Whitworth quarterback Logan Lacio shines in debut as Pirates turn back Gusties 23-10
Despite a group almost entirely made up of new starters, the Whitworth football team knocked off Gustavus Adolphus in the season opener for the second straight year thanks to strong quarterback play.
The Pirates (1-0) jumped ahead early and maintained a steady lead over the Gusties (0-1) before securing the 23-10 win at the Pine Bowl on a smokey Saturday afternoon.
“We had all this adversity, and we got to find out what our team is made of,” Whitworth coach Rod Sandberg said. “That’s really encouraging to me that they have some resolve, some resilience and responded and made some big plays … We got to clean some things up, but I think this team showed what they could be capable of if they want to do the work.”
In his first career start for Whitworth, Junior quarterback Logan Lacio, who backed up Northwest Conference MVP Ryan Blair in 2024, lived up to Sandberg’s preseason assurances that he was the right guy to lead the offense.
Lacio, a Hawaiian native, completed 29 of 38 passes for 331 yards and one touchdown. He also had one interception. Outside of a few mistakes, Lacio paced the offense and found 11 Pirates for completions.
“I was super excited. It was super surreal,” Lacio said. “Obviously, I have big shoes to fill with Ryan (Blair) going out. I knew it was my turn to lead this team and lead this offense. I was just trying to be the best leader I can be.”
Despite a bit of a sloppy start, two third-down conversions and a balanced offensive attack put the Pirates in the red zone on the opening drive. Lacio punched it in himself from the one-yard line to put Whitworth ahead 7-0 early.
The teams traded empty drives before Lacio found junior wide receiver Chayce Gomes along the right sideline for a 64-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.
The Pirates took a 17-3 lead into the half. Although Whitworth looked poised to run away with the game in the third quarter, some Pirates mistakes and a couple big plays allowed the Gusties to hang around.
But the Whitworth defense kept the Gusties at arm’s reach and prevented a comeback. Gusties sophomore quarterback Jacob Ginskey was held to 158 passing yards, but kept the defense honest with 132 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
Lane Watkins, a senior defensive lineman, had two of Whitworth’s four sacks on the day in his first career start. Sophomore linebacker Drew Cody led the Pirates with 10 tackles.
An interception by sophomore defensive back Wyatt Hess sealed the win for the Pirates.
“It’s just really good to get that first one under our belt and I think that was really needed for this team,” Watkins said. “It’s a young group, we needed that first little jump. We know that we’re a good team. We just came out here and were finally able to prove it.”
The Pirates will travel to La Grande, Oregon next weekend to face off against Eastern Oregon on Saturday at 1 p.m.