SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth Pirates host the Linfield Wildcats in the Pine Bowl on Saturday. For the last three seasons the winner of this game has gone on to claim the Northwest Conference football title. Saturday's contest will kick off at 1:00 pm and will be streamed live on FloCollege.
Whitworth (3-1 overall, 2-0 NWC) came from behind to defeat George Fox 17-13 on the road last weekend. Linfield (3-1, 2-0) had little trouble dispatching Pacific (Ore.) 42-3 on the road.
Tickets: Digital tickets are required for entrance to the Whitworth Pine Bowl for all fans. Tickets can be purchased in advance using the Hometown Ticketing App. Follow the link for access. Tickets are $14 for adults and $8 for senior adults, non-Whitworth students and children. A Family Pass (2 adults, 2 children) is available for $34. Whitworth students, faculty and staff get free admission by using their personal ID number to purchase a ticket.
One Big Weekend: Whitworth is celebrating both Homecoming and Family Weekend at the same time. Milestone reunions and Parent and family events will occur throughout the weekend. In addition, Whitworth Athletics will celebrate the induction of the 36th class to the Heritage Gallery Hall of Fame on Saturday morning.
The Pirates: Whitworth trailed 13-3 after nearly 40 minutes of play at George Fox last Saturday. But the Pirates rallied with two late touchdowns to spoil the Bruins' Homecoming celebration with a 17-13 victory. GFU outgained the Bucs 449-401 and had a 4-2 advantage in turnovers. The Bruins also had six explosive offensive plays of over 25 yards, including a school-record 93-yard touchdown pass. Yet Whitworth overcame all of that to pull out the win.
After giving up over 300 yards in the first half, the Pirate defense tightened up in the second half, especially the fourth quarter when the Bucs allowed only 29 yards of offense. Drew Cody finished with nine tackles, including one for loss of five years, and a pass break up. Hayden Throneberry added nine stops and broke up a pass. Iosepa Lyman intercepted a pass at the Pirates' 25-yard line in the fourth quarter after Whitworth had pulled within 13-10. He had six tackles in the game. Kade Long made an over-the-shoulder interception later in the quarter after the Bucs had taken the lead.
Logan Lacio survived three interceptions, two of which came on batted balls, to complete 19 of 30 passes for 202 yards and one touchdown. Deacon Dietz made the go-ahead touchdown catch in the fourth quarter by jumping high for the ball and landing with one toe in the endzone. Drake Matthies caught seven passes for 58 yards, while Keagan Lime had four catches for 61 yards. Kurt Solano ran for a career-high 108 yards on 18 carries and scored the team's first touchdown late in the third quarter with a nine-yard run.
Iden Bone made his only field goal attempt from 30 yards away in the first quarter. Chase Gomes took over as the primary kick off returner and averaged 21.5 yards per return.
Team Captains: The Pirate team captains in 2026 are QB Logan Lacio and center Caleb Cabrera from the offense and CB Omari Williams and LB Drew Cody from the defense. A special forces captain will be selected on a week-by-week basis. Last week's special forces captain was junior DL Dylan McCain.
Defensive Stopper: Junior LB Drew Cody has picked up where he left off in 2025. He ranks second in the NWC in tackles per game (8.8) and in takeaways (two fumble recoveries, one interception).
Last Fall Cody led the NWC in total tackles (106), tackles per game (9.6) and solo tackles per game (5.4). He also had 7.0 tackles for losses of 23 yards. He was named first team All-NWC.
A "Bone" to Pick: Whitworth place kicker Iden Bone is a D3football.com preseason All-American in 2026. For good reason. He is the Pirates' all-time leader in made field goals with 35 in 51 attempts. Over the last two seasons he has made 22 of 26, with a career-long of 55 yards. So far in 2026 he leads all NWC kickers in points per game (7.5). He is 6 of 7 on field goal attempts and has made all 12 of his PATs. Bone has made 63 consecutive extra points.
In 2025 he finished the season as the league's leading scorer in overall points (82) and points per game (7.5). He made 16 of 19 field goal attempts and all 34 of his extra points. Bone ranked second in NCAA Div. III in field goals per game and top ten in field goal percentage (.842). He set the school record for most field goals made in a season, breaking the previous record of 15 set in 2015.
Home-Sweet-Home: Including the exhibition game date against the Utah Islanders, six of the ten games on the schedule are in the Whitworth Pine Bowl this season. It is the first time since 2021 and only the second time in the last decade the Bucs have had six home games in a regular season. The Pirates are 50-13 at home since Rod Sandberg became head coach in 2014.
Looking Back at 2025: Whitworth bounced back from a 1-2 record against non-conference opponents to run through Northwest Conference action 7-0. The conference title came during what might have been considered a rebuilding season when the team was only returning a pair of starters each on offense and defense from 2024. Whitworth fell to Chapman 18-16 in the NCAA playoffs when a two-point conversion attempt with no time left failed to tie the game.
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 2026, the Pirates are 92-27 since 2014, a winning percentage of .773.
Above Water: The Pirates' all-time record in football now stands at 439-424-18. In 2024 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 191-87.
Power of 12: With the win over PLU on November 1, 2025, Whitworth clinched its 12th 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.
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 13th 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 92-27 record over that span, including five appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs (2015, 2018, 2023, 2024 and 2025). 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 .773 is the best among Whitworth coaches with at least five seasons and currently ranks among the top 15 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 then duplicated that accomplishment in 2023. In 2023 and 2024 Whitworth had the first-ever back-to-back ten-win seasons in school history, and the Pirates have made three straight 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 comes into Saturday's game having outscored its first two Northwest Conference opponents 100-19, including last Saturday's 42-3 win at Pacific. Over their first four games the Wildcats average 40.5 points per game and 463.3 yards per game. They have allowed 16.5 points and 303.3 yards per contest.
Joseph Smith, a life-long Wildcat, is in his 21st season as Linfield's head coach. He carries a 175-34 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 revolves around senior QB Luke McNabb, who has completed 69.6% of his passes for 1,129 yards with ten touchdowns and two interceptions. He also leads the team in rushing with 186 yards and five running TDs. His favorite receiver this season is a converted cornerback, senior Kenyon Johnson. One season after earning first team All-NWC recognition on defense with three interceptions and nine pass breakups, Johnson has 21 receptions for 328 yards and two touchdowns. He's not the only threat. Linfield has eight receivers who have caught at least one touchdown this fall. The defense knows how to get off the field. The Wildcats lead the NWC, and rank second in all of NCAA Division III, in defensive third down efficiency (15.1%). Sophomore rover back Iloa Kaio has been all over the field with 23 tackles, one interception, three breakups, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one blocked kick.
Last week Linfield scored four second quarter touchdowns in a 42-3 win at Pacific (Ore.). The Wildcats outgained the Boxers 490-177. McNabb completed 26 of 38 passes for 302 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 50 yards and two scores to earn NWC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Johnson had five catches for 33 yards. Senior Dane Meddaugh had six receptions for 87 yards. On defense Kaio had six tackles, including one for loss, and two pass breakups.
Last Meeting: Whitworth dominated the second and fourth quarters to win 30-20 at Linfield last season, the Pirates' second win at Maxwell Field in as many trips. Whitworth was behind 7-3 after the first, led 20-7 at halftime, was tied 20-20 after the third and outscored the Wildcats 10-0 in the fourth quarter.
Logan Lacio completed 24 of 38 passes for 275 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions and he ran for the go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Tyson Hoke had his best game yet as a Pirate wide receiver, catching seven passes for 101 yards and a 24-yard touchdown just before halftime. Luis Salgado ran the ball 27 times for 119 yards against the league's top rushing defense. On Whitworth's final two scoring drives, Salgado converted four third downs into first downs. The Pirate defense came up with big plays when needed, including two turnovers. Drew Cody and Wyatt Hess each had seven tackles. Hess also broke up a pair of passes.
The difference in the game may have been the performance of Whitworth's special forces. Iden Bone made three field goals, including a 37-yarder with just over two minutes to play that gave the Bucs a two-score lead. Including three PATs, he scored 12 points in the game. Matthew Herzog averaged 43.2 yards per punt, including a 52-yarder. Jake Gaffaney averaged 63 yards per kickoff, including three touchbacks. The game turned on two Linfield kicks. At the end of the first half the Pirates got enough pressure on Linfield's Gavin Dalziel to force him to miss a 40-yard field goal as time expired. Then after Linfield tied the game in the third, Ryen Borchers blocked Dalziel's extra point, keeping the game knotted at 20-20.
The Series: Linfield has dominated the overall series 41-8-2. Three of Whitworth's wins have come since 2018. 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 host Lewis & Clark College on October 24th in a second straight NWC home game.
