SPOKANE, Wash. – Another week and another first-place showdown for the Whitworth football team on Saturday. The Pirates host Pacific Lutheran in the Pine Bowl at 1:00 pm with both teams aiming for at least a share of the 2025 Northwest Conference title. Saturday's contest will kick off at 1:00 pm and will stream live on FloSports.
Whitworth (5-2 overall, 4-0 NWC) is coming off a 42-35 win at Lewis & Clark. The Lutes are 4-3, 3-1 after suffering a 31-15 loss to Linfield.
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 $12 for adults and $6 for senior adults, non-Whitworth students and children. Whitworth students get free admission by using their own student ID number to purchase a ticket.
The Pirates: Whitworth survived an offensive shootout at Lewis & Clark last Saturday, winning 42-35 after Luis Salgado ran for a 34-yard touchdown run 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 once again with 170 yards on 25 carries, averaging nearly seven yards a carry. He ran for a 53-yard touchdown in the second quarter and then broke several tackles to complete his game-winning score. His efforts led to Whitworth's first 200-yard rushing game of the season. 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. The Pirates had two turnovers in one game for the first time this season.
Drew Cody had seven of his nine tackles in the second half and led Whitworth for the sixth time in seven games. Lane Watkins had seven solo tackles, while 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).
NWC Standings Update: Whitworth is alone atop the NWC standings with a 4-0 record. Pacific Lutheran and Linfield are tied for second place at 3-1. Lewis & Clark and George Fox are both 2-2. If PLU defeats the Pirates on Saturday, it creates the possibility of a three-way tie in the final standings. All three schools would be considered co-champions and the NWC would go to its tiebreaker formula to determine the league's NCAA Division III AQ. If Whitworth wins, the Bucs have the inside track to an outright conference title.
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 WR Drake Matties was the special teams captain vs. George Fox. A new special forces captain is selected by the coaches on a week-by-week basis.
The Oregon Trail: Whitworth is making four trips to the Willamette Valley this season. The Pirates have defeated Pacific University (Oct. 4), Linfield University (Oct. 18) and L&C (Oct. 25). Whitworth will visit Willamette on November 8th. The 2025 season is the first time Whitworth has had four NWC games in Oregon since Rod Sandberg took over as head coach.
Road Warriors: Whitworth has now won 12 consecutive Northwest Conference road games, dating to the 2022 schedule. It is the longest conference road winning streak in school history.
Value the Ball: Whitworth has taken great care of the football in 2025. The Pirates lead the NWC and rank ninth in NCAA Division III with only four turnovers allowed. The Bucs have lost three fumbles and had two passes intercepted in seven games.
Running Man: Luis Salgado is a two-time first team All-Northwest Conference honoree. He has gained 2,913 yards in his career with a 6.0 yards per carry average and has run for 31 touchdowns. Also a threat catching the ball out of the backfield, Salgado has 85 career receptions for 552 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. Salgado needs 425 yards to break Whitworth's career rushing record of 3,338 held by Adam Anderson (2007-10).
Defensive Stopper: Sophomore Drew Cody leads the Northwest Conference in total tackles (66) and tackles per game (9.4) so far in 2025. The Pirate inside linebacker also leads the NWC, and ranks 26th in NCAA Div. III, in solo tackles per game (5.6).
"Foot"ball Excellence: Whitworth's kickers have been a bright spot in 2025. Iden Bone leads the NWC in field goals made (11) and in scoring by a kicker (54 points, 7.7 points per game). He ranks third in NCAA Div. III in field goals per game (1.57) and 17th in DIII in field goal percentage (0.846). His 47-yard field goal is the longest in the conference this season.
Matthew Herzog is second in the NWC and 18th in all of NCAA Division III in punting average (40.8 yards per punt). He has six punts of over 50 yards.
Jake Gaffaney has averaged 59.8 yards per kickoff with ten 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 433-422-18. 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 185-85.
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.
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 Lutes: Pacific Lutheran is 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the NWC after losing 31-15 to Linfield last Saturday. The Lutes are putting up 28.4 points and 393 yards of offense per game. PLU has allowed 27.7 points and 385.9 yards per contest.
Brant McAdams 32-36 is in his eighth season as head coach at PLU and led the team to its best season since 2014 in 2024 (7-3 overall, 5-2 NWC). McAdams was previously the defensive coordinator at Trinity (Texas), his alma mater, for five seasons. He was also the defensive coordinator at Puget Sound for three years prior to Trinity.
Junior Anthony Mahaffey took over as the QB for the start of conference play and has completed 55% of his passes for 1082 yards with 13 touchdowns and ten interceptions. He has a slew of good receivers to throw to, led by sophomore Connor Meade who has 27 catches for 490 yards and five touchdowns. Senior Jacob Schuh is one of the best running backs in the NWC this season with 656 yards (5.1 ypc) and five touchdowns. He broke a school record with 327 yards against Puget Sound. Sophomore safety Eli Fernandez leads the defense, and is tied with Whitworth's Drew Cody atop the NWC, with 66 tackles. He also has three interceptions. Senior DE Zachary Gable has 10.5 tackles for losses of 57 yards, including 6.0 sacks.
Last Saturday PLU took an early 7-0 lead on Schuh's 58-yard touchdown run and was tied 7-7 with Linfield at halftime. The Wildcats outscored the Lutes 24-8 in the second half to pull away. Schuh finished the game with 77 yards on ten carries. Mahaffey completed 15 of 36 passes for 196 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. He threw a 70-yard touchdown pass to Meade with 3:23 left in the game. Fernandez had 13 tackles, while Gable had five stops including one of PLU's five sacks in the game.
Last Meeting: Whitworth never trailed at PLU but led only 20-17 late in the third before pulling away with two fourth quarter touchdowns for a 34-23 win at Sparks Stadium in the 2024 NWC opener for both teams. The Lutes outgained the Pirates 360-351 and had a five-and-a-half-minute edge in time of possession, but Whitworth did not commit a turnover.
Dawson Tobeck made his first start as a slot back and had four receptions for 59 yards and a score. Nathan Owens caught his first touchdown pass of the season. Luis Salgado was limited to 62 yards rushing on 17 attempts. He also caught five passes for 14 yards.
The special teams were solid. Whitworth limited PLU to 19 yards per kickoff return and only two yards in punt returns. Matthew Herzog averaged 36.2 yards per punt and Jake Gaffaney averaged 51.3 yards per kickoff. Iden Bone missed a 57-yard field goal attempt, the longest try of his career.
The Series: No other opponent has more wins against Whitworth than PLU. The Lutes lead the all-time series 52-29. It has been a series featuring winning streaks by each team. The Lutes won the first nine meetings between the schools. The Pirates won seven in a row from 1959 through 1964, outscoring PLU 310 – 28 during that stretch with six straight shutouts. Between 1966 and 2001, PLU won 32 straight games against the Bucs. The Pirates won six in a row from 2004-09, then the Lutes won five straight from 2010-14. Whitworth has won ten of the last 11. The largest winning margin in the series is a 67-0 win for the Pirates in 1961. PLU's biggest margin of victory is 47-0 in 1970. The first meeting was a 27-0 victory for the Lutes in 1931.
Coming up next: Whitworth will return to Oregon for a final time in 2025 to take on Willamette University on November 8th at 1:00 pm in Salem.
