Whitworth drops second-straight in 16-10 loss to George Fox

Whitworth twice had the ball late in the fourth quarter with a chance to take the lead.

George Fox had Lucas Schwin.

The Bruins defensive back set up his team’s go-ahead touchdown with a critical interception, and he broke up a pass with Whitworth threatening on the game’s final play to seal George Fox’s 16-10 win over the Pirates in a Northwest Conference football game in Newberg, Oregon.

Whitworth ended its season with a second consecutive defeat and finished 7-3 overall and 4-3 in the NWC. The Bruins finished 6-3, 6-1.

With the score tied at 10, Schwin returned an interception to the Whitworth 31-yard line with 4 minutes, 19 seconds left in the game. Quarterback Haiden Schaan located Adam Hawker for an 11-yard touchdown pass with 1:46 left for a six-point lead.

Gio Fregoso, a third-string quarterback, led Whitworth’s final drive and faced first-and-goal at the Bruins 9. Two incompletions and a sack led to Fregoso’s fourth-down pass to Dylan Ashbeck, but Schwin made a play on the ball to force an incompletion on the last play of the game.

Isaiah Jones scored on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter to pull Whitworth even at 7.

Pirates place-kicker Nate RaPue booted a 45-yard field goal with 9:19 left in the third quarter to tie the game at 10.

Ethan Kassebaum’s 6-yard TD run gave George Fox a 7-0 lead with 3:45 remaining in the opening quarter. Jason Santoni’s 34-yard field goal gave the Bruins a 10-7 edge with 10½ minutes left before halftime.

Fregoso completed 25 of 36 passes for 184 yards. Kanen Ables (64 yards) and Dillon Kuk (55) each reeled in eight receptions.

Schaan was 19-for-33 passing for 218 yards, including four passes to Leon Johnson III for 109 yards.