SPOKANE, Wash. – The #10/#14 Whitworth Pirates are returning home for the first time in three weeks. Whitworth hosts Lewis & Clark in a Northwest Conference football game on Saturday in the Pine Bowl. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 pm. Check the online football schedule live links.
Whitworth (7-0 overall, 4-0 NWC) won 39-32 at Pacific (Ore.) last Saturday. Lewis & Clark (3-4, 2-2) dropped a heart-breaking 31-28 decision to Pacific Lutheran.
The Pirates: Luis Salgado dominated Saturday's 39-32 win at Pacific in record-setting fashion, rushing for 365 yards on 25 carries (14.6 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. His 79-yard touchdown run in the second quarter tied the game 10-10 and is the longest run of his career. Salgado's previous career-best day came just the previous week at Puget Sound when he ran for 168 yards.
The Pirates finished with 537 yards, a season-best 385 on the ground. Whitworth averaged 10.7 yards per play. Ryan Blair completed 12 of 17 passes for 152 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. Both touchdown passes went to Evan Liggett, who finished with six catches for 73 yards. Whitworth committed a season-high nine penalties for 80 yards.
The defense allowed 455 yards on 71 plays (6.4 yards per play), including a season-high 192 rushing yards. Zach Brooks had another big day with 12 tackles to lead the team for the sixth time in seven games. He also had the Pirates' only takeaway, an interception in the second quarter near midfield that led directly to a touchdown seven plays later for a 24-10 Whitworth lead. Nathan Hummel added a career-high 10 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.
Iden Bone made his only field goal attempt on Whitworth's first possession of the game. He also was 4-4 on extra points. Matthew Herzog punted only twice for an average of 36.5 yards. Jake Gaffaney kicked off seven times for an average of 58.3 yards per kick.
Salgado honored by NWC/D3football: Luis Salgado is the NWC's offensive student-athlete of the week in football and is part of the D3football.com Team of the Week for his performance in Saturday's win over Pacific. With a record 365 rushing yards and 21 receiving yards, Salgado also broke the previous school mark for all-purpose yards (324 - set by Adam Anderson in 2006) with 386. In addition to setting school records, , he surpassed the previous single-game high for rushing yards in Division III this year by more than 100 yards. He is the third Pirate named to the D3football.com Team of the Week in 2024, following nods to Evan Liggett and Daniel McKiernan following the season-opening 40-7 victory at Gustavus Adolphus.
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. Last week's special forces captain was Daniel McKiernan.
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; Oct. 19 – Trey Rose; Oct. 26 – Daniel McKiernan.
In the Polls: The Pirates remained in the same positions in this week's AFCA Coaches poll (10th) and D3football.com poll (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 has been downright effective taking away the ball in 2024. Through seven games this season the Pirates have 16 takeaways, which leads the NWC and ranks 24th in NCAA Division III. More importantly, Whitworth is second in the nation in turnover margin (16-2, or +2.00 turnovers per game). The Bucs are second in the NWC and rank 25th in Division III in fumbled recovered (7) and second in the NWC in pass interceptions with nine. 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 two (tied with Westminster). The Pirates gave up one interception in the first half of the season opener at Gustavus Adolphus and have gone 25 quarters without a turnover until the third quarter at Pacific. Whitworth is one of only six NCAA Division III teams not to have given up a fumble so far this season.
Touchdown Machine: Evan Liggett has 14 touchdown receptions in 2024, which is second in all of NCAA Division III and double any other player in the NWC. He has caught 39 passes for 758 yards, an average of 19.4 yards per reception, which leads the NWC. He is on track to become the first Pirate with 1,000 receiving yards since Garrett McKay in 2018 and is only one touchdown catch away from tying Michael Allen's record for receiving touchdowns in a season (15 in 2005). 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 133 of 201 passes (66.2%) for 1862 yards with 27 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Blair threw 181 passes between his first and second interceptions of the season. He leads the NWC and is fifth in NCAA DIII in touchdown passes. Blair needs two more touchdown passes to tie Whitworth's single season record of 29, shared by Joel Clark (2005) and Ian Kolste (2016). His passing efficiency rating of 186.3 leads the NWC and ranks 12th in NCAA Division III.
Running Man: Luis Salgado has shot up the rankings for rushing yards over the last two weeks (533 combined yards). He now has 924 yards this season (5th in NCAA Div. III) and is averaging 132.0 yards per game (4th in Division III). His average of 7.28 yards per carry is 11th in Division III. He is on track to become Whitworth's first 1,000-yard rusher since Duke DeGaetano ran for 1,001 yards in 2016.
Inside Man: Zach Brooks, Whitworth's inside linebacker, is proving his worth in 2024. Brooks leads the NWC, and ranks 12th in Division III, in tackles per game (10.4). He has 73 tackles in 2024. The next closest total in the NWC is 52. Brooks, who was a first team All-NWC honoree in 2023, led Whitworth in tackles in six out of seven games of the season.
11th Heaven: With the win over Puget Sound on October 19th, Whitworth clinched its 11th 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.
Above Water: The Pirates' all-time record in football now stands at 425-418-18. 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 177-81.
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: This season Whitworth's games air live on the internet at WhitworthPirates.com. Inland Northwest Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Bud Nameck, familiar in Spokane as the KXLY channel 4 sports director for over 20 years and the 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 81-22 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.
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.
The Pioneers: Lewis & Clark is 3-4 overall and 2-2 in the NWC heading into Saturday's game. The Pioneers rallied a 28-7 deficit against PLU last week before falling 31-28 at home. L&C had two chances at a game-tying field goal. The Pioneers average 411.0 yards and 34.1 points per game. They have allowed 35.3 points and 448 yards per contest. Head coach Joe Bushman is 12-14 in his third season at Lewis & Clark. He previously served as offensive coordinator for the Pioneers for four seasons.
First year QB Oa Kamakawiwoole has been a breakthrough for the Pioneers this season, completing 117 of 167 passes (70.6%) for 1573 yards with 12 touchdowns and only one interception. His favorite target is wide receiver Devon Guest, who has 42 catches for 632 yards and seven touchdowns. Sophomore tight end Julius Walker has five touchdown catches among his 24 receptions for 281 yards. Sophomore Chili Stephens is the leading runner with 375 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore placekicker Thien Hoang is 7-9 on field goal attempts and 28-28 on PATs this season. Linebacker Justin Hope (Gr.) is the defensive leader with 50 tackles, including two sacks, an interception and two forced fumbles.
Last week visiting PLU took a 28-7 lead early in the third quarter before L&C rallied to within 31-28 in the fourth. The Pioneers had two chances at a game-tying field goal in the final period, but Hoang missed difficult efforts from 42 and 40 yards, which were his first two missed kicks of the season. The second attempt was on the final play of the game. Kamakawiwoole completed 30 of 39 passes for 364 yards with a touchdown. Guest caught ten passes for 142 yards and the one touchdown pass. Hope finished with ten tackles, including one for loss.
Last Season: Whitworth posted season-highs for total points (63, tie), total offense (606) and first downs (35) in last season's 63-21 win at Lewis & Clark. Whitworth scored touchdowns on nine of ten possessions in the game. The Pirates threw for 333 yards and ran for 273 in their most balanced offensive output of the season. Wide receiver Caelin Johnson had two touchdowns among his three receptions. Tight end James Lee led the Bucs with five catches for 44 yards. The Pirate defense came up with six sacks for 34 yards and two takeaways. One of the takeaways was an interception by Joshua Lawson late in the first half that prevented a Lewis & Clark scoring opportunity. Late in the third quarter Dylan Owens' sack forced a fumble that was recovered by Lane Watkins. Zach Brooks had seven tackles, including a tackle for loss, and broke up a pass, while Caleb Shawen made six stops. Nathan DePaolo had one of his best games, coming up with five tackles, including an eight-yard sack and another tackle for loss. Iden Bone made all nine of his extra points and averaged 55.6 yards per kickoff on a windy day in Portland. Whitworth did not punt in the game.
The Series: Whitworth leads the all-time series 40-13 and the Bucs have won 23 of the last 24 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 head back on the road to play at George Fox on November 9th.
