NEWBERG, Ore. – Whitworth controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage on Saturday, rolling to a 31-0 win at George Fox in a Northwest Conference football game on Saturday afternoon.
It was the second shutout of the season for the #10/#15 Pirates, who improved to 9-0 overall and 6-0 in the NWC. Whitworth will host Linfield (8-1, 6-0) next Saturday in a game that will decide the NWC title for the second year in a row.
The Pirate defense held the Bruins to four first downs, 134 yards of total offense and -10 yards on the ground, thanks in part to three sacks for 17 yards in losses. Defensive back Chris Knutson scored the Pirates' second touchdown of the game with an interception at the GFU four-yard line that he took to the endzone.
The stout defense allowed the Whitworth offense to get settled after missed first half opportunities. The Bucs were stopped on fourth down on their first two possessions, including the opening possession that went 70 yards before stalling inside GFU's 10-yard line.
The Pirates got on the board early in the second quarter when Ryan Blair found Evan Liggett on a five-yard fade route that capped a 63-yard drive that took 14 plays. It looked like that might be the game's only score at halftime when subsequent drives ended with a blocked 47-yard field goal and an interception at the George Fox four-yard line with 53 seconds to go. But then Knutson made his big play, jumping in front of a screen pass and taking four easy steps into the endzone.
The Bruins had only 50 yards of offense in the first half and did not have a first down. Whitworth's defense then forced GFU into a three-and-out on its first possession of the second half and the Pirates quickly took advantage, moving 78 yards in five plays and scoring on a six-yard shuffle pass from Blair to tight end Taylor Wells for a 21-0 lead.
Kurt Solano put the game away with a 31-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter that finished an 82-yard drive that only took five plays. Iden Bone made a 24-yard field goal with just under six minutes to play to complete Whitworth's scoring.
Whitworth finished with 458 yards of offense, including 244 on the ground. The Bruins came into the game second in the NWC in yards allowed. Luis Salgado picked up 136 yards on 14 carries (9.7 yards per carry), while Solano ran for 83 yards on 15 rushes. Blair completed 29 of 40 passes for 214 yards with two more touchdowns to increase his single season school record to 32. He also tossed his third interception of the season. Liggett caught ten passes for 95 yards, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark on the season. His touchdown was his 17th of the year.
Zach Brooks had ten tackles for Whitworth, while Micajah Weisner added eight stops. The sacks went to Ephraim Watkins, Alex Smith and Lucas Reynolds. The Pirates finished with a 3-1 turnover margin.
DeMontre Thomas II completed 9 of 18 passes for 118 yards with one interception for GFU. He completed a 47-yard pass to Thomas McMillan in the third quarter for the Bruins' biggest play of the game, but Whitworth posted a goal-line stand after George Fox had first and goal at the two. Weisner had a five-yard tackle for loss after the Bruins had first and goal. Taylor Saban ran nine times for 10 yards.
The shutout is the Pirates' second of the season, following a 48-0 win over Willamette on October 12th.
The win sets up another regular-season ending showdown with Linfield next Saturday in the Pine Bowl. Kickoff is at noon. The Pirates defeated the Wildcats 28-24 in McMinnville in 2023.
