SPOKANE, Wash. – The #10/#15 Whitworth Pirates head to the final regular season road game on the 2024 schedule this weekend. Whitworth will take on George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon at 1:05 pm on Saturday. Check the online football schedule live links.
Whitworth (8-0 overall, 5-0 NWC) defeated Lewis & Clark 48-9 last Saturday. George Fox (4-4, 2-3) lost 24-14 at Pacific Lutheran.
The Pirates: Whitworth played well on both sides of the ball against the Pioneers and set some significant records along the way in last Saturday's 48-9 win in the Pine Bowl.
The Pirates rolled up a season-high 631 yards and averaged more than 10 yards per play for the third consecutive game. Ryan Blair completed 25 of 34 passes (73.5%) for a career-high 465 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. His third touchdown pass of the game went to Evan Liggett and it broke two records on the same play. Blair's throw was his 30th touchdown pass of the season, surpassing the old school record of 29 shared by Joel Clark (2005) and Ian Kolste (2016). Liggett's catch was his 16th touchdown reception of the season, breaking the old record of 15 set by Michael Allen (2005). Liggett finished with seven receptions for a career-high 225 yards (32.1 yards per catch) and two touchdowns. Taylor Wells caught his first touchdown pass of the season. Luis Salgado ran for 90 yards on 17 carries and became the first Whitworth player to gain more than 1,000 yards in a season since current assistant coach Duke DeGaetano did it in 2016. Kurt Solano ran for the first two touchdowns of his career in the fourth quarter.
Zach Brooks led the defense with a career-high 16 tackles, including 11 solo stops, and forced a fumble. Micajah Weisner added ten tackles and forced a fumble that was recovered by Daniel McKeirnan. McKeirnan also had a tackle for loss on fourth down that killed an L&C drive. Joshua Lawson and Omari Williams each picked up an interception. Twenty-two different players saw action on the defensive side of the ball against the Pioneers.
Whitworth never had to punt against L&C. Iden Bone made two out of three field goals and all six of his extra points. Jake Gaffaney kicked off nine times and averaged 53.2 yards with one touchback. Cameron Sheley returned two punts (20 yards) and one kickoff (21 yards) to go along with four pass receptions for 53 yards.
Three Pirates Honored: Evan Liggett was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week for the second time this season, while Ryan Blair was chosen as the Northwest Conference Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week and Zach Brooks took the NWC Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week nod. Liggett earned Team of the Week recognition for the second time this season, following his week 1 performance at Gustavus Adolphus. Blair's award is also his second after winning the first time following the victory against Willamette.
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 Cameron Sheley.
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; Nov. 2 – Cameron Sheley.
In the Polls: The Pirates remained in the same position in this week's AFCA Coaches poll (10th) but dropped one spot in the D3football.com poll to 15th.
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 eight games this season the Pirates have 19 takeaways, which is second in the NWC and ranks 17th in NCAA Division III. More importantly, Whitworth is second in the nation in turnover margin (19-2, or +2.13 turnovers per game). The Bucs are second in the NWC and rank 23rd in Division III in fumbled recovered (8) and second in the NWC in pass interceptions with 11 (32nd in DIII). 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. The Pirates gave up one interception in the first half of the season opener at Gustavus Adolphus and went 25 quarters without a turnover until the third quarter at Pacific. Whitworth is one of only four NCAA Division III teams not to have given up a fumble so far this season.
To Protect and to Serve: The Whitworth offensive line is a huge reason for the records broken and milestones attained in 2024. Dillon Helle (RT) and Patton Miller (C) were first team All-NWC honorees last season, while Jake Trost (RG) was an honorable mention selection. Along with returning starters Keifer Furness (LT) and Jake McCabe (LG), the offensive line is playing at a high level. The Pirates lead the NWC in total offense per game (466.4) by a slim margin over Linfield but lead in yards per play (7.9) by a wide margin over the entire league. The offensive line has allowed only seven sacks in eight games (0.88 per game), which leads the NWC and ranks 30th in DIII.
Touchdown Machine: Evan Liggett has 16 touchdown receptions in 2024, which is second in all of NCAA Division III and double any other player in the NWC. That total is also a new Whitworth record, breaking the mark of 15 set by former All-American tight end Michael Allen in 2005. He has caught 46 passes for 983 yards, an average of 21.4 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. 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 158 of 235 passes (67.2%) for 2327 yards with 30 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Blair threw 181 passes between his first and second interceptions of the season. He leads the NWC and is seventh in NCAA DIII in touchdown passes. Blair has broken Whitworth's single season record of 29, previously shared by Joel Clark (2005) and Ian Kolste (2016). His passing efficiency rating of 190.8 leads the NWC and ranks 11th in NCAA Division III.
Running Man: Luis Salgado has shot up the rankings for rushing yards over the last three weeks (623 combined yards). He now has 1014 yards this season (9th in NCAA Div. III) and is averaging 126.8 yards per game (8th in Division III). His average of 7.04 yards per carry is 11th in Division III. He is 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 seventh in Division III, in tackles per game (11.1). He has 89 tackles in 2024. The next closest total in the NWC is 60. Brooks, who was a first team All-NWC honoree in 2023, has led Whitworth in tackles in seven out of eight 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 426-418-18. 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 178-81.
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 an 82-22 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 Bruins: Saturday will be Senior Day for George Fox. GFU heads into the weekend 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the NWC following last Saturday's 24-14 loss at Pacific Lutheran. While the Bruins are eighth in the conference in total offense (331.5) and scoring offense (22.6), they have one of the top defenses. GFU allows only 263.9 yards per game (2nd) and 20.0 points per game (4th).
Chris Casey, who was Whitworth's defensive coordinator from 1994 - 2004, is in his 11th year (51-46) as head coach at George Fox. He was the head coach at Aloha (Ore.) High School from 2005 through 2012, where he won a 6A state title in 2010.
Senior QB DeMonte Thomas II has completed 59.6% of his passes for 1740 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions. He has also run for three scores. His favorite targets are a pair of 5th-year wide receivers: Elias Polanski has 27 receptions for 387 yards and a touchdown, while River Osen has 25 catches for 314 yards and a score. Junior Taylor Saban is the leading runner with 391 yards and eight touchdowns (4th in the NWC). Noah Tack and Nash Wylie, two 5th-year linebackers are tied for second in the NWC in total tackles with 60 apiece. Tack is tied for the conference lead in sacks (8.5 for 72 yards) and is second in tackles for loss (13.5 for 82 yards).
Last week at PLU the Bruins scored on their first possession, a 69-yard touchdown pass from Thomas II to Saban, and their last possession, a 24-yard TD pass, but got nothing in between during a 24-14 road loss. Thomas II completed 20 of 30 passes for 278 yards with two touchdowns and one interception, but the ground game was limited to only 15 net yards. Osen caught seven passes for 73 years, while Wylie led the team with 11 tackles and one sack.
Last Season: George Fox nearly spoiled the Pirate's unbeaten record as Whitworth fell behind in the second half for the first time since September before scoring two fourth quarter touchdowns in a 24-13 win over the visiting Bruins. The Bucs got big plays on both sides of the ball to prevent GFU 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. The Pirates were also able to go 73 yards in only 1:34, setting up Iden Bone's field goal as time expired in the first half. Evan Liggett caught six passes for 91 yards and a score, while Luis 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 their two previous games. GFU finished with 308 yards of offense. Zach Brooks had 10 tackles, including a six-yard sack, 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 then-career-long with the 32-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
Coaching Connections: In addition to head coach Chis Casey, other members of the Bruins' staff have a strong connection to Whitworth. Assistant head coach and defensive coordinator John Bates was an All-Conference safety at Whitworth (96-99) and coached two seasons with the Pirates. Special Teams Coordinator Ian Sanders was also an All-NWC defensive back at Whitworth (1997-2000). Defensive line coach Nic Brockhoff earned All-NWC recognition as a linebacker during his Pirate career (2011-2014).
The Series: Saturday's game is the tenth meeting between the two schools and Whitworth leads the series 6-3. Prior to last season, the Bruins had won two in a row, including a 16-10 win in Newberg in 2021. The Pirates earned their largest margin of victory in the series in 2018 on the road (38-14).
Coming up next: Whitworth will host Linfield on November 16th in the regular season finale.
