NEWBERG, Ore. -- The George Fox football team is back in Oregon to face a familiar foe.

After a 10-7 loss to the Redlands Bulldogs in their season opener, the Bruins are off to Portland for their second game of the season, facing the Lewis & Clark Pioneers. The game will be the third instance of the Oregon Cup, a nonconference agreement between four Oregon football schools. The Bruins are 2-0 in Cup games, defeating Pacific (14-9) in 2023 and Willamette (37-14) in 2024.

Historically, George Fox has held the edge between the two teams — the Bruins are 8-2 against the Pios since the program's return in 2014, and picked up the first win in the new program's history over Lewis & Clark in November 2014. However, the tides have started to turn; the Pioneers have downed Fox in each of the last two seasons, including a 24-21 victory in 2024.

Quarterback JJ Leman will look to break that skid and get his team back in the win column. The Bruin freshman entered opening week as the number two on the depth chart, but saw every snap against Redlands, finishing 13-28 for 121 yards and three interceptions and rushing for 87 yards. With his first career collegiate game under his belt, Leman has plenty of positives to look back on and build off of for his second start.

One of those positives was a fellow freshman in Karsen Denault. The wide receiver is listed as a starter for game two after leading the team in receiving against Redlands with 79 yards and a touchdown. That touchdown was on a trick play pass from another starting WR, Kaelan Frey, whose first career pass went for a score. The two receivers will be joined by Drey Tolentino out wide.

Taylor Saben and William Moffitt will again split time at the running back position, with Saben listed as the starter. Saben had five carries while Moffitt had just four against Redlands, but each could see an uptick against the Pios. Sheyden Iokia will serve as the starting tight end after two eight-yard catches a week prior.

Four of the starting five linemen from the season opener (Miky Amare, Kyle Martin, Lawa Ah Yat, and Sean Brewster) will retain their spots, while Rylan McGraw steps into the left guard role. The line did not allow a sack on Leman in their first outing, and they hope to keep the streak going in game two.

On the defensive side, all 11 starters from week one will carry over to week two. The Bruin defense excelled against Redlands, allowing just 292 total yards and 10 points. Fox forced several Redlands missed field goals and held Bulldog quarterback Luke Coleman to 100 yards passing.

For the defense, the line will consist of Jacob Erickson, Silas Kincaid, Kaeden Raever, and Kuyper Assink, while the linebackers will be Dylan Palama and Kaikoa Iokia. Ben Nuss and Austin Harrison will serve as cornerbacks, with Ty Borde and Reyn Asato as safeties. Zak Holsey will be the Bruins' nickel for the second straight game.

Special teams will also remain the same. Punter Riley Rutledge, kicker Ben Rembisz, long snapper Wyatt Ferguson, punt returner Drey Tolentino, and kick returner Taylor Saben will all look to help make head coach Spencer Crace's "three-pronged approach" of offense, defense, and special teams a reality.

And the Bruins will need all three phases of the game as they face Lewis & Clark. Under new head coach Brett Elliott, who served as the Linfield Wildcats offensive coordinator from 2019 to 2024, the Pios looked like a force to be reckoned with — getting out to a 42-6 halftime lead over Puget Sound before eventually downing the Loggers, 56-20.

Leading the potent Lewis & Clark offensive attack will be Dashiell Weaver, an NCAA Division I transfer from Fresno State. The sophomore made an instant impact in his first game with the Pios, throwing for 259 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for 89 yards. His performance was enough for him to earn NWC Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week honors.

But it wasn't just Weaver who shone for the Pios. Lewis & Clark had 679 total yards of offense in the game. 62 yards of that was from 2024 NWC First Team running back Jordan Lahusky, while 80 yards was from freshman receiver Sytyn Lasconia.

Defensively, the Pios performed well against the Loggers. While Lewis & Clark gave up 30 points or more seven times in 2024, they allowed just 20 against UPS, with only six allowed in the first half before the game fell out of reach. Jaden Mwendapole had an interception, while the team as a whole allowed just 12 yards rushing. However, all three of the Loggers' touchdowns were through the air, with two over 30 yards.

Fox will look to return to their winning ways by generating stops against the Lewis & Clark offense and utilizing the passing attack to down the Pios.

The game, scheduled to begin at 1:00 pm, will be live streamed on FloSports. Live stats and ticketing information is available on the George Fox Athletics website. There will be no cash sales at the game and limited options to purchase in person via credit card, so be sure to purchase tickets at this link.