The Whitworth football team fell to Linfield College in the most highly anticipated game of the season on Saturday, October 22. The Pirates were defeated by the Wildcats 45-31.
The Wildcats then drove down the field but Whitworth’s defense answered with a forced fumble recovered by senior Caleb Mathena. The quarter ended with an offensive drive up the field by Linfield resulting in a touchdown at the beginning of the second quarter, making the score 3-14 with the Pirates trailing the Wildcats.
Linfield scored again on a 50-yard drive, advancing their lead to 21-3. Whitworth then answered with their first touchdown of the game, an 80-yard drive finishing in a touchdown pass from senior quarterback Ian Kolste to junior receiver Nick Kiourkas. The Wildcats then scored once more before halftime, ending the first half with a score of Linfield 28-10.
The second half started with Linfield scoring once again on a 54-yard drive. The Pirates stayed in the game however with senior running-back Duke Degaetano rushing into the endzone for a touchdown. Linfield scored once more to end the quarter making the score 42-17.
Opening the fourth quarter, Linfield continued to show their strength as the scored at the beginning of the quarter with a 47-yard drive. Whitworth then scored twice in the last 10 minutes to end with 31 points.
“This is a program that is not satisfied with moral victories,” head coach Rod Sandberg said. “We play to win. We are disappointed that we did not play better today, however we played a great team, hats off to Linfield. I am proud of our guys, they didn’t quit and they kept fighting and played to the very end.”
With this loss Whitworth has become 3-1 in conference games, while Linfield moves on to be 4-0. The Pirates will take on Pacific Oregon University on Saturday, October 29 in Forest Grove, Oregon at 1 p.m.
