Area roundup: Polls rank Whitworth in top 25

The Whitworth Pirates put together the most successful football season in school history last year.

This season, they’re predicted to do it again.

Whitworth is rated highly in three preseason NCAA Division III polls, including 10th by Street and Smith’s. D3football.com put the Pirates at 16th, and Lindy’s Magazine has them at 24th.

Whitworth went 11-1 in 2006, finishing the regular season with a 10-0 record and capturing the Northwest Conference title.

The 2006 squad was the first in Whitworth history to win 10 games in a season and the first to win a postseason playoff contest. The Pirates finished ninth in the final D3football.com poll.

The Pirates are returning 15 starters from last year, including 2006 NWC Defensive Player of the Year Casey Clifton (University High) and defensive back Jay Tully (Mead High).