SPOKANE, Wash. – It all comes down to one game for the Northwest Conference football championship as undefeated Whitworth travels to play undefeated Linfield on Saturday. The game kicks off at 1:00 pm and can be heard live on KSBN 1230am and on KSBN.net.
Whitworth (8-0 overall, 6-0 NWC) defeated George Fox 24-13 in the Pirates' home finale last Saturday. Linfield (8-0, 6-0) rolled to a 42-19 win at Pacific Lutheran. Check the Whitworth football schedule above for live coverage of the game.
An Historic Matchup: Thanks to Linfield's crack research team, it is confirmed that Saturday's game marks the first time in Northwest Conference history that two unbeaten teams will meet in the final game of the regular season. There have 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.
The Pirates: Whitworth fell behind in the second half for the first time since September 16th at Chapman before scoring two fourth quarter touchdowns in the 24-13 win over visiting George Fox. The Bucs got big plays on both sides of the ball to prevent the Bruins from pulling the upset on Whitworth's Senior Day.
Whitworth finished with 433 yards of offense, 287 through the air and 146 on the ground. All three touchdowns came on big plays. Solo Hines scored on a 67-yard run in the first quarter. Whitworth retook the lead with 13:37 to go in the game on a 61-yard screen pass from Austin Ewing to Luis Salgado. The final touchdown came on a trick play as receiver Dillon Kuk threw a 16-yard TD pass to Evan Liggett. The Pirates were able to go 73 yards in only 1:34, setting up Iden Bone's field goal as time expired in the first half. Ewing completed 21 of 30 passes for 261 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Liggett caught six passes for 91 yards and a score, while Kuk had five receptions for 32 yards. Hines ran for 86 yards on only five carries and totaled 152 all-purpose yards (53 on two kickoff returns and 12 on pass receptions), while Salgado finished with 132 all-purpose yards (80 receiving and 52 rushing).
The Pirate defense limited George Fox to 13 points and a single touchdown after the Bruins had scored 98 points in just the two previous games. GFU finished with 308 yards of offense. Zachary Brooks had 10 tackles, including a six-yard sack. He also forced a fumble and broke up a pass. JT Muñoz had two sacks among his seven tackles, forced a fumble and broke up a pass. Omari Williams and Caleb Shawen had nine stops each. Joshua Lawson picked off his first pass of the season at Whitworth's one yard line on the Bruins' final possession of the game.
Bone tied his career-long with the 32-yard field goal on the final play of the first half. He made all three of his extra points to improve to 47-47 on PATs this season. Bone also averaged 58.8 yards on his four kickoffs. Spencer King punted twice and averaged 36.0 yards.
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 Michael Workman.
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.
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 seventh in NCAA Division III. The Pirates lead the Northwest Conference, and rank 13th in NCAA Division III, in turnover margin (+1.50 per game) with 22 takeaways and ten 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 (4.12 per game). Whitworth has sacked opposing quarterbacks 33 times for 196 yards in losses. It has been a team effort with 17 different players sharing at least one sack. JT Muñoz leads the team with six sacks for 45 yards. The Bucs also lead the NWC in tackles for loss per game (7.6). Whitworth has 61 total tackles for losses of 250 yards.
Winning in the Redzone: Whitworth has won the redzone on offense and on defense in 2023. On offense, the Pirates have scored 33 out of 41 trips into the redzone, a .805 average that ranks second in the NWC. The Bucs have been even better on defense, limiting opponents to 18 scores on 29 trips to the redzone, a .621 clip that ranks second in the NWC and ranks 21st in NCAA Division III.
Scoring in Bunches: Whitworth is putting up points in near record-setting numbers this season. The Pirates have scored 359 points in eight games, an average of 44.9 points per contest. That average leads the NWC and ranks 13th 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 (3.12). 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 134 of 187 passes (71.66%) for 1,919 yards with 19 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Ewing has also run for four touchdowns this season. He leads the NWC, and ranks ninth in NCAA Division III, in passing efficiency with a rating of 189.2. He also leads the NWC and ranks eighth in DIII in yards per pass attempt (10.26).
He can really Kuk: Dillon Kuk has been an explosive receiver in 2023. He has ten touchdown catches this season, second in the NWC. Kuk also ranks second in the NWC in scoring (8.6 points per game). Kuk is second in the NWC and ranks 19th in Division III in yards per catch (20.39).
NWC/NCAA Leaders: Solo Hines leads the NWC and ranks seventh in Division III with three blocked kicks this season. On offense, Luis Salgado leads the conference in rushing touchdowns with eight. On defense, Daniel McKeirnan leads the NWC and ranks 10th in the country with five interceptions (0.6 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 416-417-18. 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 Wildcats: Linfield rolls into Saturday's game 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the NWC. The Wildcats are ranked 4th in the AFCA Division III coaches poll and 8th in the D3football.com poll. Linfield comes into the game averaging 44.0 points and 455.8 yards per game. The Wildcats are allowing only 14.5 points and 251.5 yards per contest.
Joseph Smith, a life-long Wildcat, is in his 18th season as Linfield's head coach. He carries a 156-28 record into Saturday's game. Smith previously served as a Wildcats' assistant coach for 13 seasons, including seven years as the defensive coordinator. Smith graduated from Linfield in 1993 after earning NAIA All-America honors (second team) as a corner back.
Linfield is dominant on offense and stingy on defense. Junior QB Blake Eaton, a first team All-NWC honoree in 2022, has completed 68.7% of his passes for 1620 yards with 20 touchdowns and two interceptions this season. Sophomore Luke McNabb filled in for Eaton last week at PLU and completed 22 of 32 passes for 249 yards with three scores and one interception, and he ran for 45 yards and a touchdown. The QBs have a strong group of receivers to throw to, lead by Devon Murray (Gr.) and Colton Smith (Sr.). Murray has 38 catches for 508 yards with nine touchdowns, while Smith has 40 receptions for 419 yards and five scores. Connor McNabb, also first team in 2022, is an outstanding running back who has 655 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 6.9 yards per carry. The other side of the line of scrimmage is led by 2022 NWC Defensive Player of the Year Blake Rybar, who has 46 tackles, an interception and five pass breakups this season. Junior cornerback Chance Sparks has four interceptions and a fumble recovery.
Linfield built a 42-0 lead early in the fourth quarter of last Saturday's 42-19 win at Pacific Lutheran. The Wildcats outgained the Lutes 468-261 and forced five PLU turnovers. Connor McNabb ran for 131 yards and caught a touchdown pass from his younger brother. Smith caught four passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. Sparks sparked the defense with an interception and a fumble recovery, while Rybar had a sack among his five tackles.
Last Meeting: The visiting Wildcats found their offensive groove in the second half, scoring on four straight possessions to pull away from the Pirates in a 35-17 victory. Linfield outgained Whitworth 442-288, including a 260-148 advantage in the second half. The Whitworth defense and special teams kept the Pirates in the game in the first half. Lindon Sevilleja came up with a big tackle on fourth down at the Whitworth two-yard line to prevent a touchdown after the 'Cats had gained an interception near midfield. The Pirate special teams recovered a pair of fumbles early in the game, one on a kickoff and another on a punt. Whitworth forced Linfield's only punt of the game in the first half. Atticus Templeton made seven solo tackles while Dylan Ventress was in on seven stops, and had a two-yard sack.
The Pirate offense scored a field goal on its opening drive, then struggled to find consistency until scoring two fourth quarter touchdowns. Ryan Blair completed 24 of 36 passes for 196 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Riley Morrison and Isaac Fields both made tough catches to haul in the touchdowns. Fields finished with five catches for 51 yards, while Morrison had four grabs for 36 yards. Blair was Whitworth's leading runner with 26 net yards, despite losing 18 on four sacks. Isaiah Jones ran for 23 yards on four carries.
The Series: Linfield leads the overall series 40-6-2. The Pirates ended an 11-game losing streak to the Wildcats in 2018. Linfield won the last game played in McMinnville 42-7 in 2021. The first meeting was a 13-13 tie in 1952. Linfield's largest margin of victory was 61-0 in 1966, while Whitworth's largest win was 41-13 in 1954. The Wildcats once had a 14-game winning streak in the series.
Coming up next: The winner of Saturday's game will earn the NWC's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. That field will be announced on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm (PST).
