SPOKANE, Wash. – Whitworth opens its Northwest Conference schedule on the road this weekend when the Pirates play at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. The game will kick off at 1:00 pm and will be streamed online by FloSports.
Whitworth (1-2) is coming off a bye, which followed a 34-17 home loss to Redlands on September 20th. The Boxers (1-2) are also coming off a bye week. Pacific fell to Wis.-Stevens Point 36-13 on the 20th.
The Pirates: Whitworth led 17-13 heading into the fourth quarter, but visiting Redlands scored 21 unanswered points – including a defensive touchdown – to pull away for a 34-17 win in the Pine Bowl.
The Pirate offense never got untracked for the second straight game, finishing with 207 total yards. Luis Salgado had his most effective game of the season, running for 98 net yards on 17 carries (5.8 yards per carry) and scoring two touchdowns. Logan Lacio completed 14 of 34 passes for 121 yards with one interception. That interception was returned 20 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, giving the Bulldogs a 27-17 lead with 4:14 to play. Tight end Nate Peterson caught five passes for 30 yards, while slotback Caleb Northcroft finished with four receptions for 49 yards.
The Pirate defense caused four fumbles and recovered two, but Redlands was able to pick up 120 of its 407 yards in the fourth quarter. Lane Watkins led the team with eight tackles, including seven solo stops. He also had a 13-yard sack in the first half. Drew Cody made seven tackles and recovered a fumble. Hunter Leteer had the other fumble recovery and finished with six tackles.
Iden Bone made his only field goal attempt, from 39 yards in the third quarter. Matthew Herzog had his best games as a Pirate punter, averaging 46.2 yards per punt (eight punts), including a long of 58. Three of his kicks ended inside the 20-yard line. Jake Gaffaney averaged 64.5 yards per kickoff and had two touchbacks.
West Coast Crossover: September 20th was a crossover weekend between the Northwest Conference and the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. In addition to the game between Redlands and 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 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.
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. Sophomore punter Matthew Herzog was the special forces captain on September 20th Different players are selected for the special forces captain on a week-by-week basis.
Running Man: Luis Salgado is a two-time first team All-Northwest Conference honoree. He has gained 2,372 yards in his career with a 6.1 yards per carry average and has run for 25 touchdowns. Also a threat catching the ball out of the backfield, Salgado has 76 career receptions for 487 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 (30) and tackles per game (10.0) so far in 2025. The Pirate inside linebacker also leads the NWC, and ranks 23rd in NCAA Div. III, in solo tackles per game (6.3).
"Foot"ball Excellence: Whitworth's kickers have been a bright spot in 2025. Iden Bone leads the NWC in field goals made (5) and in scoring by a kicker (20 points, 6.7 points per game). He ranks 4th in NCAA Div. III in field goals per game (1.67) and 18th in DIII in field goal percentage (0.833). His 47-yard field goal is the longest in the conference this season.
Matthew Herzog is second in the NWC and seventh in all of NCAA Division III in punting average (44.0 yards per punt). He has five punts of over 50 yards, the most in the conference this season.
Jake Gaffaney has averaged 60.3 yards per kickoff with five 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 429-422-18. 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 181-85.
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 Boxers: Like Whitworth, Pacific went 1-2 against non-conference opponents in 2025. The Boxers opened with a 21-13 loss at Howard Payne (Texas), defeated Willamette 42-0 in a non-conference contest, then fell at home to Wis.-Stevens Point on Sept. 20th. Pacific is averaging 22.7 points and 277.7 yards per game, while allowing 19.0 points and 309.3 yards per contest.
Ian Falconer has a 19-21 record in his fifth season as Pacific's head coach. He spent 10 years as an offensive assistant with the Boxers. Prior to his time at Pacific, Falconer was offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Lewis & Clark from 2006 through 2009.
Senior RB Brody Bantolina, a two-time first team All-NWC selection, currently leads the NWC with 240 rushing yards (80.1 ypg) and four touchdowns. Pacific has used a pair of sophomore QBs in 2025 – Keaton Smith and Makana Kamaka-Brayce – who have combined to complete 60.2% of their passes for three touchdowns and one interception. Junior safety Kaden Huppin leads the team with 19 tackles, including 13 solo stops.
Pacific trailed UWSP only 14-13 heading to the fourth quarter on Sept. 20th, but the Pointers scored three straight touchdowns on the way to a 36-13 win. Bantolina ran for 121 yards on 15 carries and scored both Boxers' touchdowns. Keaton Smith played the entire game at QB and completed 14 of 22 passes for 90 yards. Bryson Vasquez led the defense with nine tackles, while Huppin chipped in six tackles.
Last Meeting: Luis Salgado dominated last year's 39-32 win at Pacific in record-setting fashion, rushing for a Northwest Conference single game record 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. He also broke Whitworth's record for all-purpose yards in a game with 386. The Pirates finished with 537 yards, a season-best 385 on the ground. Whitworth averaged 10.7 yards per play. Whitworth also committed a season-high nine penalties for 80 yards.
The defense allowed 455 yards on 71 plays (6.4 yards per play), including 192 rushing yards – 163 by Bantolina. Nathan Hummel had 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 went 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.
The Series: Whitworth leads the all-time series 27-5-1, including an 11-3 record since the Boxers resumed their program in 2010. The teams first met in 1910 with Pacific earning a 21-0 victory. The Pirates and Boxers would not meet again until 1967 when Whitworth won 21-0. The teams played every year between 1973 and 1984. The series resumed from 1987 - 1991. Then Pacific dropped its program and did not field a varsity team from 1992 through 2009. Whitworth's largest margin of victory was 45-0 in 1976. The Boxers' largest win came in that initial meeting between the schools. Pacific won two in a row in 2013 and 2014.
Coming up next: Whitworth will host George Fox on October 11th at 1:00 pm during Homecoming/Hall of Fame / Parents' Weekend.
