TACOMA, Wash. – The Whitworth Pirates rolled to a 61-7 Northwest Conference win over Puget Sound in the 2026 football season finale on Saturday afternoon at the Loggers' Baker Stadium.
Whitworth's defense came up with six takeaways and four sacks to finish off the season in emphatic fashion. Omari Williams intercepted two passes to set up a pair of Pirate scores in his final game.
Logan Lacio and Nathan Owens closed out their Whitworth careers with big numbers on offense as well. Lacio completed 19 of 27 passes for 202 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Owens ran the ball six times for 125 yards and a score and caught four passes for 42 yards.
Whitworth scored points on five of the first six times the Bucs had the ball in the opening half. Lacio completed the game's opening possession with a 14-yard run for a touchdown. He also threw first half touchdown passes to Deacon Dietz (16 yards) and Tyson Hoke (28 yards). In between those, Iden Bone connected on field goals of 47 and 35 yards.
Whitworth led 27-0 at the half. Williams set up the touchdown pass to Deitz with a 46-yard interception return.
The Loggers scored their only touchdown of the game on the first possession of the second half when the Pirates appeared to have WR Drake Granberry's forward progress stopped for a short gain, but he broke away after no whistle was blown for a 66-yard play. Kasey Williams caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Brady Beck on the next play.
The Loggers might have had a chance to get back in the game after forcing Whitworth into its only punt on the Pirates' first possession of the second half. But Grant Spillman recovered a fumbled punt inside Puget Sound's ten-yard line. Four plays later Kurt Solano ran for a two-yard touchdown on fourth and goal.
The Bucs took advantage of two more short fields in the third quarter. A short punt led to Lacio's four-yard TD pass to tight end Nate Peterson for a 40-7 lead. Then Jahsyah Kuhiki returned an interception 22 yards to the Loggers' 23-yard line. That set up another Lacio-Peterson scoring connection from nine yards.
Playing second and third-string players throughout the fourth quarter, the Pirates added two more touchdowns. Backup QB Carter Steinwand ran for a three-yard score for a 54-7 lead. He completed all three of his passes in the game for 71 yards. Owens ran in from seven yards out for the game's final score with just under seven minutes to play.
Matea Ngueta had Whitworth's fourth interception of the game. Defensive tackle Luke Jacobson had a sack and a fumble recovery in his final game as a Pirate.
Whitworth outgained Puget Sound 519-341, including a season-high 246 rushing yards. The Bucs averaged 9.1 yards per carry.
The Pirates finished the 2026 season 6-3 overall and 5-2 in the Northwest Conference, finishing third in the league standings.
