NEWBERG, Ore. -- Fresh off of a dominant defensive performance and a 28-7 victory over the Willamette Bearcats, the George Fox football team is looking to turn back the clock one year as they face the Pacific Lutheran Lutes.

The Pacific Lutheran game in 2023 helped serve as a turning point in Fox's season; after a bounce-back victory over Willamette, the Bruins showed that they were a re-energized team with a 35-25 Family Weekend victory over the Lutes.

Quarterback DeMontre Thomas III was nearly perfect in that win, completing a school-record 85% of his passes and throwing for three touchdowns. He'll look to channel that same energy as he leads the Bruins to their eighth game of the season. The past week out against Willamette, Thomas II threw for a season-high 266 yards and one score.

It was Taylor Saben who did the lion's share of the scoring for the Bruin offense against the Bearcats, setting a career-high with three rushing touchdowns on the day. The Bruin running back will get the start in week eight, while William Moffitt — who was the team's leading rusher against Willamette — will serve as the backup.

River Osen, Kaelan Frey, and Elias Polanski will get the start at receiver for the third straight game. All three receivers had an impact in the prior week's game: Osen had the lone receiving touchdown for the day, while Polanski had 58 yards and Frey had four catches. Chavis Lee, listed as Osen's backup in the slot, continues to be an impact player in the Fox pass-catching game — Lee led the team in both catches (5) and receiving yards (60).

The big men up front will have the same five starters as in Salem: Derryck Wallace, Bryce Goetz, Kyle Osowski, Michael Echtle, and Lawa Ah Yat.  Goetz stepped in masterfully for the Bruin attack, switching from defensive line to offensive line over the past week. Thomas McMillan will join the five starters as tight end.

As has been the case for much of the season, it will be the usual suspects starting on the defensive side — all of the Bruins' 11 starters against Willamette return to face PLU. The defensive 11 had one of the best performances in program history, not allowing an offensive touchdown and giving up just 75 total yards on the day, with seven sacks, three interceptions, and one total rushing yard.

Noah Tack comes into the week fresh off of a career performance; the fifth-year linebacker set a program record with four sacks. For his efforts, Tack was named both an NWC Student-Athlete of the Week and a member of the D3football.com Team of the Week. Joining Tack at the linebacker position are Nash Wylie and Dustin Kunze.

Joining in on the sack attack for the Bruins against Willamette was the defensive lineman. Kuyper Assink totaled a career-high two, while Blake Mazurowski had one. Silas Kincaid, the other starter on the line, also provided pressure and shut down Bearcat running lanes, something the group hopes to do against Pacific Lutheran.

In the defensive backfield, the corners and safeties will look to replicate the performance they had against Willamette: the Bruins intercepted Bearcat quarterbacks three times. The starters against PLU will be Zak Holsey and Austin Harrison at corner, with Ty Borde, Nolan Martin, and Kiegan Schaan at safeties.

The Bruin kicking game experienced a strong bounce-back second half after an early blocked field goal attempt. Kicker Ben Rembisz finished the day 4/4 on PATs, while Riley Rutledge pinned the Bearcats inside the 20 twice.

For the Lutes, the season has been a solid performance for a team projected to finish in the middle of the conference. The Lutes have matched their 2023 season win total with a 5-3 mark, including a 3-1 record in conference. In their one NWC loss, PLU hung with an undefeated Whitworth team currently ranked No. 10 in the nation, trailing by just three at the end of the third quarter.

Quarterback Darius Chaffin is a familiar face for the Bruins: the QB started for the Lutes last season in Newberg, throwing for 240 yards and a TD. Thus far into 2024, the senior has thrown for 1,339 yards, 11 touchdowns, and four interceptions, and has been dangerous on the ground, with 343 yards and five rushing touchdowns to boot.

Also a threat on the ground is a two-headed attack for the tailback; starter Jacob Scuh has accounted for five TDs while backup Raysen Motoyama has five. For the receivers, Thor Stepina is the main target pulling in 466 receiving yards and five scores. His brother, AJ — a former GFU receiver himself — will earn the start as well.

On defense, ballhawk Sam Morasch is one of the top defenders in the conference in terms of turnovers forced, pulling in four interceptions through seven games. Linebacker Kalen Davis-White leads the team with exactly 50 tackles on the season, while Cole Becker is the sack leader with 5.5 on the year.

For Fox, Saturday will serve as a good litmus test for the team in what should be a good matchup on paper. A chance to end their November on a high note begins in Tacoma, where they look to pick up one of their best wins of the season. 

Kick-off for the game is scheduled for 1:00 p.m., with live stream and live stats links available on the Bruins' website.