pirates to an 11-1 finish. It took 55 years to get the 100th win, 22 more to get to 200 and 25 to get to 300. It took Whitworth only 15 years to get to 400. In 1997 Whitworth's all-time record in football was 248-337-18, 89 games under .500.
Perfect Ten: With the win over Puget Sound on October 14th, Whitworth clinched its tenth consecutive winning season under head coach Rod Sandberg. That extended the longest streak of winning campaigns in school history. The previous long streak of seven was set between 1959 and 1965.
West Coast Crossover: September 16th was part of a crossover weekend between the Northwest Conference and the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. In addition to Whitworth's 24-17 win at Chapman, Pacific Lutheran defeated California Lutheran and Linfield won at Redlands. George Fox lost at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Pacific (Ore.) fell at Pomona-Pitzer and La Verne won at Puget Sound, ending the weekend with three victories for each conference. Last season the NWC went 6-1 against the SCIAC on the crossover weekend, including Whitworth's 12-7 win over CMS.
Looking Back at 2022: Whitworth posted its ninth consecutive winning season under head coach Rod Sandberg, extending the longest stretch of winning campaigns in school history with a 28-17 win at Pacific (Ore.) on Nov. 5. A season-ending 28-14 loss to George Fox dropped the Pirates from a tie for second place to fourth place in the final Northwest Conference standings. Whitworth suffered back-to-back losses to Linfield and Pacific Lutheran early in the NWC schedule, costing the Pirates a chance at the league title. Whitworth opened the season with a 35-17 loss at eventual NCAA Division III playoff participant Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) before defeating Eastern Oregon and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.
Winning the Opener: Whitworth has won eight of its ten season-openers under head coach Rod Sandberg, including last week's win at Eastern Oregon. The Pirates are 5-1 at home and 3-1 on the road. Whitworth's only season-opening losses under Sandberg came in 2016 and 2022.
On the Air Again: Whitworth's games will once again be carried live this season on KSBN 1230am in Spokane. The relationship between Pirate athletics and KSBN goes back to 1994, a span of nearly 30 years. Bud Nameck, familiar to listeners in Spokane as the (now retired) longtime host of the KXLY 920am Morning News, is in his ninth season as the voice of the Pirates in 2023. He was the voice of Washington State University men's basketball for 22 years, and spent that same amount of time on the Cougar football broadcasts – the final three on play by play. He is a longtime resident of the Inland Northwest who began his career as the Sports Information Director and radio voice of Gonzaga University basketball and baseball in the 1980s.
The Head Coach: In nine seasons Rod Sandberg has entrenched himself in the Whitworth and NCAA record books as the Pirates' head football coach. Sandberg has guided the Pirates to a 64-21 record over that span, including two appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs (2015 and 2018). He is in second place in total victories in school history and no Pirate coach reached 50 victories as quickly as Sandberg. Sandberg's winning percentage of .753 is the best among Whitworth coaches with at least five seasons and currently ranks among the top 20 active coaches in all of Division III. He coached the Pirates to only the fourth unbeaten regular season in school history (9-0) in 2018 and only the second NCAA playoff victory (48-6 over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps). The Bucs' 15-game winning streak, counting the final five games of 2017 and the first ten of 2018, is the second-longest in school history. Whitworth was 6-4 in 2014, Sandberg's first season, the best first-year record for a Pirate football coach since Rod Enos led the team to a 6-3 mark in 1965. Sandberg spent 19 seasons on the defensive staff at Wheaton College (Ill.), including the last 11 as defensive coordinator. Wheaton made the NCAA Division III playoffs five times during Sandberg's tenure as defensive coordinator. The team never lost a first round playoff game and reached the Division III semifinals in 2008 and quarterfinals in 2003. Sandberg's 2007 and 2013 squads led the Collegiate Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, regarded as one of the strongest football leagues at the Division III level, in scoring defense. The Thunder were second in the league in scoring defense five other times.
The Pioneers: Lewis & Clark comes into its Homecoming Game on Saturday 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the NWC. L&C averages 410.7 yards and 29.43 points per game. The Pioneers allow 459.9 yards and 38.6 points per contest. Head coach Joe Bushman is 7-9 in his second season at Lewis & Clark. He previously served as offensive coordinator for the Pioneers for four seasons.
L&C is a senior-laden offense, including two effective quarterbacks. Cruz Montana, an honorable mention All-NWC selection in 2022, has completed 65.5% of his passes for 1118 yards with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. Fellow senior Trey Morris has shared time at QB, completing 62.3% for 915 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions. Morris is listed as the starter for Saturday. Senior WR Devon Guest has 39 receptions for 496 yards and four touchdowns. Elijah McGee, another senior, has 21 catches for 443 yards (21.1 ypc) and six touchdowns. Senior running back Elijah Washington has run for 450 yards and three scores. On defense senior linebacker Justin Hope leads the team with 49 tackles, including 4.0 tackles for loss. He also has one interception. Sophomore Reagan Thomas has made an impact in the secondary with an interception, 9 pass breakups and 21 tackles. Freshman place kicker Thien Hoang is 8 of 9 on his field goal attempts this season.
L&C's game at Pacific Lutheran got off to a bad start and got worse from there. PLU won 49-14 after returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown. The Pioneers turned the ball over four times. L&C actually outgained the Lutes 449-440 and had a seven-minute advantage in time of possession. Morris completed 19 of 31 passes for 251 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Montana completed 5 of 6 for 82 yards with one interception. Guest caught four passes for 111 yards with one touchdown catch. Thomas finished with six tackles and Hope had five.
Last Meeting: Trailing 14-7 midway through the first quarter, Whitworth outscored Lewis & Clark 59-14 the rest of the way in a 66-28 win in Portland in the NWC opener for both teams. The Pirates finished with strong advantages in first downs (34-12) and total offense (570-281).
The Whitworth offense had its best showing of the season, surpassing the previous season-high for points before halftime. Ryan Blair completed 29 of 34 passes (85%) for 407 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He played only three quarters. Twelve different players caught a pass in the game. Dillon Kuk had six grabs for 47 yards and a score. The running game showed improvement, picking up 140 yards on 35 carries. Solo Hines ran seven times for 44 yards and scored a touchdown. Luke Roberts scored twice in short-yardage situations. Whitworth never had to punt in the game.
After Lewis & Clark scored on three of its first five possessions, the Whitworth defense limited the Pioneers to 20 plays and 11 total yards over the next seven times the Pioneers had the ball. Dylan Ventress led the team with ten tackles. Patrick Serrano had eight stops, including three for losses of 13 yards. He also forced a fumble that was recovered by Dylan Owen in the third quarter, leading directly to another Pirate touchdown. Owen made five tackles and was in on two sacks for 15 yards.
Matthew Fiesta set up Whitworth's opening touchdown with a 43-yard kickoff return.
The Series: Whitworth leads the all-time series 39-13 and the Bucs have won 22 of the last 23 contests. The Pioneers' 30-22 win in 2011 is their only victory in that stretch. Whitworth won the 2006 game 70-3, the largest margin of victory for either team. The biggest margin of victory for Lewis & Clark was 49-26 in 1993. Lewis & Clark won the first-ever meeting between the schools, 19-0 in 1956.
Coming up next: Whitworth will host George Fox in the home finale on November 4th.
