SPOKANE, Wash. – The #12/#14 Whitworth Pirates head back on the road this week to the western side of the state to take on the Puget Sound Loggers in a Northwest Conference football clash. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm at Baker Stadium. Check the online football schedule live links.
Whitworth (5-0 overall, 2-0 NWC) defeated Willamette 48-0 during Homecoming festivities last Saturday. Puget Sound (1-4, 0-2) fell 40-14 at George Fox.
The Pirates: Whitworth scored touchdowns on six consecutive possessions between the end of the first quarter and the start of the third quarter while posting its first shutout in two seasons in a 48-0 victory over Willamette.
Quarterback Ryan Blair completed 17 of 22 passes for 304 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions and finished with 316 yards of total offense to earn a weekly honor from the NWC. Once again, his most dangerous target was Evan Liggett, who caught five passes for 97 yards and two scores – one a 44-yard bomb and the other a one-handed catch from six yards away. Dawson Tobeck caught five passes for 98 yards with one touchdown, his third straight game with a TD catch. Whitworth's running game came alive with 185 yards on 25 carries (7.4 yards per carry). Luis Salgado ran 10 times for 75 yards and two touchdowns, while Kurt Solano picked up 68 yards on six carries.
Whitworth held Willamette to three-and-out on five of its first six possessions to help build a 35-0 halftime lead. The Bearcats had only 75 yards of offense at halftime. Zach Brooks led Whitworth in tackles for the fifth straight game with ten stops, along with a pass breakup. Micajah Weisner made eight tackles in his first career start at Pirate. Whitworth forced two fumbles. The first was forced and recovered by Trevor Gravelle, who added four tackles. Caden Keithley forced the other at the Pirates' one yard line with only seconds to play in the game, punching the ball out from the receiver's possession and through the endzone for a touchback that preserved the shutout.
Iden Bone had his best day of the season, making a pair of 29-yard yard field goals and all six of his extra points. Matthew Herzog only punted twice, including a career-best 58-yard effort. Jake Gaffaney averaged 61.5 yards per kickoff, with three touchbacks. Tyson Hoke returned a pair of punts for a total of 23 yards.
Blair honored by NWC: Ryan Blair is this week's NWC Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week in football. He only played the first half and one possession of the second half, yet still threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns to hep the Pirates build a 42-0 lead over Willamette. He is the second Whitworth player selected for the award this season, following Evan Liggett after the season-opening win at Gustavus Adolphus.
Sandberg wins in 100th game: Rod Sandberg coached his 100th game at Whitworth on Oct. 5 at Pacific Lutheran. Only John Tully, who went 131-103 in 24 seasons as Pirate head coach, reached the 100-game plateau at Whitworth. Sandberg is 79-22 in his 11th season.
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 is selected on a week-by-week basis. The game four special forces captain was Chris Knutson.
Special Forces Captains, week-by-week: Sept. 7 – Luke Roberts; Sept. 14 – Ryan Kinney; Sept. 21 - Micajah Weisner; Oct. 5 – Dawson Tobeck; Oct. 12 – Chris Knutson.
In the Polls: The Pirates moved up in both Division III polls this week after the win over Willamette. Whitworth advanced two spots in the AFCA Coaches poll to 12th and four positions in the D3football.com poll to 14th.
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. Through four games this season the Pirates have 14 takeaways, which leads the NWC and ranks 8th in NCAA Division III. More importantly, Whitworth leads the nation in turnover margin (14-1, or +2.6 per game). The Bucs are second in the NWC and rank 22nd in Division III in pass interceptions with eight. Daniel McKeirnan, who earned first team All-NWC and led the Bucs in interceptions last season, has three in 2024.
Selfish with the Ball: On the flip side, the Pirate offense has been downright selfish with the ball. Whitworth leads all of NCAA Division III in turnovers lost with one. The Pirates gave up one interception in the first half of the season opener at Gustavus Adolphus and have gone 18 quarters without a turnover since. Whitworth is one of 15 NCAA Division III teams not to have given up a fumble so far this season.
Touchdown Machine: Evan Liggett has ten touchdown receptions in 2024, which leads all of NCAA Division III and is more than double any other player in the NWC. He has caught 29 passes for 555 yards, an average of 19.1 yards per reception. He leads the NWC in receiving yards and yards per reception. Liggett was a second team All-Northwest Conference honoree in 2023 when he caught seven touchdowns.
Surgical Precision: Ryan Blair has thrown the ball to devastating effect for Whitworth's opponents in 2024. He has completed 101 of 150 passes (67.3%) for 1347 yards with 20 touchdowns and only one interception. His passing efficiency rating of 185.4 leads the NWC and ranks 16th in NCAA Division III. He leads the NWC and ranks third in NCAA Division III in touchdown passes.
Inside Men: Zach Brooks and Caleb Shawen, Whitworth's pair of inside linebackers, are proving their worth in 2024. Brooks leads the NWC, and ranks seventh in Division III, in tackles per game (11.0), while Shawen is second on the team in tackles per game (6.0) with an interception and two breakups. 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 423-418-18. 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 record in football was 248-337-18, 89 games under .500. Since that point Whitworth is 175-81.
11 would be Heaven: With one more win this season Whitworth would clinch its 11th consecutive winning season under head coach Rod Sandberg. That would extend 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 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 Internet: 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 79-22 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 Loggers: Puget Sound comes into Saturday's game 1-4 overall and 0-2 in the NWC. The Loggers are coming off a 40-14 loss at George Fox last Saturday. UPS has one of the most prolific offenses in the NWC, averaging 424.8 yards and 27.4 points per game. The Loggers have allowed 464.2 yards and 49.8 points per contest. Head coach Jeff Thomas is in his 15th year at UPS and has posted a 39-91 record.
Senior QB Mason Bining leads the NWC in passing yards (1464) and passing yards per game (292.8). He has completed 58% of his throws for 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. Junior WR Joe Gallagher leads the conference in pass receptions (60) for 490 yards with four touchdowns. Sophomore WR Isaac Tran is second in the NWC in receptions (45) and receiving yards (550) to go along with three touchdowns. But it's not all about the pass for UPS as senior RB Henry Hernandez averages 89 yards per game and 4.9 yards per carry with four touchdowns. Senior DB Tamaaulelei Maalona leads the Loggers in tackles with 33. Senior LB Max Arneklev has 30 tackles, including 3.5 for losses of 18 yards.
Last week UPS struggled to get the offense going in a 40-14 loss at George Fox. The Bruins outgained the Loggers 455-228 and led 30-7 at halftime. Bining completed 24 of 46 passes for 184 yards with one touchdown. Gallagher caught that touchdown, among his 12 receptions for 78 yards. Hernandez carried nine times for 34 yards. Arneklev finished with eight tackles, while Maalona had five stops and an interception that he returned 45 yards.
Last Season: Whitworth scored touchdowns on its first eight possessions, put up 42 points in the second quarter and went ahead 49-7 at halftime on the way to a 63-21 win over Puget Sound on Homecoming Day in the Pine Bowl.
The Pirates ran for a season-high 299 yards on 40 carries, averaging 7.5 yards per carry. Luis Salgado only ran the ball five times, but those rushes amounted to 119 yards and three touchdowns. One of those runs was a career-high 71-yard burst in the second quarter. Whitworth finished with 465 total yards and only threw 13 passes in the entire game. Of the Pirates' first eight scoring drives, six took three plays or less. The Pirate defense came away with nine sacks for 55 yards and 12 total tackles for loss. Ryan Kinney finished with a team-high eight tackles. Five of the sacks came from Dylan Owen (2.5 for 19 yards) and JT Muñoz (2.0 for 11 yards). Muñoz also had two of Whitworth's seven QB hurries. Luke McCorkle nabbed his first interception of the season. After Puget Sound gained 140 total yards on its first two possessions, the Loggers' high-powered offense picked up only 195 over the rest of the game. Iden Bone made all nine of his extra points and averaged 56.6 yards per kickoff. The Pirates only punted once.
The Series: Puget Sound is Whitworth's oldest and longest running football rival. Whitworth's first official collegiate game was a 6-0 victory over the College of Puget Sound in 1904 (when Whitworth was located near Tacoma). The teams have played each other 76 times and the Pirates hold a 49-26-1 edge in the series with the Loggers. The biggest Pirate win in the series was 70-11 in 2012. The biggest Logger win (41-0) came in 1967. Puget Sound ended a 23-game losing streak to Whitworth in 2019 with a 34-23 victory at Baker Stadium.
Coming up next: Whitworth will play a second straight road game on Saturday, October 26th when the Pirates visit Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon.
