HILLSBORO, Ore.—Lewis & Clark College football linebackers Mitchell Sarmento and Luke Griffin were named the Northwest Conference Defensive and Special Teams Student-Athletes of the Week, the league office announced on Monday afternoon. 
 
Sarmento and Griffin played key roles in football's 46-31 road win over Pacific Lutheran University on Saturday afternoon. The win marked the River Otters' first win over PLU since 2019 and helped the team reach seven wins for the first time since the 2011 season. 
 
Sarmento earns his first career NWC Defensive Player of the Week award after putting together a complete game against the Lutes. The fifth-year linebacker posted a team-high seven tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in the victory. He recorded four solo stops and both of his sacks proved to be momentum-changing plays in the contest. At the end of the first quarter, Sarmento blitzed Lutes quarterback Dallas So'oto and forced him to throw the ball away in the end zone. The referees huddled up and flagged PLU for intentional grounding and awarded Lewis & Clark a safety. In the third quarter, Pacific Lutheran had the ball on the Lewis & Clark six-yard line with a chance to cut the deficit to a one-score game. On First and Goal, Sarmento sacked So'oto and stripped the QB and sophomore Cody Strozyk jumped on the loose ball. Lewis & Clark would drive down the field to score a touchdown to make it 33-16 and the Lutes would never get closer than 15 points the rest of the way. 
 
Sarmento is tied for the team lead with 43 tackles. He sits third with 21 solo stops, second on the team with 4.5 tackles-for-loss and tied for second with two sacks. The fifth-year has added one interception, one forced fumble and one pass break-up. He has racked up 62 solo tackles, 144 total stops, 8.5 tackles-for-loss, 3.5 sacks, three interceptions and one forced fumble in 31 career games. 
 
Griffin picked up his first career NWC Special Teams honors after corralling a key fumble recovery. The sophomore linebacker pounced on top of a fumble on a Lutes punt return to give Lewis & Clark the ball at the Lutes 29-yard line in the first quarter. The River Otters turned the turnover into a touchdown three plays later to tie the game at 7-7 and would not trail the rest of the way. Griffin finished the game with two tackles (one solo). In nine games as a reserve linebacker this year, he has posted 13 solo tackles, 25 total stops, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, an interception, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. 
 
Lewis & Clark will close out their 2026 season on Saturday when they host Pacific University at 1 p.m. The River Otters will honor their seniors prior to their Senior Day contest.