NEWBERG, Ore. -- Midway through fall camp, Bruin head coach Chris Casey said that the entire team was focused on one thing — the home opener against Howard Payne.

Now, weeks later, the Bruins prepare for an opening week clash against the Yellow Jackets, with Fox taking the field for the first time this season in front of thousands of Bruin faithful.

The Bruins and Yellow Jackets faced off in 2022, with Fox traveling to Brownwood, Texas, and winning in a high-scoring affair, 42-39. The two teams have met in Newberg once before in 2018 — with the home Bruins winning, 35-3.

Howard Payne will be led by first-year head coach Kevin Bachtel, who served as the Yellow Jackets' defensive coordinator and assistant head coach for the past three seasons before taking the reins as the head coach in December of 2022.
 
The Yellow Jacket offense will be led by 2023 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Landon McKinney. Guiding the seventh-ranked offense in the nation last year, McKinney led the American Southwest Conference (ASC) in Total Passing Yards (2876) and Passing Yards Per Game (287.6), finishing in the top 15 nationally in both categories.
 
One of his top targets will be All-Conference receiver Jordan Carroll who caught 36 passes for 674 yards and 11 touchdowns, Carroll was among the leaders in the ASC and the nation in receiving.
 
Anchoring the HPU defense will be 2nd Team All-Conference linebacker Peyton Lowe. Last season, he recorded 50 total tackles (26 solo, 24 assisted), Lowe had five tackles for loss, 2.5 Sacks, one interception, and four pass breakups.
 
HPU is receiving votes in the AFCA Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll and the D3football.com Top 25 Preseason Poll.

For the Bruins, it will be a new-look offense in 2023. Senior quarterback Max Richey will get his first career start on Saturday, looking to fill the shoes left behind by First Team All-NWC Haiden Schaan; in 2022, the Bruin passing offense nearly doubled in production, with Schaan throwing for 2,885 yards in 10 games. In his action as a backup, Richey completed 71% of his passes for 71 yards and a touchdown.

The first-time starting quarterback will command an offense full of fresh faces— with Schaan graduating and 2022 AFCA First Team All-American Leon Johnson III transferring to Oklahoma State, the Bruins will look to other returners to step up. 

Elias Polanski is the leading returner in receiving yards for the Bruin offense in week one, pulling in 12 catches for 135 yards in 2022. Taylor Saben, who was elevated to the starting running back at the end of 2022, will start in week one after rushing for 217 yards in the final four weeks of the season.
 
On the defensive side, Northwest Conference Freshman of the Year Jacob Erickson commands a Bruin defense that forced 17 turnovers the season prior. Erickson set a program record in 2022 with 10.5 sacks on the season. The sophomore is joined by First Team All-NWC performers Nash Wylie and Kiegan Schaan, as well as Second Team player Kobe Andrews.

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.