NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox football team faced stiff competition on Saturday, dropping the Family Weekend game to the No. 17 Linfield Wildcats, 7-47.

How It Happened
Linfield, who entered the game ranked No. 17 in the AFCA Coaches poll and No. 21 in the D3football.com poll, set the tone early, picking off DeMontre Thomas II on the third play of the game. Fox's defense forced third downs and made the WIldcat attack work, but Linfield converted three times on a 10-play touchdown drive to take a 7-0 lead. 90 seconds later, the Wildcats found the end zone again on a 42-yard touchdown.

The Bruins' biggest two plays of the first quarter came on passes to Elias Polanski — on 10-yard completion and one 13-yarder — but the second quarter featured some big-time plays through the air. Thomas II found Kaelan Frey on the right sideline for a 30-yard gain, before the biggest play of the night: a 43-yard strike over the middle to Chavis Lee for a touchdown to cut the halftime deficit to 23-7.

While the first half ended with a Bruin highlight, the second half started with a grueling Wildcat drive. In a drive similar to their first, Linfield marched down the field on a 10-play drive, extending their lead to 30-7. Long Linfield drives took up much of the third quarter — the Wildcats ran 25 plays to the Bruins' seven — as they took a 37-7 lead into the fourth.

Several new Bruins got some key action in the fourth quarter. Backup quarterback Kameron Spencer threw five times, with Kala'i Bradley and Gabe Foster each recording their first career catches. When all was said and done, the Bruins had fought hard but came up short, 7-47.

Top Performances
DeMontre Thomas II finished the day 14-25 for 146 yards, one touchdown, and one interception, while backup Kameron Spencer was a perfect 5-5 for 27 yards. Chavis Lee led the Bruins with three receptions for 54 yards and a score. On defense, Nash Wylie led the team with 10 tackles, while Noah Tack had nine — including one sack — and Dylan Palama had eight.

Coach's Thoughts
"Linfield is an outstanding team this year," Bruin head coach Chris Casey said, "and we believe we're a good program as well. Today, we didn't play up to our potential. Part of that is because of Linfield's talent, and though I was proud of our team's attitude and effort, we can't make mistakes and beat ourselves up. We just have to correct mistakes, move on, and not let one game define our season."

What It Means
The Bruins drop down to 3-3 (1-2 NWC) on the season, while the Wildcats improve to 5-1 (3-0 NWC). 

What Happens Next
After four home contests in five games, the Bruins will embark on the road to face Willamette (2-4, 0-3 NWC) for the second time this season; the two teams met for their Oregon Cup game in September, with Fox winning in Newberg, 37-14. Now, the two teams will meet in Salem, Ore. with a kickoff scheduled for 1:00 p.m.