Whitworth upsets No. 24 Linfield, climbs into tie for top spot in NWC standings
The Whitworth Pirates scored an upset win and put themselves in the driver’s seat in the Northwest Conference.
The Pirates have won three straight games to open NWC play. On Saturday, they picked up their biggest victory of the season so far.
Whitworth knocked off No. 24 Linfield 30-20 at Maxwell Field in McMinnville, Oregon, handing the Wildcats their first conference loss.
Whitworth (4-2, 3-0 NWC) overtook Linfield in the conference standings. The Pirates now share the NWC’s top spot with Pacific Lutheran (4-2, 3-0). Lewis & Clark entered the weekend unbeaten, but suffered a stunning NWC loss to previously winless George Fox on Saturday.
Quarterback Logan Lacio returned to the Whitworth lineup after missing the second half of last week’s win over George Fox due to injury, and the junior shined against Linfield (3-2, 2-1). He completed 24 of 38 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, adding a 3-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
Lacio, a first-year starter from Hawaii, was stellar during Whitworth’s 17-0 run in the second quarter, throwing touchdown passes of 6 and 24 yards to Caleb Northcroft and Tyson Hoke, respectively, as the Pirates took a 20-7 halftime lead.
And Lacio had a sharp fourth quarter, leading scoring drives of 11 and 12 plays to put the Wildcats away.
Linfield knotted the score at 20-20 with back-to-back touchdown possessions to open the second half, but the Wildcats struggled to contain Lacio and Whitworth tailback Luis Salgado in the later stages of the game.
Salgado, a senior, totaled 119 yards on 27 carries for his third consecutive game with more than 100 yards. He had 34 during Whitworth’s final scoring drive, which ended with Iden Bone’s 37-yard field goal to put the Pirates up by 10 points with 2:24 remaining. Hoke tallied 101 yards on seven catches to lead Whitworth’s receiving corps.
Whitworth totaled 410 yards on the day while Linfield recorded 405. But the Wildcats had two costly turnovers – Whitworth defensive back Chris Knutson snagged an interception late in the fourth quarter to ice the game and Pirates linebacker Hunter Letteer recovered a fumble in the first quarter.
Linfield QB Luke McNabb went 22 of 37 for 303 yards and a TD, and led the team in rushing yards with 74 and two scores on the ground.
The Pirates next face Lewis & Clark (5-1, 2-1) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Portland.