NEWBERG, Ore. -- It's been 275 days since the George Fox football team took the field.

Now, they're only four days away from kickoff.

The 2026 season begins after the Bruins ended their 2025 campaign on a hot streak. After an 0-5 start to the season, the team rallied to finish the year 4-1. Now, in year two of the Spencer Crace era, the Bruins are ready to ride that momentum to kick off a new season.

Quarterback JJ Leman leads the Bruins to their season opener in Newberg. The sophomore quarterback became the first true freshman starter for GFU in seven years when he took the field against Redlands in their 2025 season opener. Now, with 10 games under his belt, the Bruin signal-caller will start his 11th on Saturday. Freshman Austin Ramsey, who himself has earned the respect of his teammates after a strong fall camp, will be the backup.

In that September 6, 2025 meeting between the Bulldogs and Bruins, Fox scored just one touchdown in a 10-7 loss. However, that TD came from eventual Northwest Conference Rookie of the Year Karsen Denault. Denault ended his first collegiate game with two catches for 79 yards and a score, and looks to build off his 908-yard, nine-touchdown season in 2026.

Denault's one touchdown was on a trick play, a pass from a fellow starting wideout in Kaelan Frey. The senior earns the start for the final home opener of his career. Frey and Denault start alongside slot receiver Dreylen Tolentino, who did not play in his previous outing against Redlands. Fans should expect to see talented freshmen Bupe Chisanga Jr. and Luke Carli, as well as senior Chavis Lee, who returns after an injury ended his junior campaign, in the wideout rotation.

For the first time in four seasons, George Fox football has a different starting tailback. Taylor Saben had started at the running back position in each of the past 39 games, and ended his career as the all-time rushing and scoring leader in program history. With Saben's longtime backfield partner William Moffitt also gone, the coaching staff turns to junior Brody Snyder. Snyder exploded onto the scene with a 145-yard performance against Lewis & Clark, and ended his sophomore season with the highest yards per carry average in GFU history (6.6). Junior Damien Ehlers is listed as the backup.

At the tight end position, senior Raiden Gonzales earns the start for the blue and gold after a fall camp that Spencer Crace raved about. Gonzales, who has primarily appeared as a blocking tight end in his time at Fox, has appeared in 16 games in the past two years. Sheyden Iokia, who started for the team in 2025, will split time with Gonzales after a season where he led all tight ends with 30 receptions.

Up front, the Bruins have several similar faces in the trenches: Toby Esqueda (LT), Rylan McGraw (LG), Kyle Martin (C), Miky Amare (RG), and Sean Brewster (RT) serve as starting linemen in the home opener. These five players all appeared in at least seven games, with Amare and Brewster starting all 10. In the final five games of the season, the group was a menace up front, helping the Bruins average over 200 rushing yards per game.

On the defensive side of the ball, DC Lukkes Gilgan has a mass of talent at his disposal. Up front, Jacob Erickson will be performing his best Aaron Donald impression — when quarterbacks rejoiced that he was gone, he returned for one more year. 

Erickson, who in his senior season set the program record for single-season (12.0) and career (29.5) sacks and was named the Northwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a third-team All-American, is back for a fifth season thanks to a medical redshirt. Unsurprisingly, he is the listed starter at the defensive end position for the Bruins. Alongside Erickson on the two-deep is another First Team All-NWC DE in Kuyper Assink, as well as two solid defensive tackles in Kaden Raever and Makana Paikuli.

Meanwhile, at the linebacker spot, there will be two new starters: freshman Mika Petaia and sophomore Duke Alderete-Labuguen. Alderete-Labuguen was a rotation piece for the Bruins in 2025, recording 19 tackles (five solo), while Petaia was a 2025 4A State Champion at Sumner High. Jack Neale and Kainui Iokia are listed as backups and should see the field at times on Saturday.

Also listed as a linebacker is Zak Holsey, who, much like Erickson, returns for his fifth year. He'll float between LB and a Nickel-like position, while Ty Border, Eli Miller, Austin Harrison, and Ben Nuss are the starting defensive backs. Alongside backups Sam Astor, Ethan Cate, Garrett Steyskal, and Micah Mumford, the group looks to build off of a season where they combined for five interceptions and 20 pass breakups.

For special teams, it's more of the same for the Bruins. Longtime starters and All-NWC athletes Ben Rembisz and Riley Rutledge start as punter and kicker, respectively, while Noah Bjornstedt will serve as the long-snapper. The trio combined for zero fumbled snaps in the 2025 season, with Bjornstedt even recovering a fumble on a punt return against Pacific.

The 22 starting Bruins (and three special teamers) will face a very familiar foe in Redlands. Since the GFU football program's return in the 2014 season, the Bruins have faced the Bulldogs nine times, the most of any nonconference opponent. The Bulldogs have a slight advantage in the all-time series, leading GFU 5-4. After winning their last meeting in September of 2025, 10-7, Redlands finished the season with a 6-4 record, earning a 34-17 win over eventual NWC champ Whitworth and tallying their best mark since 2021.

When the Bulldogs faced Fox last, QB Luke Coleman was under center, finishing the game 11-22 for 100 yards. However, the Bruins will see a new face in 2026 in Tobey Schmidt. The senior QB took over for Coleman midway through the 2025 season, throwing for 1,043 yards, eight TDs, and four INTs in eight games played, earning Second Team All-SCIAC honors. A pure pocket passer, the Bruins could look to utilize their strong defensive line to their advantage, as Schmidt totaled -89 rushing yards thanks to sacks in his junior season.
Perhaps the most potent attack for the Redlands offense is the defending SCIAC Football Newcomer of the Year, running back Mark Mitchell III. The second Newcomer of the Year in program history, Mitchell III had just nine rushing attempts in his first three games. However, he became the workhorse back for the Bulldogs as the season came to a close, finishing with 527 yards rushing. In the final game of the season against Pomona-Pitzer, Mitchell III attempted a program-record 40 rushes for 95 yards.

Kevork Markossian is Redlands' leading returning receiver and the Bulldogs' big-play threat, having pulled in 14 catches for 305 yards (an impressive 21.8 yards per reception). Julian Borrayo, who was second on the team in receiving yards, returns for his senior season.

The defensive side of the ball is where Redlands has historically been successful; in 2025, UR held its opponents to below 18 points in regulation in seven of its 10 games. The team will have to recoup from the loss of All-Region linebacker Aaron Muniz, who graduated from the program in the spring.

Statistically, the top returning defender is safety Enrique Ybanez. The senior from Ontario, Calif., led the SCIAC in interceptions with four, and averaged .63 passes defended per game. Ybanez is one of eight upperclassmen on the defense.

On special teams, the Bulldogs' story is a far cry from the Bruins'. Redlands loses Second Team All-SCIAC kicker Joey Newell, as well as punter Aidan Petruescu. Neither their listed kicker (Dominic Ozeta) nor punter (Mikael Khan) has attempted a punt or kick at the NCAA level.

Thanks to several key returners for the Bruins, expect a fireworks show no matter what comes Saturday night — the first of three night games for GFU.

Live stream, live stats, and ticketing information are available on the GFU Athletics website. Kick-off for the game is scheduled for 7:05 pm.