SPOKANE, Wash. – The Whitworth Pirates will have to bounce back from their first Northwest Conference loss of the season against an explosive foe this week as the Bucs host Lewis & Clark College in the Pine Bowl.  Saturday's contest will kick off at 1:00 pm and will be streamed live on FloCollege.

Whitworth (3-2 overall, 2-1 NWC) fell 31-19 at home to Linfield last weekend.  L&C (5-1, 3-0) won a 49-35 shootout at George Fox.

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.

The Pirates: Whitworth got off to a slow start, offensively and defensively, and that led to a 32-19 loss to visiting Linfield last Saturday.  While the Pirates were going three-and-out on their first two possessions, the Wildcats were scoring touchdowns on their first two drives.  Linfield led 15-0 in the second quarter and 22-7 at halftime.  The Pirates fought back to within 22-17 in the second half and forced a punt five minutes into the fourth quarter that might have led to a go-ahead drive.  But the punt was lost in the sun and the ensuing fumble was recovered at the Pirates' 11-yard line, leading to an insurance touchdown for Linfield.

After giving up 291 yards in the first half, the Pirate defense tightened up in the second half for the second week in a row.  Whitworth limited Linfield to only 84 yards of offense after halftime.  Drew Cody tied his career-high with 13 tackles and picked off his second pass of the season.  Collin Campbell made six tackles in his first career start, as did Hayden Throneberry.  Maddox Suitonu had the Pirates' only sack.

Logan Lacio completed 25 of 42 passes for 295 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.  Tyson Hoke caught seven passes for 111 yards in his first significant playing time of the season.  He caught a 19-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter.  Deacon Deitz made three catches for 71 yards.  Unfortunately for the Pirates, Lacio was sacked eight times for 77 yards in losses, leading to a final rushing total of -38 yards.

Iden Bone made his only field goal attempt from 25 yards away in the third quarter.  Mathew Herzog averaged 41.0 yards per punt, while Jake Gaffaney averaged 64.2 yards per kickoff with two touchbacks. 

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 senior DE Mason Podoll.

Defensive Stopper:  Junior LB Drew Cody has picked up where he left off in 2025.  He leads the NWC in tackles per game (9.6) and has four takeaways (two fumble recoveries, two interceptions).

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 36 in 52 attempts.  Over the last two seasons he has made 23 of 27, with a career-long of 55 yards.  So far in 2026 he is second among NWC kickers in points per game (7.0).  He is 7 of 8 on field goal attempts and has made all 14 of his PATs.  Bone has made 64 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 50-14 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 439-425-18.  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 191-88.

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 River Otters: Lewis & Clark comes into Saturday's game tied for first in the NWC at 3-0 and with the best overall record in the conference at 5-1.  The River Otters have the most prolific offense in the NWC, leading the league in scoring offense (44.7), total offense (462.3) and yards per play (7.6).  The team's improvement on defense might be the biggest difference this year.  L&C is second in the NWC in points allowed (21.0) and third in yards allowed (329.7). 

Brett Elliott is in his second season as head coach.  He was previously the offensive coordinator at Linfield for six seasons and was the NCAA Division III player of the year as a QB when he led the Wildcats to the 2004 NCAA Division III title.

Junior QB Dashiell Weaver has completed an astounding 75.5% of his passes for 1,359 yards with 14 touchdowns and one interception.  The transfer from Fresno State missed last week's game and Grad QB Sam Simril stepped in without missing a beat in the same way he did last season in a game against Whitworth.  Simril has completed 59.4% of his passes for 700 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions this season.  Sophomore WR Sytyn Lasconia has a season's worth of stats in only six games.  He has caught 43 passes for 1,007 yards with nine touchdowns.  Junior RB Gio Borea has rushed for 358 yards with six touchdowns.  Junior DB Kristopher Adams has made a huge impact on defense with four interceptions, seven passes defended, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble.

Last week: In a rematch with George Fox (L&C lost the first meeting 28-20 in September), the River Otters led 28-14, fell behind 35-28 in the third quarter, before scoring three straight touchdowns in a 49-35 victory.  Simril completed 20 of 32 passes for 429 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions, playing in place of Weaver.  Lasconia was named NWC Offensive Player of the Week after catching eight passes for 247 yards with a touchdown.  Borea ran for three touchdowns.  L&C forced five GFU turnovers, including the fourth interception of the season by Adams.  He also forced and recovered a fumble.  Senior LB Charlie Murrin was the NWC Defensive Player of the Week after recording nine tackles, including two sacks for 19 total yards, and an interception he returned 52 yards to set up a TD.

Last Meeting:  Whitworth survived an offensive shootout at Lewis & Clark last season, winning 42-35 after Luis Salgado ran for a 34-yard touchdown with less than two minutes left in the game. The win gave the Bucs sole possession of first place in the NWC standings.

Salgado led the offense with 170 yards on 25 carries, averaging nearly seven yards a carry.  Logan Lacio completed 17 of 25 passes for 254 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.  He also ran 24 yards for a touchdown on the Pirates' first possession.  Tyson Hoke caught four passes for 63 yards and two scores and Lacio hit Deacon Dietz for a 69-yard TD in the first quarter. 

Drew Cody had seven of his nine tackles in the second half and led Whitworth for the sixth time in seven games.  Trey Rose made six stops and intercepted Lewis & Clark's last-ditch pass at the Pirates' five-yard line on the last play of the game.  Omari Williams knocked down a pair of passes.  The Whitworth defense made enough key plays, despite giving up season-highs of total offense (497) and passing yards (322).

The Series: Whitworth leads the all-time series 42-13 and the Bucs have won 24 of the last 25 contests. The River Otters' 30-22 win in 2011 is their only victory in that stretch.  Whitworth won the 2006 game 70-3, the largest margin of victory for either team. The biggest margin of victory for Lewis & Clark was 49-26 in 1993.  Lewis & Clark won the first-ever meeting between the schools, 19-0 in 1956.

Coming up next: Whitworth will hit the road for a Halloween showdown at Pacific Lutheran.