SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth University has advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III football playoffs and the Pirates' reward is a contest against 3rd-ranked Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa this Saturday (Nov. 25). The game kicks off at noon (CST) / 10:00 am (PST) and can be heard live on KSBN 1230am and on KSBN.net. Check the Whitworth football schedule above for other links to live coverage of the game.
No. 18/20 Whitworth (10-0) defeated Chapman 42-28 in a first-round game last Saturday in the Pine Bowl. Wartburg (11-0) hammered Illinois College 49-14 in its first round contest.
Tickets: Tickets costs for Saturday's game are $10 for adults and $7 for seniors, students and children. Children under 5 are free. There are no ticket presales and tickets will only be available at the gate. The ticket window will open at 10:30 am on Saturday.
NCAA Playoff Info: The NCAA Division III football playoffs consist of a 32-team field. The championship game, known as the Stagg Bowl, will be played on Friday, December 15th in Salem, Virginia. All games up to final are played on campus and will start at noon local time. Click here for an interactive online bracket.
Sixteen teams remain in the field and all eight games on Saturday will take place at noon, local time.
Playoff History: Whitworth last appeared in the NCAA DIII playoffs in 2018 following a 10-0 regular season. The Bucs rolled past Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 48-6 in the first round, then lost 45-24 on the road at 3rd-ranked St. John's. In 2015 the Pirates were invited as an at-large participant and lost 48-10 at 2nd-ranked Linfield in the first round. In 2006 Whitworth finished the regular season 10-0 and defeated an unbeaten Occidental squad 27-23 in the first round of the tournament in the Pine Bowl. The Pirates fell to St. John's (Minn.) 21-3 in the second round, also played in the Pine Bowl. Whitworth's first NCAA playoff appearance came in 2001 when the Pirates lost at home to Pacific Lutheran 27-26 in overtime in the first round. The Bucs had one NAIA playoff appearance, falling 13-7 at Humboldt State in the semifinals in 1960.
Wartburg is in the NCAA Division III playoffs for the 16th time. The Knights are 15-15 all-time in the playoffs, including last season's run to the NCAA Division III semifinals.
The Pirates: Whitworth outscored visiting Chapman 21-0 from the end of the second quarter to the beginning of the fourth quarter, opening a 35-14 lead on the way to a 42-28 win in the first round of the NCAA Division III football playoffs last Saturday in the Pine Bowl. In a cleanly-played contest, neither team turned the ball over and there were only five total penalties.
The Pirates rolled up 557 yards of offense, 414 yards passing and 160 on the ground. Quarterback Austin Ewing completed 28 of 36 passes for 414 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. WR Evan Liggett had a big day with eight receptions for 126 yards, while fellow WR Dillon Kuk caught seven passes for 97 yards. Running backs Solo Hines and Luis Salgado caught the touchdown passes. Hines turned a swing pass into a 66-yard score and ran for 59 yards and three touchdowns for a career-high four TDs. Salgado totaled 99 yards on 13 carries (7.6 ypc) and ran for a score.
After allowing 225 yards in the first half, the Whitworth defense limited Chapman to 12 yards in the decisive third quarter and 141 total in the second half. Caleb Shawen led the Pirate defense with a career-high 12 tackles, including one for a three-yard loss. Zachary Brooks and Daniel McKeirnan had eight stops apiece. Nathaniel Hummel had two of Whitworth's four sacks.
Iden Bone made all six of his extra points to improve to 60-60 on PATs this season but missed his only field goal attempt. Bone also averaged 45.1 yards on his seven kickoffs, including two squib kicks. Spencer King punted twice and averaged 38.5 yards. Jarvis Natividad opened the game with a 37-yard kickoff return that set up Whitworth's first touchdown drive.
National rankings: Following a dramatic 28-24 win at Linfield, Whitworth made its debut in both prominent NCAA Division III polls last week. The Pirates are ranked 20th in the D3football.com top-25 poll and tied for 18th in the AFCA Division III Coaches Poll.
Unblemished Bucs: Only five previous teams in Whitworth history have finished a regular season unbeaten. The first time came in 1954 when Jim Lounsberry's Pirates went 8-0, outscoring opponents 269-40. The 1955 team kept the streak going with a 9-0 record, giving up only 34 points all season. The 1960 Pirates finished 9-0 under Sam Adams during the regular season before losing 13-7 at Humboldt State in the NAIA semifinals. Forty-six years later Whitworth went 10-0 during the regular season under John Tully, finishing 11-1 after falling to St. John's (Minn.) in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs. In 2018 the Pirates finished 9-0 in the regular season under head coach Rod Sandberg and advance to the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
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 defensive back Chris Knutson.
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; Oct. 28 – Riley Morrison; Nov. 4 – Michael Workman; Nov. 11 – Dylan Ashbeck; Nov. 18 – Chris Knutson.
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 12th in NCAA Division III. The Pirates are second in the Northwest Conference, and rank 26th in NCAA Division III, in turnover margin (+1.10 per game) with 24 takeaways and 13 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 second in NCAA Division III in sacks (3.90 per game). Whitworth has sacked opposing quarterbacks 39 times for 223 yards in losses. It has been a team effort with 17 different players sharing at least one sack. JT Muñoz and Dylan Owen lead the team with six sacks apiece. The Bucs also lead the NWC in tackles for loss per game (7.2). Whitworth has 72 total tackles for losses of 289 yards.
Winning in the Redzone: Whitworth has won the redzone on offense and on defense in 2023. On offense, the Pirates have scored 41 out of 52 trips into the redzone, a .788 average. The Bucs have been even better on defense, limiting opponents to 23 scores on 36 trips to the redzone, a .639 clip that ranks second in the NWC and ranks 27th in NCAA Division III.
Scoring in Bunches: Whitworth is putting up points in near record-setting numbers this season. The Pirates have scored 429 points in ten games, an average of 42.9 points per contest. That average leads the NWC and ranks 15th in NCAA Division III. The scoring pace is just off the school record average of 45.9 points per game, set in 2016.
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. Whitworth leads the NWC and ranks fourth in all of NCAA Division III in tackles-for-loss allowed per game (3.20). The Pirates also lead the conference in sacks allowed per game (1.00). The starting line is comprised of Kiefer Furness (LT), Jake McCabe (LG), Patton Miller (C), Jake Trost (RG) and Dillon Helle (RT).
Flyin' Hawaiian: Graduate transfer quarterback Austin Ewing is having a big impact on Whitworth's success this season. He has completed 199 of 275 passes (72.36%) for 2,671 yards with 23 touchdowns and only five interceptions. Ewing has also run for five touchdowns this season. He leads the NWC, and ranks 13th in NCAA Division III, in passing efficiency with a rating of 177.9. He also leads the NWC and ranks 11th in DIII in yards per pass attempt (9.71).
He can really Kuk: Dillon Kuk has been an explosive receiver in 2023 with 47 receptions for 822 yards. He has 11 touchdown catches this season, second in the NWC. Kuk averages 17.49 yards per catch to lead a talented group of receivers in that category.
NWC/NCAA Leaders: Solo Hines leads the NWC and ranks 10th in Division III with three blocked kicks this season. On defense, Daniel McKeirnan is second in the NWC and ranks 25th in the country with five interceptions (0.5 per game), while Zach Brooks is tied for the lead in the NWC in fumble recoveries (3).
An Historic Matchup: Thanks to Linfield's crack research team, it was confirmed that the Linfield-Whitworth game marked the first time in Northwest Conference history that two unbeaten teams met in the final game of the regular season. There had been occasions when two schools met in the regular season finale with unbeaten conference records. The most recent years where 2004 and 2005, when Linfield and Willamette collided with unbeaten NWC records. Linfield won both contests.
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).
Above Water: Whitworth won for the 400th time in school history on October 16, 2021 vs. PLU. After Saturday's win over Chapman, the Pirates' all-time record in football now stands at 418-417-18, marking the first time Whitworth is over the .500 mark since the Bucs were 32-31-2 all-time after an 0-3 record during the 1928 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. In 2022 the NWC went 6-1 against the SCIAC on the crossover weekend, including Whitworth's 12-7 win over CMS.
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 Knights: Located in Waverly, Iowa and affilliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Wartburg College is 11-0 and ranked third in both the D3football.com poll and the AFCA Div. III coaches poll. Wartburg won the American Rivers Conference for the second year in a row with an 8-0 record. The Knights, who advanced to the 2022 NCAA Division III semifinals, average 43.64 points and 458.4 yards per game. They allow only 9.36 points and 239.2 yards per game, the fourth-best scoring defense in NCAA Div. III.
Chris Winter is in his third season as head coach at Wartburg, and his 19th year on the staff. He is 30-4 as the Knight's head coach and is a two-time American Rivers Conference Coach of the Year (2022 and 2023).
Running back Hunter Clasen is the 2023 ARC Offensive MVP. The 5th-year player has run for 1,379 yards (6.5 ypc) and scored 19 touchdowns. He's also a receiving threat with 19 catches for 168 yards and two more scores. Quarterback Nile McLaughlin, another 5th-year player, is a second team All-ARC selection who has completed 61.24% of his passes for 2754 yards with 30 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has a variety of talented choices to throw to, including 2nd Team All-ARC tight end Thomas Butters (29 receptions, 291 yards, 5 touchdowns). The defense is led by 2023 ARC Defensive MVP Owen Grover. The 5th-year linebacker has 87 tackles and one interception. First team All-Conference defensive lineman Jordan Downing (5th-year) has 12.5 tackles for loss, including nine sacks, totaling 77 yards in losses. First team All-ARC defensive back Parker Rochford (Jr.) has seven interceptions, nine passes defended and 45 tackles.
Wartburg rolled to a 42-7 halftime lead against visiting Illinois College on the way to an easy 49-14 win in the first round of the playoffs last Saturday. The Knights outgained the Blueboys 563-344, including 300 yards rushing. Clasen ran for 152 yards and one touchdown, while backup Dawson Rud rushed for 125 yards and a score. McLaughlin completed 21 of 34 passes for 252 yards with three touchdowns. His favorite target on Saturday was junior WR Henry Carter, who had five catches for 115 yards and two scores. Downing led the defense with six tackles and one of the Knights' four sacks. Rochford had one of Wartburg's two interceptions.
The Series: Whitworth and Wartburg have never played in football. Whitworth's only history in football with the American Rivers Conference was a home-and-home series with Central College (Iowa) in 2016 and 2017. The Dutch defeated Whitworth 50-49 in an overtime thriller in Spokane in the first game of 2016 by converting a two-point PAT. The Pirates returned the favor in a big way the following season, rolling to a 56-13 win at Central in the hosts' second-largest margin of defeat in their history at that time.
Coming up next: The winner of Saturday's game will face the winner of a game between 5th-ranked Wis.-Whitewater (10-1) and 10th-ranked Wheaton (Ill.) (10-1) at a location to be determined.
