NEWBERG, Ore. --- The seventh full season of football at George Fox University since the return of the sport to campus is days away from conclusion. This Bruins squad has an opportunity to push the competitive bar to its highest notch yet.

George Fox has already matched its best conference win total with five victories. With only two non-conference and nine total games on the schedule this season, the Bruins will not be able to reach the seven victories of the 2017 team, but at least a share of second place in the Northwest Conference is assured, matching the accomplishment of that '17 squad. A win over the Whitworth Pirates this weekend would assure sole possession of second place for the first time, with a microscopic chance of a share of first place.

The chances of Lewis & Clark upsetting unbeaten Linfield this Saturday and opening up a shot at first place are admittedly remote. The Pioneers, after three early stilted drives, were eventually able to move the ball against the Bruin defense this past Saturday, but they were unable to hold onto it. The Bruins forced five Pioneer turnovers in a 40-9 victory at Griswold Stadium Saturday.

"We played physical and had no turnovers," said Bruins head coach Chris Casey, a former Whitworth assistant. "A great recipe for success in a given game. The defense caused the turnovers by attacking the ball carrier and the ball. Great job of players taking care of their assignment and then flying to the ball." 

The Bruins got touchdowns from their offense, defense, and special teams in the same game for the second time this season. After the Pios' only touchdown of the day tied the game 6-6 in the second quarter, Josiah Schmidt returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards for a score. Schmidt also rushed for two touchdowns in the game.

Later in the fourth quarter, with George Fox leading 33-6 and Lewis & Clark looking to score a touchdown to stay in the game, Wyatt Adams deflected a pass and Josh Poppleton picked it off at the goal line, racing 100 yards to the other end zone to seal the victory with a school-record return. Adams also had an interception of his own, while Poppleton added a sack and ten tackles to another productive day. The senior linebacker from Beaverton leads the NWC in tackles with 63. 

"The staff is really happy for a player like Josh," said Casey. "Outstanding overall game and the 100-yard interception return will be a memory for him and his teammates forever. He has just kept grinding and improving throughout his GFU football career and is playing at an All-League level as a senior this season."

Poppleton and Adams are two of the more than half dozen players who took advantage of the NCAA grace year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and played as fifth-year seniors this season.

"It is great to see Wyatt overcome injuries this year to play at such a high level," said Casey. "We had four sacks and hurried the QB many other times with our pass rush and held a good offensive team averaging 34 points a game to 9. Super job all the way around!"

Offensively, George Fox played turnover-free for the third time in the last four games, all victories. After a slow start in the first period, the Bruins running back tandem of seniors Ethan Kassebaum and Schmidt combined for 143 yards and three touchdowns. While Schmidt hit paydirt twice, Kassebaum had the most productive game of his career with 88 yards on 11 carries with a 35-yard TD run and six receptions for 72 yards. Quarterback Haiden Schaan was 21 of 28 for 272 yards, with wide receiver Leon Johnson III hauling in six catches for 93 yards.

"We ran the ball well and passed the ball very efficiently," said Casey. "It all begins with blocking, which begins with the offensive line and tight end, but good blocking downfield by receivers was a major contributing factor. Our pass protection only gave up one sack and whoever was running the ball on a given play finished the play by being physical as they were being tackled. Good balance on offense overall, and we averaged seven yards per play."

This is the Bruins' first chance to finish ahead of Whitworth in the NWC football standings. The teams finished tied for second at 5-2 in 2017, but the Bruins won the head-to-head matchup. In the last full season of NWC football in 2019, the Pirates defeated the Bruins 19-14 in a defensive battle in which both teams were held under 15 first downs and 300 total yards.

The Bruins' last win over the Pirates came in 2017 when Grant Schroeder passed for 261 yards and three touchdowns on 16 of 21 and ran for 82 yards and two more scores in a 43-23 victory at the Pine Bowl in Spokane. Brad Lander caught six passes for 163 yards and a pair of TDs, and Wesley Riddell rushed for 121 yards and a score. The Bruins rolled up 553 yards of offense, which ranks as the second-most in a game, trailing only the 2016 home game against the Pirates, in which George Fox lost 28-23 despite amassing 558 offensive yards.

Whitworth has eight consecutive winning seasons and enters the matchup 7-2 overall, with both losses coming in conference play to Linfield (42-7) and last week against Pacific (14-7). Against the Boxers, Whitworth was limited to a season-low 235 yards. With the game tied 7-7 in the fourth quarter, Pacific mounted a 12-play drive to score the go-ahead touchdown on a Joshua Harris two-yard touchdown run with a little less than eight minutes to go. A final Whitworth drive ended on downs inside the Boxer red zone with 47 seconds to go. 

Prior to Saturday's loss, the Pirates had been averaging over 400 yards of offense per game and have the number two scoring defense (18.3) in the NWC. Senior quarterback Jaedyn Prewitt is second in the conference in passing yards (1,758) and touchdowns (13). With leading rusher Solomon Hines smothered by the Boxer D (12 yards on 10 carries), Prewitt led the Pirates with a career-high 68 yards on 11 carries, but left the game Saturday with an injury following a 13-yard run at the end of the third quarter. Senior Jerusalem To'oto'o is the Bucs' leading receiver with 31 catches for 444 yards and two scores. Fellow senior Ethan Peloquin is the top red-zone target, with five of his 24 catches going for scores. 

The Pirates' defense is led by a ball-hawking secondary. Senior Bryce Hornbeck has three interceptions with a conference-leading 14 passes defended. Senior Jacob Hogger also has three of Whitworth's 15 interceptions, ranking second in the NWC behind Pacific Lutheran (17). 

The Pirates return eight offensive, ten defensive, and three key special teams starters from a 4-0 spring campaign. Ignoring the COVID year, they have the second-best record in the NWC (45-12 overall, 32-7 conf.) since 2015. George Fox has the third-best record in that span (32-25, 25-16). This should be a very competitive matchup between two of the top teams in the conference.

"We are looking forward to Senior Day on Nov. 13th to honor a great group of young men who have been such positive contributors to our college and our football program," said Casey. "Many of them realigned many life/academic things relative to COVID to be back for their last season at Fox, and they all feel it has been a great decision. And now to play their final game for sole possession of second place in the NWC is really something to look forward to this weekend."