NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox Bruin football team is under the home lights for the first time in 2023, squaring off against Willamette at Stoffer Family Stadium at 7:00 p.m.z

The Bruins will be looking to bounce back after a 41-13 loss to the No. 5 team in the country in the Linfield Wildcats. The Bearcats themselves have also played the Wildcats, losing 14-70 at the end of September.

For the third straight week, the Bruin depth chart lists both DeMontre Thomas II and Max Richey as possible starters. In the contest against Linfield, Thomas II started the game and completed 7/12 passes while Richey threw for 145 yards and a touchdown. For the season, the two have split time in every game but one, throwing for a combined 1,235 yards and six touchdowns on the season.

Over the last two weeks, Fox has shifted to a ground-and-pound attack, running the ball 29 times against Linfield and totaling 225 rushing yards against Puget Sound. Taylor Saben will get the lion's share of carries at running back, totaling 16 against the Wildcats. The sophomore running back has also been utilized in the passing game, pulling in one touchdown and recording 75 yards receiving over the past two weeks. Logan Candanoza will also likely see reps at tailback, having recorded at least three carries in every game this season.

Though the Fox offense has been dialing in the run and splitting QB reps, the passing game has been yielding big plays — over the past three weeks, the Bruins have totaled four passing touchdowns over 50 yards. Dillan Dobbins has pulled in three of the long balls, and his numbers show this; the fifth-year senior currently averages 38.3 yards per catch.

Up front on the line, Fox will start the same five linemen as they have all season in Zach Luworo, Lawa Ah Yat, Kyle Osowski, Michael Echtle, and Daniel Jefferies. Ben Rembisz will command kicking duties for the Bruins after a 1/2 performance on extra points the week prior.

On the other side of the field, the Bruins remain without both Matthew Phillips and Zak Holsey, with Austin Harrison, Hunter Williams, and Ty Borde filling in their stead. In total, it will be the same 11 starters out for Fox's defense from the week before, with Nash Wylie commanding the linebackers and Jacob Erickson up front.

The Bruins will be facing a Willamette team also searching for their first NWC win of the year; after a season-opening win over La Verne, the Bearcats have lost their next five games by a combined score of 278-42.

Willamette will see a different face under center this weekend after freshman starter  Micah Ho'Omanawanui left in the third quarter of the Bearcats' game against Pacific Lutheran. Junior Jack McCarty, who replaced Ho'Omanawanui in the second half of the game against PLU, will get his first start of the season. Thus far in 2023, McCarty has completed four of his 17 passes for 41 yards and two interceptions.

Gabriel Herrera leads the way for the Bearcats in rushing, averaging 66 yards per game and scoring two touchdowns on the season. On the receiving end, Justin Genovia is Willamette's top receiver, pulling in 20 catches for 210 receiving yards in six games. The lone All-NWC returner for the Bearcats is Dayton Roberts, who will be starting on Saturday at right guard.

Defensively, linebacker La'Akea Like is the top tackler for the Bearcats with 40 on the season. While several interior linemen have generated the pressure; Michael Valtierra and Michael Moreno both have three solo sacks on the year, good for fifth in the conference. Though they have not been utilized frequently, the kicking game has been solid from close range for the Bearcats — kicker George Wiles-Koehler is 9/9 on the year for extra points and 1/1 on field goals.

This Saturday will serve as a bounce-back for either the Bruins or Bearcats, both looking to get their first conference win of the season. And for a Fox team that has shown flashes throughout the season, there's no better time to put it all together than under the lights at home.

Tickets for the game are available online via the Bruins' ticketing partner, HomeTown Ticketing, and general admission purchases will also be available at the stadium on game day. All games are available to be streamed via the GFU Athletics website, with all home games and away games at Pacific and Linfield available on KRCW — Channel 32 for Dish and DirecTV users and Channel 3 for Xfinity users.