SPOKANE, Wash. -- The George Fox football team entered Saturday one win away from the most wins in school history. When all was said and done, the Bruins left the Pine Bowl with that coveted eighth win, defeating Whitworth 28-14 in their final game of the season.

How It Happened
After forcing a punt on Whitworth's opening drive, the Bruins dealt with adversity in the opening minutes. Justin Montijo fumbled the ensuing punt return, giving the Pirates the ball at the Fox 25. A holding penalty and a great defensive showing stalled Whitworth and forced a 34-yard field goal, a field goal that kicker Alvaro Campos-Ontiveros pushed wide.

The Bruins, however, countered with a similar result. After a balanced 11-play, 70-yard drive that saw five runs and six passes, Ethan Hoffman missed a 28-yarder, a rare miss for the Bruin kicker.
The second quarter saw Fox come alive offensively. On the third play of the quarter, Haiden Schaan found Logan Klopfenstein for a 70-yard gain to put Fox in scoring position inside the Whitworth 10. Two plays later, Taylor Saben punched the ball in on a three-yard touchdown run.

The Fox defense made sure that their offense would see the field in scoring position again. Kiegan Schaan intercepted a pass from Jaedyn Prewitt and nearly scored, taking the ball down to the four-yard line. On the next play, Schaan connected with Leon Johnson III for a four-yard touchdown pass to give the Bruins a 14-0 lead. Though the Pirates finished the second half with a two-yard touchdown run with 11 seconds remaining in the game, Fox entered halftime with a 14-7 lead. 

In the second half, the Bruins began by pushing through more adversity. While their first drive began promising, a Dillan Dobbins fumble set the Pirates up at midfield. Whitworth drove into field goal range once again and gave Campos-Ontiveros another opportunity to score with a 26-yard field goal. Kiegan Schaan answered the call — the junior got a hand on the ball to block the field goal.

That play shifted the momentum back to the Bruins, and a long drive that ended in a Saben touchdown run extended the Bruin lead to 21-7. Whitworth closed the gap in the opening minutes of the fourth, scoring a touchdown. but the Bruins responded once again. Schaan found Saben for a 42-yard score to put the game away for the Bruins. Fox halted the Pirates on downs on two straight possessions and closed out the game to earn their eighth win of the season, 28-14.

Top Performances
Taylor Saben had three touchdowns on the day, finishing with 15 carries for 66 yards and two scores on the ground, along with four receptions for 61 yards and a receiving touchdown. Schaan finished the afternoon 25 for 32 with 334 yards — his highest total in NWC play — and two touchdowns. Johnson III led the team with six receptions, and hauled in one touchdown, while Dobbins led the team with 98 yards receiving.

Defensively, Chris McCoy and Nash Wylie led Fox with seven tackles apiece, six of them solo. Kobe Andrews recorded a sack, and Kiegan Schaan finished the day with six solo tackles, one interception, one blocked field goal, and two pass breakups.

Coach's Thoughts
"Total team victory," Bruin head coach Chris Casey said, "Offense, defense, special teams all contributed in many ways together. I'm really, really proud of our seniors, especially the guys who came back for the fifth-year, just so happy for those guys and so proud of them. Our coordinators and assistant coaches called a great game, and our players overcame adversity... We didn't make it easy on ourselves but we found a way."

What It Means
Goerge Fox ends the year 8-2 (5-2 NWC), tied for second in the NWC behind undefeated Linfield. Their eight wins are the most for the Bruins since returning to NCAA play in 2014.