Leif Ericksen leads Whitworth to Northwest Conference football romp past George Fox

NEWBERG, Oregon – Leif Ericksen threw for 254 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a TD on Saturday to guide 22nd-ranked Whitworth to a 38-14 win over George Fox, avenging a Northwest Conference football loss from last season.

Ericksen completed 27 of 41 passes with no interceptions. His TD passes came in the second half, a 15-yarder to Nick McGill in the third quarter and a 56-yarder to Garrett McKay with 9 minutes, 31 seconds left.

Mason Elms had a pair of 6-yard TD runs for the Pirates (4-0, 2-0) during a 24-0 second quarter that led to a 24-6 halftime lead.

The Pirates rushed for 158 yards, led by Tariq Ellis’ 56 yards on 13 carries. Elms ran 16 times for 51 yards.

The Bruins (2-3, 0-2) burned Whitworth late in the first quarter with Jack Taylor’s 60-yard TD pass to Kenny May.

Whitworth scored the next 31 points, including Ericksen’s 7-yard TD run in the second quarter and Cody McDonald’s 39-yard field goal with time running out in the first half.

McKay led all receivers with eight catches for 122 yards. McKay needs 33 receptions to match Wayne Ralph’s Pirates career total of 248. McKay is 495 yards short of Dwayne Tawney’s career mark of 3,042.

The Bruins’ Taylor completed 13 of 17 passes for 174 yards and an interception by Jayden Jira. May finished with five receptions for a career-best 103 yards.

Iain Black led the Pirates’ defense with seven tackles, including four solo. Chad Wilburg added six tackles, including two sacks. Andrew McCoy and Shai Pulawa also had six tackles.

The Bruins’ homecoming drew a crowd of more than 3,400.

George Fox defeated Whitworth 43-23 last season in Spokane.