NEWBERG, Ore. -- The gauntlet continues for the George Fox football team.

After playing the projected top two teams in the Northwest Conference to open up NWC play, the Bruins will face a familiar foe in the Lewis & Clark River Otters — a team that will enter Saturday 4-1.

That one loss on the Otts' record? A 28-20 GFU victory in Newberg for the Oregon Cup Championship. Fox will look to recreate that magic as they compete in a game that counts toward conference standings in Lewis & Clark's homecoming game.

Starting QB JJ Leman threw for two TDs in the win, completing 14 of 24 passes and throwing no interceptions. For the season, Leman has thrown for 1,223 yards in five games — on track for the second-most passing yards in program history — eight touchdowns, and four interceptions.

Leman and Brody Snyder are fresh off connecting for the longest play in program history, a 93-yard screen pass that turned into a TD. Snyder has 257 yards on the season, averaging 5.0 yards per carry, and had 56 yards on the ground in his last outing against the River Otters. Tucker Land, who splits time between TE and RB as a hybrid, had his first career rushing touchdown against the Otts in September.

While Karsen Denault has been a problem for defenses everywhere (he is currently fifth in the nation in receiving yards), Bupe Chisanga Jr. had his coming-out party in his last meeting against the Otts. The freshman had his first career touchdown catch in the second quarter — and followed it with his second career TD in the fourth. Kaelan Frey, who had recorded at least three catches in all five of GFU's games this season. Raiden Gonzales is listed as the starter at tight end, but Sheyden Iokia saw plenty of time as well against Whitworth.

Toby Esqueda, Rylan McGraw, Kyle Martin, Miky Amare, and Sen Brewster will go five-for-five in starting for the Bruins along the line. The five players have helped the Bruins put together their most efficient offense since 2022, thanks in part to excellent blocking.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Bruins ran wild against Whitworth, holding the Pirates to 17 points and forcing four turnovers. Three of those turnovers were caused by defensive linemen. All-American Jacob Erickson forced two fumbles, one of which was recovered by Fox, while recording a sack. Meanwhile, Kuyper Assink had his first career interception and had a pass breakup that was intercepted by Erickson's backup, Jonah Tua. 

The first change for the two deep in three weeks will take place at the defensive tackle position. Kaden Raever and Tyven Self-Gomes-Kealakai are listed as starters on the Bruins' two-deep. Five games into his GFU career, Self-Gomes-Kealakai has 10 tackles and one forced fumble, with his first half-sack coming against Lewis & Clark.

Duke Alderete-Labuguen and Mika Petaia have been a revelation for the Bruins at the linebacker position. The two underclassmen have been at or near the top of the tackles list for Fox in every game. Petaia led the squad with nine tackles against Lewis & Clark, while Alderete-Labuguen had seven tackles, an interception, and a fumble recovery against Whitworth.

Ty Borde had seven tackles of his own against the Pirates, five of which were solo. Fellow defensive back starters Eli Miller, Austin Harrison, Ben Nuss, and Zach Holsey also impressed. Miller, Harrison, and Holsey did, while Ben Nuss had a pass breakup.

The Bruin special teams squad received some special attention on Tuesday, with long snapper Noah Bjornstedt becoming just the third snapper to ever be named to the D3football.com Team of the Week. Bjornstedt will send his snaps to kicker Ben Rembisz and punter Riley Rutledge, while Jacob Hundven will handle the kickoffs. In the returning game, Lyal Viers is listed as a returner for Fox alongside Snyder.

For the River Otters, it's been nothing but smiles since their loss to the Bruins in September. L&C has rattled off three consecutive noncompetitive victories. Against Pomona-Pitzer, the Otts led 49-14 at halftime. Two weeks later, they set a program record with 74 points in a 60-point win over Puget Sound. In their last outing, they shut out Willamette, 34-0.

The Lewis & Clark offense is commanded by Fresno State transfer Dashiell Weaver. Weaver began the season in a recruiting battle with fellow gunslinger Sam Simrill, but it's his show now. Weaver is 22nd in the nation with 1,359 yards (despite sitting the past three fourth quarters) and has a 14-1 TD-INT ratio. That one interception did come at the hands of Ty Borde, though — something that defensive coordinator Lukkes Gilgan will try to recreate.

While Karsen Denault may get recognition for being fifth in the nation in receiving, he is only second in the NWC in receiving yards. Sytyn Lasconia has eclipsed 100 yards in all five games this season, and is third in the nation with 760 receiving yards. Lasconia is far from the only target at Weaver's disposal; tight end Julius Walker is one of the dominant TEs in the nation, recording 298 yards receiving, four TDs, and one appearance on the D3football.com Team of the Week list.

Though the Otts may be passing-focused, that doesn't mean they can't run. Gio Borea has rushed for 319 yards and three scores, while Weaver himself is mobile, rushing for five TDs on the season.

The L&C defense hasn't played any world beaters offensively in the past three weeks, but they have been incredibly efficient. The River Otters have allowed just 28 points in the first half of the past three games, and have forced seven interceptions. Curtis Tucker leads the team with 26 tackles on the year, but defensive lineman JT Chavez may be the River Otters' most threatening defender — he has totaled four total TFLs in his past two games.

Like the defense, the punting and kicking games haven't been pushed much since the Otts' last matchup against the Bruins. In fact, Trevor Koo's lone two field goals of the season came over one month ago in the Oregon Cup Championship. Special teams was the biggest turning point in the two teams' last meeting; after taking a 10-0 lead, back-to-back poor long snaps put the Bruins in the red zone and helped them take a 21-10 lead into halftime.

While Lewis & Clark has been a monster in their past three games, the Bruins have plenty to look back on. Fox held Weaver to his most inefficient game of 2026 (inefficient by his standards, that is. Weaver still had over 250 yards passing and a TD). However, Fox won't get the benefit of two red zone gifts in Portland. 

Expect a thriller of a game as both teams make a push to establish themselves as one of the teams to beat in the NWC.

Kickoff for the game is scheduled for 1:00 pm. Live stream, live stats, and ticket information are available on the GFU Athletics website.