(First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 7-5-4-3-2-1 basis).

Defending champion Pacific Lutheran University, led by their all-star running back, has been picked by Northwest Conference football coaches to repeat in 1999. The Lutes received four of six first place votes and a total of 37 ballot points.

Pacific Lutheran won the title last season, dethroning two-time champion Willamette University. The Lutes earned the conference’s first-ever bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs, losing at St. John’s (Minn.) 33-20 in the first round.

Linfield College received the other pair of first place votes. The Wildcats were runners-up to the Lutes in 1998.

This will be the fourth season since the Northwest Conference readopted football as a conference sport. From 1985 through 1995 the Northwest Conference schools played football as part of the Columbia Football Association. In 1995 the Northwest Conference began the process of joining the NCAA and withdrew from membership in the CFA.

 

Pacific Lutheran will be led by running back Anthony Hicks (Sr., Tumwater, Wash.), the 1998 Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year. Hicks rushed for 903 yards and averaged 6.4 yards per carry and 100.3 yards per game for the Lutes. Hicks will benefit from the return of an experienced offensive line, led by two All-NWC linemen in center Andrew Finstuen (Sr., Spokane, Wash.) and guard Josh Hostetter (Sr., Anchorage, Alaska). And unfortunately for opposing defenses, they will not be able to key on Hicks because he is joined in the PLU backfield by co-1st Team selection Chad Johnson (Jr., Puyallup, Wash.) at quarterback. Johnson completed 58% of his passes for 1947 yards and 14 touchdowns in 1998. In all, the Lutes return 10 offensive starters. The Lutes were hurt most by graduation on the defensive side of the ball. PLU lost five starters to graduation, including 1998 NWC Co-Defensive Player of the Year Brandon Woods. Defensive lineman Andy Armstrong (Sr., Tacoma, Wash.) and defensive back Nate Grygorcewicz (Sr., Elma, Wash.) will lead the Lutes.

Linfield’s hopes rely on improvement through experience on offense and continued excellence on defense. The Wildcats return 9 starters on offense. But one loss was quarterback Brian Higgins. The new quarterback will have plenty of weapons to work with. Carl Haberberger (Jr., Leavenworth, Wash.) was a 1st Team All-NWC selection at tailback in 1998 after rushing for 822 yards and scoring nine touchdowns. The new QB will also have a talented offensive line to work behind, led by center Mark Bernhardt (Sr., Hillsboro, Ore.). Wide receiver Nick Forsey (Sr., Boise, Idaho - 2nd Team All-NWC) provides a quality passing target as well. But the Wildcats will have to figure out a way to score more points than the 18.2 points per game they averaged in 1998. Defensively, the Wildcats led the Northwest Conference in almost every category in 1998. But Linfield must overcome the loss of six defensive starters, all of whom were 1st or 2nd Team All-NWC selections. The defense will be led by defensive end Bruce Assily (Sr., Honolulu, Hawaii), who was a 2nd-Team All-NWC selection in 1998 after nabbing 1st team honors as a sophomore.

Willamette University plans on reclaiming the title it won in both 1996 and 1997. The Bearcats will be very dangerous again on offense, with eight starters returning to run their "Fly" attack. Bucky Rivera (So., Eugene, Ore.) and Luke Atwood (Jr., Keizer, Ore.) were a very effective two-headed quarterback for the Bearcats last season. More importantly, they got the ball to the likes of Ardell Bailey (Sr. Salem, Ore.) and Nate Bell (So., Corvallis, Ore.), who finished with 737 and 617 rushing yards, respectively. All five offensive linemen earned all-star status last season, but three graduated. The new offensive line will be built around guards Ryan Gold (Sr., Encinitas, Calif.), who was a 1st Team player in 1998, and Gerrit Wood (Sr., Davis, Calif.), who was a 2nd Team choice. On defense, Willamette loses two-time NWC Defensive Player of the Year Brandon Folkert, but returns eight other starters. Defensive linemen David Lizaola (Sr., Salinas, Calif.) and Aaron Lawson (Sr., Coulterville, Calif.) combined for 15 sacks in 1998 and were 1st and 2nd Team All-NWC selections, respectively.

Whitworth College hopes to break the strangle-hold that the "big three" have held on the top half of the Northwest Conference for three consecutive seasons. The Pirates return the most starters of any team in the NWC, with 10 defensive and 8 offensive players back. The defense will be led by defensive end Sky Blake (Jr., Bothel, Wash.), who finished with 14 sacks last season and led Whitworth in tackles. Four other 1st or 2nd Team selections return on a defense that allowed only 18.5 points per game in 1998, the team’s best mark since 1976. On offense, the name of the game is balance. Co-1st Team All-NWC quarterback Josh Parbon (Jr., Aberdeen, Wash.) will have a pair of 2nd Team All-NWC receivers to throw to in wide out Matt Stueckle (Sr., Spokane, Wash.) and tight end Ivan Gustafson (Sr., Tumwater, Wash.). Whitworth will continue to double team opponents with the ground attack of Ben Vaday (Sr., West Linn, Ore.) and Damian Putney (Sr., Harrington, Wash.) who combined for 1190 yards and 14 touchdowns last season.

Puget Sound has the dual task of improving an offense that finished last in the conference in total yards and points in 1998, while rebuilding a defense that kept the Loggers in many games. UPS returns eight players on offense, including quarterback Craig Knapp (Jr., Sequim, Wash.) and wide receiver Jeff Halstead (Sr., Milwaukie, Ore.), who was named Honorable Mention All-NWC in 1998. In addition, four of five starters on the offensive line return. The key loss was the graduation of top running back Patrick Ames. On defense, UPS must replace four NWC all-stars, including linebacker Tony Puz, who led the conference in sacks in 1998 with 18. The Loggers do have Cody Turner (Sr., Yelm, Wash.) back, who led the conference in interceptions (with 6) and takeaways (with 10) last season. Also back is defensive end Will Lathrop, who was third in the NWC with 11 sacks last year.

Lewis & Clark College will look to the direction of new head coach Mike Fanger to improve the prospects of the Pioneers. On offense, Fanger will rely on the strong arm of quarterback Drew Jordan, who was third in the NWC last season in both passing yards (188.6 per game) and total offense (170.8 per game). But Jordan must find a new favorite target now that 1st Team All-NWC wide receiver Aaron Schmidt has graduated. L&C must also improve a rushing attack that averaged only 34.4 yards per game last season. The return of four linemen, including all-star Dan Reichenback (Sr., Salem, Ore.), should help the running game. Nine starters return from a defense that allowed more than 400 yards almost 38 points per game in 1998. Jason Hill (Jr., Grants Pass, Ore.) had four interceptions to lead the Pioneers last season.