SPOKANE, Wash. — With all the success the Cougs and the Zags are seeing this year, it may be easy to forget another local University is having a historic year.
Whitworth University's football team is currently undefeated and a win this Saturday would make this the best season in program history.
Division III football is a bit different.The stadiums are smaller, the players probably aren't going to the NFL and there are no athletic scholarships. But the history is just as rich.
The Whitworth Pirates will try to make some of that history this weekend, as they go up against one of the most storied programs in the country: St. John's of Minnesota.
One of the other differences of D-III football: The structure of the season. The regular season lasts only nine games. Then, there's a five-round, 32-team playoff.
Whitworth aced the regular season, winning all nine games. The playoffs began last Saturday, and the Bucs smoked their opponents 48-6.
"It's just special for the school, and the community, and these kids that have worked so hard to have this success,” said Head Coach Rod Sandberg “But you don't measure against the past or the future, you just enjoy the moment. We don't want to make this bigger than it is. We just love to play the game."
Only one Whitworth team has ever made it this far before, the 2006 team that featured future pro Michael Allen.
That team was also undefeated and won its first playoff game, and its season came to an end against St. John's of Minnesota.
“We’re excited,” Sandberg said. “I mean, when you're a competitor you like to play a great opponent, and we have that opportunity this Saturday."
The Bucs will now have their shot at revenge. The Johnnies are certainly favored, a three seed to Whitworth's ten, ranked top five in the country whereas the Bucs are just shy of the top ten.
But St. John's will be without one key asset they had in 2006, the late and legendary head coach John Gugliardi. He led the Johnnies for 59 years, and with 489 Ws, he won more games than any coach in the history of college football, at any level.
Playing such a powerhouse on their own turf will be a unique challenge. The Johnnies ran up 84 points on their first-round opponent. But the Bucs have one of the best defenses in the country.
"Biggest game of our season, and we just got to do everything we can,” said linebacker Iain Black. “We know we got to be on our A-game. So everyone's been preparing really well."
If that defense shows up Saturday, Whitworth may well have a shot of going where no Whitworth team has ever gone: The national quarterfinals.
"It's just incredible,” Black said. “I mean there's really no words to describe it. The amount of support we've gotten from alumni and people outside reaching out to us, letting us know how special this is."
“I've never been around a team that's had this much fun," Sandberg added.
