Area roundup:

The Whitworth Pirates have been picked by Northwest Conference coaches to again finish second behind highly-ranked Linfield in the upcoming football season.

The Pirates won nine games last season and earned a bid to the NCAA Division III tournament for only the third time in program history. However, the Pirates twice got pillaged by Linfield, which one publication has ranked No. 1 heading into the season.

Linfield received all first-place votes except for one (coaches can’t vote for their own team), which went to Whitworth.

Pacific, which finished 4-3 in the conference, was picked to finish third, followed by George Fox, Puget Sound, Pacific Lutheran, Willamette and Lewis & Clark.

Whitworth opens the season on Sept. 3 against Central (Iowa), which finished 6-4 last season.

Football

The Spokane Empire added offensive lineman Larry Mazyck to their roster for the 2017 Indoor Football League season.

Mazyck, a 6-foot-7, 330-pounder, played at the University of Kansas, where he made 13 starts at right tackle.