NEWBERG, Ore. -- For the fourth time in five games, the George Fox football team will remain in the friendly confines of Stoffer Family Stadium as they face the No. 17 Linfield Wildcats in a Family Weekend matchup.

Linfield enters the contest ranked No. 17 in the AFCA Division III Coaches poll and No. 20 in the D3football.com poll. The Bruins will look to knock off the Wildcats for the first time since the program returned in 2014 and the first win since an 18-0 victory in 1898. If Fox takes down Linfield, it would mark the first win over a ranked team since a 43-23 victory over No. 22 Whitworth in 2017.

DeMontre Thomas II will look to lead the Bruins to that historic victory, as he is slated to start his sixth game of the season at quarterback. Thomas II had one of his best performances of the year in the Bruins' 40-14 homecoming win over Puget Sound in 2024, tossing for a season-high 278 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, and rushing for 44 yards and one score. Backing up the Bruin QB is Kameron Spencer, who recorded his first rushing attempt against the Loggers.

As has been the case in all sixth games, Bruin offensive coordinator Ken Ingram will turn to the backfield of Taylor Saben and William Moffitt to run the ball. The two backs have rushed for nine touchdowns on the season (Saben five, Moffitt four) and have each scored in the past two games.

The receiving corps for Fox will see a slight shift, as Thomas McMillan moves from starting wideout to starting tight end. McMillan recorded two catches for 20 yards against Puget Sound.  With the senior tight end moving spots, Kaelen Frey will step into the starting position. The sophomore receiver has been key for the Bruins in NWC play, pulling in five catches. Thomas II's top two receiving targets, Elias Polanski and River Osen, will start for the sixth time.

While the receiving room received a minor facelift, the offensive line will look much different regarding players and positions come Saturday. While Dylan Pires, Kyle Osowski, and Michael Echtle will all keep their starting positions, Lawa Ah Yat will shift from right tackle to left tackle. Taking his spot at right tackle will be sophomore Derryck Wallace, who was a main rotational player against UPS.

On the defensive side, it will be the same 11 players that took the field against Puget Sound. Noah Tack, who was named NWC Student-Athlete of the Week for his 11 tackle, 2.5 sack performance against the Loggers, will command the defense with Nash Wylie and Dustin Kunze at the linebacker position.

Zak Holsey and Austin Harrison will get their sixth start of the season against the Wildcats at cornerback, while Ty Borde, Kiegan Schaan, and Nolan Martin will start at safety. The quintet of defensive backs helped hold a Puget Sound passing offense that was top 10 in the nation to under 200 yards through the air.

At the defensive line, Blake Maurowski, Kuyper Assink, and Bryce Goetz will get the start. Mazurowski and Assink each recorded a sack against the Loggers, with Mazurowski's for three yards and Assink's for nine. Backup Silas Kincaid, who has been in the mix in the past four games, recorded three tackles against UPS.

It will be the duo of Ben Rembisz and Riley Rutledge handling the kicking duties for the Bruin special teams. While Rutledge was seldom needed in the Bruins' dominant win, Rembisz made two field goals for the second time in his career, knocking in four additional extra points. Backup kicker Kellen Kobata also showed he is ready whenever his number is called, recording two touchbacks on his two kick attempts late in the game against the Loggers.

These 24 starters will be facing one of the toughest challenges that they have faced all season in the No. 17 Linfield Wildcats. The Wildcats dropped their second game of the season to No. 16 Wisconsin-Oshkosh and have been on a tear ever since; in their past three games, Linfield has outscored their opponents, 164-14.

Linfield enters the game as one of the best red-zone teams in Division III, coming away with points on 92% of trips, the 18th-most efficient rate in the country, and have committed just five turnovers so far.

Blake Eaton will quarterback the team for the majority of the snaps, but running threat Luke McNabb has appeared in every game thus far. Eaton leads the NWC in passing efficiency, throwing for 1,110 yards, seven touchdowns, and one interception, while McNabb has rushed for 139 yards and seven touchdowns of his own.

While McNabb leads the team in rushing yards gained, Linfield has a two-headed backfield of their own in Jackson Pfeifer and Aaron Martinez. Pfeifer has received the majority of the snaps at tailback, rushing for 140 yards. Martinez, meanwhile, returned from injury in the Wildcats' win over Willamette and has averaged 8.2 yards per carry since his return. 

Connor Wolfe, Maclain Stoneking, and Jacob Slifka are all viable pass-catching options for Eaton & Co., with five receivers above 125 yards on the season. Wolfe and Slifka lead the team with four touchdowns apiece.

While the offense is a force to be reckoned with, the Wildcat defense is truly elite — through six games, Linfield is 10th in the nation in scoring defense, giving up just 9.8 points per game. Fifth-year senior and two-time defending NWC Defensive Player of the Year Blake Rybar leads the way from the linebacker position for a Linfield team that has not allowed more than 14 points in their four wins. 

In their previous game, Lewis & Clark tested the Linfield defense early, scoring 14 first-quarter points. Fox will have to limit mistakes and take advantage of Wildcat turnovers as they look to pull off the program's premiere win in front of their families on Family Weekend.

Kick-off for the game is scheduled for 4:05 p.m., with live stream, live stats, and ticket links available on the Bruins' website.