SPOKANE, Wash. – The #16/#19 Whitworth Pirates will officially begin defense of their Northwest Conference football title with the NWC opener on Saturday at Pacific Lutheran University. Kickoff for Saturday's game at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, Washington is 1:00 pm. Check the online football schedule for ticket information and live links.
Both schools are coming off a bye last Saturday. Whitworth (3-0) defeated Chapman 35-28 at home on September 21st while PLU (2-1) won 27-17 at Cal Lutheran. Both games were part of the annual NWC-SCIAC cross-over Saturday.
The Pirates: Whitworth trailed for the first time this season when Chapman took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter of the third matchup in 12 months between the squads. The Pirates scored 28 of the next 35 points to open a 28-14 third quarter lead and won 35-28 after the Panthers got within a touchdown with less than two minutes to play. Chapman outgained Whitworth 441-285, but the Bucs won the turnover battle 2-0 and used superior special teams for a strong edge in average starting field position.
For the third game in a row, Zach Brooks led the defense in tackles with nine stops. Jacob Brandvold added seven tackles and made his first career interception in the third quarter, leading directly to a Whitworth touchdown. The Pirates came up with six sacks in the game as JT Muñoz was in on three of those and Dylan Owen was part of two.
Ryan Blair threw a career-high five touchdown passes while completing 21 of 29 passes for 207 yards and no interceptions. Evan Liggett caught two of those touchdowns and finished with six catches for 95 yards. He now has seven touchdown receptions this season. Cameron Sheley added six pass receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown. Cade Conklin and Dawson Tobeck each caught the first touchdown pass of their respective careers. The Pirate running game was held in check for much of the game. Luis Salgado ran for 64 yards on 24 attempts.
As mentioned, the special teams allowed the Pirates to have an average starting field position of their own 45-yard line, while keeping the Panthers to a starting field position of the Chapman 24. Matthew Herzog punted seven times for an average of 41.9 yards and four of those kicks ended up inside the Chapman 20. Jake Gaffaney kicked off six times for an average of 61.5 yards with three touchbacks. Cameron Sheley had a 55-yard punt return and averaged 22.5 yards on two kickoff returns.
West Coast Crossover: September 21st was a crossover weekend between the Northwest Conference and the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. In addition to Whitworth's win over Chapman, Pacific Lutheran won 27-17 at Cal Lutheran, Linfield blanked Redlands 45-0, Pacific (Ore.) dominated Pomona-Pitzer 45-14, Puget Sound won 49-41 in overtime at La Verne and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps defeated George Fox 27-17, giving the NWC a 5-1 edge. With Occidental and Whitter dropping their football programs in the last couple of years, that left two NWC schools without a cross-over opponent. Lewis & Clark lost at home to NAIA powerhouse Montana Western 54-39 and Willamette had a bye week.
Team Captains: The Pirate team captains in 2024 are QB Ryan Blair and OG Jake Trost from the offense and ILB Zach Brooks and DT JT Muñoz from the defense. A special forces captain will be selected on a week-by-week basis. The week three special forces captain was Micajah Weisner.
Special Teams Captains, week-by-week: Sept. 7 – Luke Roberts; Sept. 14 – Ryan Kinney; Sept. 21 - Micajah Weisner.
In the Polls: The Pirates moved up in both Division III polls this week despite having a bye. Whitworth advanced two spots in the AFCA Coaches poll to 16th and one position in the D3football.com poll to 19th.
Whitworth was picked second in the Northwest Conference preseason poll behind Linfield. The Wildcats received seven first place votes to only one for the Bucs.
It's Better to Take than Give: Whitworth's defense is off to a blistering start taking away the ball. Early in the season the Pirates have 11 takeaways, which ranks fourth in NCAA Division III. More importantly, Whitworth leads the nation in turnover margin (11-1, or 3.3). The Bucs lead the NWC and rank seventh in Division III in pass interceptions with seven. Daniel McKeirnan, who earned first team All-NWC and led the Bucs in interceptions last season, already has three in 2024.
Touchdown Machine: Evan Liggett has seven touchdown receptions in 2024, which leads the NWC and ranks third in NCAA Division III. He has caught 18 passes for 309 yards, an average of 17.2 yards per reception. Liggett was a second team All-Northwest Conference honoree in 2023 when he caught seven touchdowns all season.
Inside Men: Zach Brooks and Caleb Shawen, Whitworth's pair of inside linebackers, are proving their worth in 2024. Brooks leads the NWC in tackles per game (10.7), while Shawen ranks eighth in tackles per game (6.7). Brooks was a first team All-NWC honoree in 2023, while Shawen claimed second team honors.
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 2024, the Pirates are 74-22 since 2014, a winning percentage of .771. That figure is better than the University of Washington (87-38, .696), Washington State (66-53, .555), Eastern Washington (76-42, .644), Central Washington (68-32, .680), Pacific Lutheran (39-47, .453) and Puget Sound (36-54, .400).
Above Water: The Pirates' all-time record in football now stands at 421-418-18. This season Whitworth moved above the .500 mark in all-time won-loss record for the first time since the Bucs were 32-31-2 before the start of the 1929 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. Whitworth won for the 400th time in school history on October 16, 2021 vs. PLU. 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 last 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.
Winning the Opener: Following the win at Gustavus Adolphus on Sept. 7, Whitworth has now won nine of its 11 season-openers under head coach Rod Sandberg. The Pirates are 5-1 at home and 4-1 on the road. Whitworth's only season-opening losses under Sandberg came in 2016 and 2022.
On the Air Again: Whitworth's games will air live this season on the internet at WhitworthPirates.com. Bud Nameck, familiar to listeners in Spokane as the (now retired) longtime host of the KXLY 920am Morning News, is in his tenth season as the voice of the Pirates in 2024. 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: Now in his 11th season, 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 77-22 record over that span, including three appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs (2015, 2018 and 2023). 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 .771 is the best among Whitworth coaches with at least five seasons and currently ranks among the top 10 active coaches in all of Division III. He coached the Pirates to the fourth unbeaten regular season in school history (9-0) in 2018 and repeated that accomplishment last season. 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 Lutes: Pacific Lutheran is 2-1 heading into Northwest Conference play, including a 27-17 road win at Cal Lutheran on September 21st. PLU has averaged 24.3 points and 331.7 yards of offense per game. The defense has been stout, giving up only 16.0 points and 247 yards per contest.
Brant McAdams is in his seventh season as head coach at PLU and led the team to its best season in a decade in 2022 (6-4 overall, 5-2 NWC), followed by a 5-5, 4-3 campaign in 2023. McAdams was previously the defensive coordinator at Trinity (Texas), his alma mater, for five seasons. He was also the defensive coordinator at Puget Sound for three years prior to Trinity.
The strong defense has been a team effort, but three players stand out. Linebacker Kalen Davis-White leads the team with 22 tackles and has forced a fumble. Defensive back Sam Morasch has three interceptions to go along with 13 tackles. And nearly half of defensive lineman Nico Gallo's 12 tackles have been for a loss. On offense, quarterback Darius Chaffin is a two-way threat who has completed 58.1% of his passes for 512 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions. He has also run for 102 yards and a score. His big-play target is WR Thor Stepina who has nine catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Jacob Schuh has rushed for 211 yards and a TD.
PLU defeated CLU 27-17 on the road after outgaining the Kingsmen 363-245, including a 278-75 edge in rushing yards. Chaffin completed 12 of 18 passes for 85 yards and ran 12 times for 94 yards and a score. Schuh picked up 120 yards running on 17 carries. Davis-White made five tackles, while Golla had four, including two tackles for loss.
Last Season: Whitworth opened a 35-13 halftime lead, thanks in part to a fumble return for a touchdown on the final play of the first half, on the way to a 42-13 win over PLU in the Northwest Conference opener for both teams in the Pine Bowl.
The Pirates ran for 167 net yards and three touchdowns as Whitworth controlled the line of scrimmage throughout most of the game, leading to significant advantages in first downs (24-15) and time of possession (36:04 – 23:56). The Pirates forced four turnovers on defense and special teams. None was bigger than Dylan Owens' strip sack on the final play of the first half that JT Muñoz picked up and ran for a 33-yard touchdown to give the Pirates a 35-13 lead at the break. Only seconds before PLU had pulled within 28-13 on a 95-yard touchdown pass and the Lutes would be getting the ball to start the third quarter. Daniel McKeirnan intercepted his third pass of the season and Joshua Lawson led the defense with eight tackles. Whitworth held PLU to only 4 of 13 on third down conversions and limited the Lutes to only one score in five trips to the red zone.
The Series: No other opponent has more wins against Whitworth than PLU. The Lutes lead the all-time series 52-28. It has been a series featuring winning streaks by each team. The Lutes won the first nine meetings between the schools. The Pirates won seven in a row from 1959 through 1964, outscoring PLU 310 – 28 during that stretch with six straight shutouts. Between 1966 and 2001, PLU won 32 straight games against the Bucs. The Pirates won six in a row from 2004-09, then the Lutes won five straight from 2010-14. Whitworth has won nine of the last ten, but the Lutes won the last game at Sparks Stadium 21-10 in 2022. The largest winning margin in the series is a 67-0 win for the Pirates in 1961. PLU's biggest margin of victory is 47-0 in 1970. The first meeting was a 27-0 victory for the Lutes in 1931.
A Tale of Two Cities: Over Rod Sandberg's ten seasons as head coach, Whitworth's results against Pacific Lutheran have varied widely depending on the location. In Spokane, the Pirates are 6-0 against the Lutes while outscoring PLU 247-79, an average score of 41-13. In Puyallup, however, Whitworth is only 3-2 against PLU and the Lutes have outscored the Bucs 134-117.
Coming up next: Whitworth will host Willamette on October 12th while celebrating Homecoming 2024 and the induction to the latest class of the Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame.
