SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth returns to Oregon for the second time in three weeks to take on 24th-ranked Linfield University in key Northwest Conference football clash. Saturday's contest will kick off at 1:00 pm and will stream live on FloSports.
Whitworth (3-2 overall, 2-0 NWC) is coming off a 40-16 win over George Fox in the Pine Bowl. The Wildcats (3-1, 2-0) shut down Pacific (Ore.) 23-6.
The Pirates: Whitworth got out to a quick 14-0 lead against George Fox and then cruised to a 40-16 win over the Bruins. The Pirates ended with a season-high 404 yards of offense.
Luis Salgado posted his second strong start, running for 136 yards and two touchdowns on 21 carries, averaging 6.5 yards per rush. Logan Lacio started the game and completed 14 of 19 passes for 125 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. Renat Mamikonyan Jr. came on at QB after Lacio was banged up and completed 11 of 15 throws for 130 yards with his first career TD pass. Wide receiver Deacon Dietz had his best game as a Pirate with four catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns. Caleb Northcroft also caught a touchdown pass, while Dawson Tobeck made four receptions, three of which converted first downs.
The Pirate defense held an opponent under 20 points for the fourth time in five games in 2025. Drew Cody led Whitworth in tackles for the fourth time this season with nine stops, one of which went for a loss of yards. Trey Rose added eight tackles. Wyatt Hess intercepted his second pass of the season.
The turning point of the game came on special teams. After GFU scored a touchdown to get within 14-6 midway through the second quarter, Drew Cody blocked the extra point and Omari Williams returned the block 98 yards for a defensive two-point conversion, which extended the lead back to 16-6 and cut into the Bruins' momentum. Iden Bone made his only field goal attempt from 19 yards away in the fourth quarter and went 4-4 on extra points. Hayden Throneberry took over punt return duties and had returns of 21 and 24 yards.
Team Captains: The Pirate team captains in 2025 are RB Luis Salgado and TE Taylor Wells from the offense and safety Trey Rose and DL Lane Watkins from the defense. Junior WR Deacon Dietz was the special teams captain vs. George Fox. A new special forces captain is selected by the coaches on a week-by-week basis.
Running Man: Luis Salgado is a two-time first team All-Northwest Conference honoree. He has gained 2,624 yards in his career with a 6.1 yards per carry average and has run for 29 touchdowns. Also a threat catching the ball out of the backfield, Salgado has 81 career receptions for 517 yards and four scores. In 2024 he was Whitworth's first 1,000-yard rusher since Duke DeGaetano ran for 1,001 yards in 2016 and posted the second-highest single season total in school history with 1216 yards, behind only the 1293 yards Damian Putney put up in 1999.
Defensive Stopper: Sophomore Drew Cody leads the Northwest Conference in total tackles (50) and tackles per game (10.0) so far in 2025. The Pirate inside linebacker also leads the NWC, and ranks 28th in NCAA Div. III, in solo tackles per game (5.8).
"Foot"ball Excellence: Whitworth's kickers have been a bright spot in 2025. Iden Bone leads the NWC in field goals made (8) and in scoring by a kicker (36 points, 7.2 points per game). He ranks 4th in NCAA Div. III in field goals per game (1.60) and 25th in DIII in field goal percentage (0.800). His 47-yard field goal is the longest in the conference this season.
Matthew Herzog is second in the NWC and 16th in all of NCAA Division III in punting average (41.5 yards per punt). He has five punts of over 50 yards.
Jake Gaffaney has averaged 59.4 yards per kickoff with seven touchbacks, the most touchbacks of any player in the NWC.
NWC Poll: Whitworth was picked second in the Northwest Conference preseason poll behind Linfield. The Wildcats received five first place votes while the Bucs got two and PLU one.
Class of Distinction: Thirty-two Whitworth Pirates played their last game in the Pine Bowl against Pomona-Pitzer in the opening round of the NCAA Division III playoffs last November. That number marks the largest outgoing class in team history, which included nearly a dozen 5th-year players who used the extra eligibility awarded after the COVID-19 outbreak. Among that number were 10 starters on defense and nine on offense. Fourteen of those 19 departed starters earned All-NWC recognition. Quarterback Ryan Blair was the NWC Offensive Player of the Year. Linebacker Zach Brooks was the NWC Man of the Year, an award encompassing athletic ability, academics, leadership and community service.
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 2025, the Pirates are 84-24 since 2014, a winning percentage of .778.
Above Water: The Pirates' all-time record in football now stands at 431-422-18. Last 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 183-85.
West Coast Crossover: September 20th was a crossover weekend between the Northwest Conference and the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. In addition to Redlands's win at Whitworth at the Pine Bowl, Willamette won 29-14 at La Verne (Calif.), Linfield defeated Chapman 28-13 in Oregon, and Lewis & Clark shut down Pomona-Pitzer 28-3 on the road. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps won 28-21 at George Fox while Cal Lutheran defeated Puget Sound 55-28 in Tacoma. The NWC finished the weekend 3-3 against the SCIAC.
11th Heaven: With the win over Puget Sound on October 19th last fall, 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.
Winning the Opener: Following the win over Gustavus Adolphus this season, Whitworth has won 10 of its 12 season-openers under head coach Rod Sandberg. The Pirates are 6-1 at home and 4-1 on the road. Whitworth's only season-opening losses under Sandberg came in 2016 and 2022.
Looking Back at 2024: Whitworth opened the season with a 40-7 win at Gustavus Adolphus, leading to a 3-0 record against non-conference opponents. The Pirates finished 6-1 against the Northwest Conference, including a 31-0 win at George Fox and a 39-32 win at Pacific in which Luis Salgado broke the NWC record for rushing yards in a single game (365). The only loss was 34-7 to Linfield in the season finale. At 9-1, Whitworth was invited to the NCAA Division III playoffs and defeated Pomona-Pitzer 21-13 in the first round to claim a second straight 10-win season for the first time in school history. The Pirates were defeated in the second round by eventual champion North Central (Ill.).
Watch on FlowCollege: Like the rest of the Northwest Conference, Whitworth's home athletic events will be steamed through FloCollege in 2025-26. Fans can sign up to watch Pirate sports on the FloCollege portal. Registration is $120 for an annual subscription or $20 per month. Those who register with a .edu email address get a significant discount.
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 11th season as the voice of the Pirates in 2025. 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.
Listen to Road Games: Fans can tune in online to listen to Pirate ROAD games for free at WhitworthPirates.com. Bud Nameck will provide play by play when Whitworth is away from the Pine Bowl.
The Head Coach: Now in his 12th 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 84-24 record over his first 11 seasons, including four appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs (2015, 2018, 2023 and 2024). 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 .778 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. In 2023 and 2024 he coached Whitworth to the first-ever back-to-back ten-win seasons in school history, as well as the first back-to-back NCAA playoff appearances. 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 Wildcats: Linfield is 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the NWC. The Wildcats are ranked 24th in the D3football.com top-25 poll for the second straight week. Linfield leads the NWC in scoring defense (16.8 ppg) and in total defense (281.3 ypg). The Wildcats average 25.0 points and 273.8 yards on offense.
Joseph Smith, a life-long Wildcat, is in his 20th season as Linfield's head coach. He carries a 169-32 record into Saturday's game. Smith previously served as a Wildcats' assistant coach for 13 seasons, including seven years as the defensive coordinator. Smith graduated from Linfield in 1993 after earning NAIA All-America honors (second team) as a corner back.
The offense runs through junior QB Luke McNabb. He has completed 54.6% of his passes for 626 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions. McNabb has also run for 189 yards and two scores. Senior Caleb Woodcock is the favorite receiver with 19 catches for 227 yards and five touchdowns. Junior safety Brady Crenshaw leads the defense with 31 tackles, two interceptions and three forced fumbles. Sophomore linebacker Hudson Reink is second in the NWC in tackles for loss (5.5) among his 23 total stops. Linfield has major weapons on special teams, including PK Gavin Dalziel, the current NWC special teams Player of the Week, who made three field goals vs. Pacific to set a career record at Linfield with 36. Punter Cade Johannsen leads the NWC and ranks second in all of Division III with an average of 45.9 yards per kick.
Dalziel was the headliner in last Saturday's 23-6 win over Pacific, with his three field goals. He broke the previous career record of 34 field goals shared by two different Wildcats. The defense set the tone for the win, however, by holding the Boxers to 31 total yards in the second half and 166 yards for the game. Hudson Reink was selected as the NWC's defensive Player of the Week after recording nine tackles (six solo), including 3.5 for losses of 16 yards. Brady Crenshaw added seven tackles and had an interception he returned for 20 yards. Luke McNabb completed 14 of 23 passes for 159 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
Last Meeting: Whitworth scored a touchdown on the game's opening possession but then could not score again in a 34-7 loss to Linfield in the regular season finale that determined the 2024 Northwest Conference championship.
The Pirates' offense moved quickly down the field on the first possession of the game, scoring on a two-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Blair to Evan Liggett, but Whitworth would not move the ball into Linfield territory again until the fourth quarter of the game and trailed 23-7 at that point. Luis Salgado had some openings in the first half, rushing for 45 of his 48 net yards before halftime. The Pirates finished with a season-low 221 yards of offense and lost their first fumble of the season.
Whitworth's defense allowed 364 yards and a season-high point total, but seven of those points came on an interception return that put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter. Daniel McKeirnan had one of his best games as a Pirate, netting a career-high 10 tackles along with his fourth interception of the season. Omari Williams picked off the second Pirate interception.
The Series: Linfield leads the overall series 41-7-2. The Pirates ended an 11-game losing streak to the Wildcats in 2018 and won the last game played in McMinnville 28-24 in 2023. The first meeting was a 13-13 tie in 1952. Linfield's largest margin of victory was 61-0 in 1966, while Whitworth's largest win was 41-13 in 1954. The Wildcats once had a 14-game winning streak in the series that ended in 2005.
Coming up next: Whitworth will play at Lewis & Clark on October 25th in the second of two straight conference road contests.
