Linfield has history behind it. Lewis & Clark got off to a hot start. But, a couple of Washington schools have taken the lead in the NCAA Division III Northwest Conference.

Whitworth and Pacific Lutheran won Saturday, moving to 3-0 in NWC play, while the Wildcats lost at home again and George Fox beat previously unbeaten Lewis & Clark.

Could Linfield’s streak of 68 consecutive years with a winning record be in jeopardy? The Wildcats lost their opener, and then Whitworth outlasted them to win 30-20 at Maxwell Field on Saturday.

Linfield has also won 25 NWC titles. So who will win the NWC this year? Seems up for grabs.

Meanwhile, Western Oregon kept itself in NCAA Division II Lone Star Conference contention with an upset in Monmouth.

Western Oregon 31, Texas Permian Basin 28 — The Wolves (4-2, 4-1 Lone Star) rallied to beat the NCAA D-II No. 13 team in dramatic fashion, moving to 4-0 at McArthur Field in Monmouth.

Texas Permian Basin (5-2, 3-2 Lone Star) surged ahead with two fourth-quarter touchdowns. But the Wolves bounced back with an 11-play, 65-yard drive to go ahead 31-28 on Jordan McCarty’s 10-yard touchdown run.

The Falcons moved deep into Western Oregon territory, but WOU’s Tamaaulelei Ma’alona recovered a fumble by quarterback Kanon Gibson to seal the win.

McCarty went 19 of 28 for 166 yards and two touchdown passes, and added 74 yards and a score on 12 carries.

Gibson threw for 348 yards and two touchdowns on 28-of-40 passing.

Next up: Western Oregon at Texas A&M-Kingsville, 7 p.m. Oct. 25, Kingsville, Texas.

Whitworth 30, Linfield 20 — The Wildcats (3-2, 2-1 NWC) lost for the second time at Maxwell Field, with the Pirates (4-2, 3-0 NWC) from Spokane remain tied for the conference lead with the win. And now Linfield has challenging upcoming games against PLU and Lewis & Clark the next two weeks.

Linfield trailed early but scored at the end of the first half to draw within 20-14 on a 50-yard touchdown pass play from Luke McNabb to Kai Laukkanen. McNabb later ran 7 yards for a third-quarter score, tying the score at 20-20.

The Pirates used two long fourth-quarter drives to win the game. Logan Lacio’s 3-yard touchdown run capped an 11-play, 71-yard drive. Whitworth added a field goal with 2:24 left to seal the win.

Lacio completed 24 of 28 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. Luis Salgado added 119 yards rushing on 27 carries. McNabb went 22 of 37 for 303 yards and added 74 yards on 12 carries.

Next up: Linfield at Pacific Lutheran, 1 p.m. Oct. 25; Whitworth at Lewis & Clark, 1 p.m. Oct. 25.

George Fox 42, Lewis & Clark 28 — The Bruins were winless heading into Saturday’s game in Newberg, and Lewis & Clark had received some national poll votes after its 5-0 start. On paper, it appeared to be a mismatch — and it was, as George Fox controlled the game.

The Bruins (1-5, 1-2 NWC) scored early on JJ Leman first-quarter touchdown passes of 51 and 50 yards to Karsen Denault, then easily closed out Lewis & Clark (5-1, 2-1).

Dashiell Weaver and Desmon Holton connected on two TD pass plays for L&C (22 and 4 yards), the second one narrowing the deficit to 21-14 at halftime. But George Fox marched for two third-quarter TDs — Brody Snyder and Leman short TD runs — as the Bruins took control.

The Bruins rushed for 219 yards on 50 carries. Leman went 19 of 26 for 284 yards and two touchdowns. Snyder ran for 145 yards and two touchdowns, while Denault had seven receptions for 153 yards and two scores.

Weaver passed for 230 yards and two scores, but was intercepted twice and sacked three times. He had 75 yards and a TD on nine carries. Holton and Garrett Lee each had 100-yard receiving days.

The Pioneers have had one winning season (2011, 7-2 under Chris Sulages) in the past 30 years. The last outright Northwest Conference title was in 1989 under then-coach Tom Smythe; L&C tied for the title in 1991.

Next up: Puget Sound at George Fox, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 25; Whitworth at Lewis & Clark, 1 p.m. Oct. 25.

Puget Sound 45, Willamette 28 — At Tacoma, the Loggers (1-5, 1-2 NWC) dominated time of possession and put up 509 yards offense in erupting for their first win against the Bearcats (1-5, 0-3).

Puget Sound led 21-0 early in the second quarter on TDs by Dre Dukes (9-yard run), Isaac Tran (12-yard pass from Hayden Teeter) and Teeter (9-yard run).

Teeter was 22 of 35 for 322 yards and three touchdowns. Dukes ran 36 times for 149 yards and two scores.

Willamette quarterback Luke Rasmussen had three touchdown passes (two to Trajan Clark), but went just 15 of 36 for 195 yards. The Bearcats were just 1 of 12 on third down.

Willamette’s Jonjon Delgado returned an interception for a touchdown.

Next up: Puget Sound at George Fox, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 25; Willamette at Pacific, 1 p.m. Oct. 25.

Pacific Lutheran 47, Pacific 29 — Led by quarterback Anthony Mahaffey’s six touchdown passes, the Lutes (4-2, 3-0 NWC) joined Whitworth in the unbeaten ranks atop the Northwest Conference by routing the Boxers (1-5, 0-3) at Puyallup, Wash.

Brody Bantolina’s 29-yard touchdown run gave Pacific an early lead, but the Lutes took over from there, scoring 30 consecutive first-half points.

Keaton Smith completed 18 of 30 passes for 216 yards and three touchdowns, including two to Bantolina.

Mahaffey had an 85-yard TD pass (to Connor Meade) in going 24 of 34 for 331 yards and six touchdowns. Meade had six receptions for 145 yards and a score; Jase Ellamar and AJ Stepina had two TD catches each.

Next up: Linfield at Pacific Lutheran, 1 p.m. Oct. 25; Willamette at Pacific, 1 p.m. Oct. 25.

Eastern Oregon 21, Southern Oregon 7 — The Mounties (3-3, 2-0 Frontier) beat the in-state NAIA rival Raiders (2-5, 1-2) at Ashland.

Quarterback Elia Kirisimasi had a touchdown pass to Dalin Knighten and two short TD runs for Eastern Oregon.

The Raiders have beaten Simpson twice, including 48-17 last week, but not any other teams this year. Their only touchdown Saturday came on Brandon Barthel’s 93-yard kickoff return.

Kirisimasi had an 81-yard completion to Kaden Malesis among his passing numbers (9 of 15, 169 yards). SOU’s Dom Montiel, an Oregon State transfer, went 23 of 41 for 190 yards and had two interceptions.

Both teams had trouble running the ball, each averaging 0.7 yards per carry. Each team had six sacks.

Next up: College of Idaho at Eastern Oregon, 7 p.m. Oct. 25; Southern Oregon at Arizona Christian, time TBA, Glendale, Ariz.

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