Linfield vs Willamette Preview...

     The Spread versus the Fly, two strong running games, the two best defenses in the Northwest Conference, a game set in the Salem, the capital city of Oregon.

     The 6th-ranked Linfield Wildcats take on Willamette University at McCulloch Stadium in Salem this Saturday.  The winner of the game will have an inside track to the Northwest Conference title.

     “It makes it that much of a bigger deal,” Willamette coach Mark Speckman said.  “It’s a good rivalry, and both teams are having a shot at winning a championship.”

     “Last year was a playoff elimination game for both teams,” Linfield coach Joseph Smith said.  “This year, it’s probably not the same thing for us, but it is again for them, so it’s their chance to get into the playoffs; if they lose, they’re done.” 

     Despite losing their top passer, rusher, and receiving leader from last season, the ‘Cat Attack is still operating at full gear, averaging 38 points and 435 yards of offense per game.  Linfield has shown good balance so far on the season, averaging 209 rushing yards and 226 passing yards per game.

     “This year, they’re a bit of an unknown in the sense that we don’t know their personnel as well,” Speckman said.  “The key for us is to not give up big plays, and make them drive the field, to see if they can do that.” 

     Mickey Inns has been steady so far this season as the heir apparent to Aaron Boehme, completing 53 percent of his passes for 332 yards and four touchdowns, with only two interceptions.  After Aaron Williams got hurt in the opening series of the Cal Lutheran game, running back Josh Hill has rushed for 211 yards and one touchdown in his absence.  Wide receiver Deidre Wiersma leads the team with 145 yards and one touchdown on nine receptions.

     “We need to be able, number one, to protect Mickey, and number two, we've got to be able to establish the running game,” Smith said.

     Willamette’s famed Fly offense has had trouble getting off the ground this season; they enter the contest averaging only 20.3 points and 322 yards per game. 

     The Bearcat running attack, led by running back Jamiere Abney’s 244 yards and two touchdowns, has been spectacular as usual in averaging 229 yards per game.  The real problem this season has been the passing game, which was the most efficient in the Northwest Conference a season ago.

     “They don’t need to pass to win,” Smith said.  “These guys present more problems for us defensively than anybody we’ll play.” 

     Quarterback Brian Widing has completed 52 percent of his passes for 278 yards and two touchdowns with four interceptions.  After the two games of the season, Widing was 11-27 for 60 yards with zero touchdowns and four interceptions, looking nothing like the efficient quarterback he was last season.  Widing had a big bounce back game two weeks ago, going 13-19 for 218 yards and two touchdowns with zero interceptions in Willamette’s 31-9 victory over Southern Oregon.

     “I think with the passing game it’s going to take some time,” Speckman said.  “It takes a lot of timing, and you have to be precise.  I think with time, it’s going to get better.”

     While both offenses deserve their due credit, it’s the match-up of the two best defenses in the Northwest Conference that gives this game its luster.  Linfield’s defense is giving up 327 yards per game, but is allowing a mere 8.5 points per game.

     “The thing about Linfield is that they don’t beat themselves; they’re rarely out of position, or blow a big assignment,” Speckman said.  “We can’t count on that, hope for that, or scheme for that.  You got to be fundamentally sound, and you got to drive the football.”       

     Willamette’s defense is allowing 15.7 points per game, but only giving up 291 yards per game.  What makes Willamette’s defense particularly challenging is the schemes they run.

     “They have a lot of depth, and we’re preparing for that,” Inns said.

     “Their defense is excellent; I think they’re fast, they’re physical, very well-coached, they have a various amount of variety in their schemes, and they’re well-disciplined,” Smith said.  “They’re different from Cal Lutheran; Cal Lutheran’s defense was formidable because of their talent; these guys are extremely formidable because of their scheme and their discipline.”

     Opening the conference schedule on the road against a big rival is always a tall order, and it will be up to Linfield’s veterans provide order and leadership in a hostile environment.

     “Those guys have been there before,” Inns said.  “They know what it’s like to play there, they know what it’s like to have a couple of those games, and they know how important this game is to our team.”

         

Keys to the game for Linfield:

-Running the ball:  When Linfield played at Willamette in 2009, their running game was the key to eking out a win on the road as both Aaron Williams and Aaron Boehme gained 100 plus yards on the day.  If Linfield can get 200 or more rushing yards against Willamette’s defense, their chances of winning skyrocket.

-Maintaining the passing game:  While the Linfield fan base would love to see the Wildcats run the ball like they did against Cal Lutheran three weeks ago, Willamette might try the same strategy that La Verne did, which was to stop the run and test Inns’ arm.  A repeat of last week’s passing efficiency would be welcomed.

-Turnovers:  Strangely, Linfield lost the turnover battle three to two in last season’s 35-7 win at Maxwell Field.  If they pull that at McCulloch Stadium however, there might not be any happy thoughts afterwards.  Taking care of the ball on the road is crucial to winning a championship.                

Keys to the game for Willamette:

-Establish the pass:  After two porous games to start the season, Widing caught fire against Southern Oregon.  If Widing plays well against Linfield’s strong secondary, then they have a chance to score enough points to win.  If Willamette is unable to throw the ball consistently, then their offense could be in for a long day. 

-Slowing down Linfield’s run:  In Linfield’s three losses in the last two seasons, teams were able to shut down Linfield’s running attack. It’s not a guarantee, but a team’s chances of winning go up tremendously against Linfield when they do.

-Home Field advantage:  Saturday will be Linfield’s first road game of the season; If Willamette can get out to a fast start, force a few turnovers, and get the crowd in the game early, some of Linfield’s less experienced players may get rattled enough for Willamette to win the game.

What We Learned About Linfield in Week 4...

Linfield’s passing game is back:  After having a less-than-desirable passing performance against Cal Lutheran, Linfield’s air attack came back in a big way against La Verne.  After going 9-24 for 122 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions against the Kingsmen, Mickey Inns went 18-27 for 210 yards and three touchdowns against La Verne, all while throwing no interceptions.  Given Linfield’s strong running game, passing performances like Saturday’s will make Linfield one of the nation’s best offenses if they can maintain it.     

Linfield has depth on offense:  While it’s easy to look at linfield’s starting offensive players and note that there’s a lot of talent, it is Linfield’s reserves that give Linfield the ability to chug along.  Josh Hill has not the starter against Cal Lutheran, and against La Verne, Back-up quarterback Josh Yoder and all of Linfield’s freshman wide receivers were on display in the fourth quarter, giving Linfield fans good reason to be optimistic about the next few years of Linfield football. 

The defense has serious mental toughness: After only gaining 78 yards against Linfield the previous season, La Verne totaled 312 yards, mostly through the air.  Their new spread offense had five possessions that went inside the Linfield 37-yard line, three of which went inside the red zone.  Most teams eventually cave in when their backs are against the wall that much, but Linfield’s stout defense only allowed the one field goal.  The Wildcat defense continues to show that they’re among the nation’s best.   

Wildcats Skin Leopards 52-3...

            Concerned that Linfield’s offense was too one-dimensional?  No such thing anymore.  Worried that Mickey Inns was the weakness of an otherwise talented offense?  Not anymore.  Afraid that Linfield would overlook a team like La Verne?  What foolish thinking.

            The sixth-ranked Wildcats posted a vicious 52-3 beating of La Verne at Maxwell field on a sunny afternoon.  If there were any concerns that Linfield would be looking ahead to the Northwest conference opener against Willamette next week, they were erased by halftime.  The win improved Linfield’s record to 2-0, an improvement from last season when Linfield was still reeling from the Cal Lutheran loss. 

            “Anytime you can start out undefeated, that is certainly a much better start,” Linfield coach Joseph Smith said.  “We’ve got a lot of areas to improve on, but I’m very pleased with getting through the first two games the way we have.” 

            After his poor statistical day against Cal Lutheran, Linfield quarterback Mickey Inns rebounded against La Verne, going 18-27 for 210 yards and three touchdowns with zero interceptions.  Josh Hill was held to 47 yards on 13 carries, the La Verne defense sucking to him on nearly every play.  Stephen Nasca added 45 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.  Diedre Wiersma led the Wildcats with 102 yards and one touchdown on seven receptions.

            “He (Inns) was more comfortable,” Injured running back Aaron Williams said.  “He had a great last couple weeks of practice; he’s just getting used to being a starting quarterback, and he’s coming into his own.”

            “I thought Mickey certainly played a much better game from a statistical standpoint,” Smith said.  “He still stood in there and took some hits, which I really like; he’s been showing good poise under pressure.”

            On the day, Linfield totaled 461 yards of offense, 26 first downs, and showed the offensive balance (299 passing, 162 rushing) that wasn’t really there against Cal Lutheran two weeks ago. 

            Thomas Arguello led La Verne with 195 yards on 24-40 passing.  He threw no interceptions, but had zero touchdowns and was sacked six times.  Running back Tanner Thompson led the Leopards with 92 yards rushing on 12 carries.  Wide receiver Cedric Ho had 9 receptions for 75 yards.

            On the day, La Verne totaled 312 yards of offense and 22 first downs, a sign that La Verne’s new spread-offense was making some progress.  However, La Verne only managed to get one field goal out of five drives that got inside the Linfield 37-yard line, the other drives ended with one interception, 2 red zone stands inside the Linfield 10-yard line, and another 4th down stop.

            “We made adjustments to the things they came out with,” Linfield cornerback Nate Dixon said.  “They came out with some pretty good tricks, but we made the adjustments that we needed to.”

            “You got to give credit to Linfield; their red zone defense is pretty stout,” La Verne Coach Chris Krich said.  “We were very pleased with the way we moved the ball against an outstanding defense like they have; we see some good things, but it’s that time where we really need to punch it in that we need to work on.”

            Linfield came out of the gates in a hurry in the first quarter.  La Verne went three and out on their first two possessions, and Linfield had a 1-yard touchdown run by Bryan Anderson followed by a 34-yard field goal by Josh Kay on their first two; Inns went 4-6 for 67 yards on those first two possessions.  After La Verne was stopped on 4th down at the Linfield 3-yard line, Linfield took a 10-0 lead into the second quarter.  Five of La Verne’s 11 penalties came in the first quarter, mostly on the first four possessions of the game.

            “Those are killer,” Krich said.  “We gotta clean up the penalties, and that just comes down to discipline, and making sure we’re in the right spots so that we don’t have to commit those penalties.  When you play a good team like Linfield, they’re going to capitalize on those mistakes.” 

            Linfield capped a five play, 69 yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Inns to wide receiver Charlie Poppen with 10:43 to go in the second quarter to take a 17-0 lead.  After two La Verne drives ended on 4th down inside the Linfield 37-yard line, Linfield got the ball with 2:49 to go in the second quarter, Linfield marched 63 yards in eight plays, resulting in a 2-yard touchdown pass from Inns to wide receiver Erik Koczian to extend Linfield’s lead to 24-0 at halftime.  Inns went 14-20 for 173 yards by this point.

            Running back Stephen Nasca returned the opening kickoff of the second half 61 yards to the La Verne 9-yard line, setting up Inns’ Touchdown pass to Wiersma on the next play, extending Linfield’s lead to 31-0.  After trading a few punts with La Verne, Nasca scored a 1-yard touchdown run with 6:39 to go in the third quarter.  On La Verne’s following possession, the Leopards drove to the Linfield 5-yard line before two sacks forced them to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Alex Miller, making the score 38-3 heading into the fourth quarter.

            The fourth quarter saw an impressive offensive show being put on by Linifeld’s reserves.   Quarterback Josh Yoder threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lucas Jepson to make the score 45-3 with 13:14 to go.  Yoder threw another touchdown pass, a 30-yarder to wide receiver Evan Peterson with 9:10 to go in the game to round out the scoring.  In the fourth quarter, Linfield’s reserve offensive players put up 14 points and 155 yards, which was better numbers than the starters put up in any of the first three quarters.

            “I’m very pleased with how Josh came in and played,” Smith said.  “He ran the ball well, was pretty physical in his play, and he made some nice passes.  He still has some things to improve on, but for his first considerable action, it was fun to see.”  

            Linfield begins Northwest Conference play next week against Willamette University at McCulloch Stadium.  The Wildcats beat the Bearcats last season at Maxwell Field 35-7. 

            La Verne opens up SCIAC conference play against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps next week, a team that La Verne lost to 20-14 last season.

            “We got to work on our mistakes,” Krich Said.  “I think that we get a little too cute as coaches once in a while, trying to do some things to trick people; we really need to focus on the fundamentals:  Focus on tackling, focus on jumping off sides, focus on not false-starting.  That means we need to back up a little bit on what we do, the amount of stuff that we want to put in, and we need to make sure we do those little things right.”   

Link to Boxscore:  http://www.linfield.edu/sports/stats/fb/ulv0923.htm

Link to Postgame Analysis:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvGY_ceyfZs&feature=channel_video_title

Linfield vs La Verne Preview...

     Two weeks after one of the biggest season-openers in recent Linfield history, the Wildcats enter a contest with significantly lower stakes against a team with a first-year coach and a new offensive and defensive system. 

     Sixth-ranked Linfield hosts La Verne at Maxwell Field this coming Saturday; Linfield will be looking to add to their 13-game home win streak.  It will only be the second time ever that the two schools have faced off, the first being last season at Ortmayer Stadium when the Wildcats routed La Verne 30-3.

     “I don’t know what to expect: they’ve played one game, and we have one game on film; they could do anything,” Linfield coach Joseph Smith said.  “It’s one of those games where we have to be prepared for anything from a schematic standpoint, because I’m not really sure what we’ll see.”    

     One of the big stories of Linfield’s 24-14 victory over Cal Lutheran was Linfield’s explosive running game, which racked up 256 yards (the most ever against a ranked team in the two plus seasons that Linfield has been running the spread offense).  Junior running back Josh Hill came on after Aaron Williams got hurt, and carried the day with 164 yards and two touchdowns on the ground.

     “Stopping Hill is the biggest challenge that we are going to face,” La Verne Coach Chris Krich said.  “The offensive line is a tough, physical offensive line that moves very well, and really complements the running back.”

     The big question mark for Linfield’s offense entering the season was their quarterback play following the graduation of Aaron Boehme.  Although Mickey Inns didn’t have a great day statistically, His leadership and composure were on full display against Cal Lutheran.

     “I thought he did a really nice job controlling the game once he got settled in,” Krich said.

     After their dominant performance against Cal Lutheran, Linfield’s defense faces a La Verne offense that they held to 78 yards and three first downs in last season’s 30-3 rout.

     “Linfield does a great job because they’re really sound at what they do,” Krich said.  “They don’t do a bunch of things; they do a couple of things really, really well.  We have to try and get them out of their comfort zone, and we’ll have to change some of our tendencies.”        

     While they don’t have nearly as many offensive weapons to throw at Linfield as Cal Lutheran did, La Verne does field an experienced dual threat quarterback in Thomas Arguello, who led the Leopards with 113 yards passing and 44 yards rushing in their 65-14 loss to Azusa Pacific two weeks ago

     “We just got to play within our system,” Smith said.  “Keep him in the pocket, and slowly collapse that pocket, play good coverage behind him.  We need to treat him like we treat most quarterbacks, but we do need to be quick to react when he breaks contain.”

     Although La Verne has lost 20 of their past 21 games dating back to 2008, change may be on the horizon for the Leopards.                  

     “They have a coach who’s pretty energetic, and they’re going to get better,” Smith Said.  “They’ll bring some energy into it, and they have some talent down there too.  They’re running new schemes and learning a new language, so you’d expect them to get better and better as the year goes on.”   

    With the Northwest Conference opener against Willamette next week, and the winner of that game having the driver’s seat to the conference title, the temptation to overlook a lowly program like La Verne is ever present.

     “The guys know what level we want to play at, the guys know what level of execution it takes to be a playoff-caliber team, and we aren’t there yet,” Smith said.  “Our guys know that we’re not playing at the level we need to, so it’s pretty easy to stay focused on what we need to do to get to that level.”

Keys To The Game For Linfield:

-Establish the run: Last season, even though they won 30-3, Linfield only ran for 123 yards, averaging 2.8 yards per carry.  Coming off their impressive rushing performance against Cal Lutheran, Linfield will need that to carry over to La Verne while the passing game comes along. 

-More efficient passing:  Linfield QB Mickey Inns’ passing numbers against Cal Lutheran were very pedestrian: 9-24, 122 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.  Of the nine completions, three of them went for 25 yards or more.  The explosive passing game is still there; it’s just a matter of completing passes.  La Verne will be the perfect opportunity to work on that.      

-Avoid red zone turnovers:  Linfield had two turnovers in the Cal Lutheran game, which isn’t a bad amount to have, but both of them were turnovers in the red zone that ended long drives where they were moving the ball.  In order to put La Verne away, Linfield will need to cash in on their opportunities.

Keys To The Game For La Verne:

-Hope that Linfield overlooks them:  It would be nice if there some area of the game where La Verne had some sort of advantage, but the fact is that Linfield is more talented across the board on both sides of the ball.  The only way La Verne can compete in this game is if Linfield doesn’t bring their hard hat and lunch pail, which is never the case for a Joseph Smith-coached team. 

What We Learned About Linfield in Week 2...

Linfield’s defense is for real:  Cal Lutheran returned all their offensive talent from last season’s team that dropped 47 points on the Wildcats in last season’s opener.  After giving up a touchdown on their first possession, Linfield’s defense took over the game.  Other than the 28-yard touchdown reception by Eric Rodgers at the end of the third quarter, Linfield’s defense spent the majority of the game pursuing the ball, preventing big plays, getting fourth-down stops, forcing punts, and getting two timely interceptions.  Considering that Cal Lutheran had one of the best offenses in the country and could only get 14 points on Linfield’s defense, the rest of the Northwest Conference will have many sleepless nights trying to figure out how to crack the Linfield defense.   

Linfield can officially run the ball:  While Saturday’s rushing total against Cal Lutheran wasn’t the highest rushing total by Linfield in the spread offense era, the 256 rushing yards they had on Saturday were perhaps the most impressive.  Josh Hill’s 164 yards was the best rushing performance by a Linfield player since Thomas Ford ran for 237 yards against Redlands in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Playoffs.  Their 5.8 yards per carry is also the highest that Linfield has had against a ranked team in the spread offense era.

The passing game needs work:  While everyone knew that the graduation of Aaron Boehme meant that the passing game wouldn’t be quite as explosive as the past two seasons, Saturday’s performance wasn’t quite what Linfield was hoping for.  Mickey Inns went 9-24 for 122 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions; the numbers were affected by inconsistent pass blocking, dropped passes, a couple bad throws, and Cal Lutheran’s skilled secondary.  It will take a higher pass completion percentage for Linfield to achieve their goal of a conference title.  However, I did say in my preseason conference predictions that Linfield’s Offense wouldn’t be totally smooth at the start of the season, and that their coaching staff would correct that over time; so far so good on my theory.           

An unbeaten season is no longer unreasonable:  Now that Linfield has won the super-tough match-up with Cal Lutheran, winning out on the rest of the schedule seems highly likely.  The conference opener against Willamette will be a tough game, but Willamette dropped their first two games of the season against Top-25 teams AT HOME, so Linfield has a good shot at winning if they bring their A-game.  There’s also a possibility that someone like Lewis & Clark or Pacific Lutheran might step up and give the Wildcats a tougher-than-expected game, but Linfield’s defense, as it showed against Cal Lutheran, is good enough to make up for whatever offensive shortcomings they may have on occasion.       

Wildcats Rob Kingsmen 24-14...

     It was a game that had it all coming in: two big-time offenses, two stellar defenses, top-notch skill players, two great coaches, and a lot of recent history between the two teams.

     In their third match-up in the last year and a rematch of the first round of the 2009 and 2010 NCAA playoffs, seventh-ranked Linfield defeated 16th ranked Cal Lutheran 24-14 at Maxwell Field. The Wildcats were powered by Josh Hill’s career-high 164 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries.

     “I feel really good; it was fun,” Hill said. “Been working hard all summer, all spring; it was a good collective day for all of us.”

     After not getting a single first down in the first quarter, Linfield finished the game with 409 yards of offense against an aggressive Cal Lutheran defense. Linfield’s running game racked up 256 yards, most of which came by way of the famed zone-read option that Linfield employs. Along with Hill’s career day, third-string running back Stephen Nasca added 61 yards on 10 carries. Starter Aaron Williams got injured on the first possession of the game and didn’t return, finishing with two yards on two carries.

     “I’m very pleased with how we played,” Linfield coach Joseph Smith said.  “It wasn’t pretty, and we knew that it would be a little bit ugly, but I really liked how our guys competed.”

     Linfield quarterback Mickey Inns completed 9 of 24 passes for 122 yards and one touchdown with two interceptions in his first ever start for Linfield, replacing graduated senior Aaron Boehme. Inns had seven carries for 20 yards, which don’t look big on the stat sheet, but prevented Cal Lutheran from loading up on the running backs on the zone-read option.

     “I didn’t really do as well as I wanted to, but we got the win, and that’s all that matters,” Inns said.

     More important than the numbers was the fact that after a horrendous first quarter, the Linfield offense eventually got rolling with Inns under center, which spoke volumes about the junior quarterback’s leadership on the field.

     “It was probably the brightest part about the whole game: just seeing him under pressure, taking those hits, and make some throws under duress,” Smith said.     

     Cal Lutheran gathered 342 yards of offense on the day, but was held to 122 yards rushing compared to the 252 yards they had against Linfield in last season’s opener. Running back Daniel Mosier was held to 55 yards on 16 carries.

     “That obviously was key,” Linfield coach Joseph Smith said.  “I told our defense at halftime that if we can stop their running game, the game’s over.”

     “He’s a good running back,” Linfield safety Drew Fisher said. “He bounces around and stays on his feet; we had to wrap him up with good tackles. Once we contained him, it forced them to pass and play right into our game.”

     Quarterback Jake Laudenslayer went 19 of 30 for 220 yards and one touchdown, but threw two costly interceptions. Wide receiver Eric Rodgers led all receivers with 91 yards and one touchdown on four receptions, and a 28-yard touchdown run.

      This was the same Cal Lutheran offense that dropped 47 points on the Wildcats in last season’s opener at Cal Lutheran; considering how good the previous season’s defense was, the performance by Linfield’s defense on Saturday was jaw-dropping.

     “It went pretty well; you turn around and there’s 14 points on the board. It’s pretty big,” Fisher said.

     The first quarter was all Cal Lutheran. Linfield opened the game with a three and out, and Cal Lutheran scored on their first possession of the game, the 28-yard touchdown run by Rodgers. By the end of the first quarter, Linfield still hadn’t gotten a first down, and even though they hadn’t scored since the opening drive, Cal Lutheran’s 7-0 lead felt larger.

     In the second quarter, things got going for Linfield. Powered by punter Josh Repp’s 31-yard pass to returner James Testa on a fake punt, they managed to drive 72 yards in 10 plays.  Even though the drive ended with an Inns interception at the Cal Lutheran 13-yard line, the Wildcats became confident that they could move the ball on Cal Lutheran’s defense.

     “We just stayed positive, and we had pretty good confidence on offense, and the team as a whole,” Inns said.

     While the offense was trying to figure things out, Linfield’s defense was forced to keep the team in the game; they met the challenge head on. Three plays later, monster (safety) Kalae Parish picked off Laudenslayer and returned it to the Cal Lutheran 25-yard line. Linfield capitalized off the pick, with Hill scoring on a 1-yard run with 7:42 to go in the second quarter.

     “They (the defense) were pretty upset about the first drive; I don’t think they ever waivered in their confidence,” Smith said.  “The fake punt was a huge momentum shift; it changed field position dramatically.  That and Kalae’s pick, those are two big plays in a short span that really started to turn the momentum around.”  

     After a long Cal Lutheran drive that ended in a punt, Linfield had the ball on their 1-yard line with 2:42 to go in the first half. Using a mix of run and pass, Linfield drove all the way down to Cal Lutheran’s 5-yard line before settling for a 22-yard field goal, giving them a 10-7 lead going into halftime. After totaling only eight yards of offense in the first quarter, Linfield had 152 yards of offense in the second to swing momentum on their side.

     “It wasn’t really changes that we made; it was just calming and settling down,” Hill said. “We were out there firing off the ball, not making our reads or assignments, but as we started to calm down, we started to click and started to roll.”

     After having control of the game for the first quarter and a half, Cal Lutheran was left wondering how they lost control.

     “That’s the million-dollar question,” Cal Lutheran coach Ben McEnroe said. “I give Linfield credit for creating that momentum swing; I’m sitting here as the coach, and I’m trying to figure out how we lost that football game. Momentum is one of those things where you love it when you have it, and you try to figure out how to get it back when you lose it.”

     The second half opened up with both teams trading punts and defensive stops. Linfield was able to take advantage of the field position game to set up a four play, 24-yard drive that ended with Josh Hill’s second touchdown run of the day, a 3-yarder with 4:24 to go in the third quarter, to give Linfield a 17-7 lead.

     Cal Lutheran marched back down the field, going 70 yards in seven plays, capped off by Laudenslayer’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Rodgers with 48 seconds to go in the third quarter, cutting Linfield’s lead to 17-14.

     The fourth quarter opened up with both teams trading punts before Linfield strung together a six play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a 4-yard touchdown strike from Inns to tight end Jacob Priester, giving Linfield a 24-14 lead with 8:07 to go. Linfield spent the rest of the game fending off Cal Lutheran’s offense and burning as much clock as possible. Laudenslayer’s pass was picked off by Fisher at the Linfield 11-yard line with 2:30 to go, essentially ending the game.

     Linfield has a bye next week before hosting La Verne on September 24. La Verne, a 65-14 loser to Azusa Pacific on Saturday, lost to Linfield 30-3 at Ortmayer Stadium last season, and will be looking for payback.

     “I think we’re gonna try to rest up and get our legs back,” Inns said. “We’ll worry about La Verne on Monday.”

     Cal Lutheran takes on Pacific Lutheran at home next weekend; the Kingsmen will be looking to avenge last season’s 35-20 loss to the Lutes.

     “We just need to work on offensive consistency and defensive fits,” McEnroe said.

Link to boxscore: http://www.linfield.edu/sports/stats/fb/clu0910.htm 

Link to postgame video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vyk1qXKptSA&feature=channel_video_title   

Linfield vs Cal Lutheran Preview...

     Last weekend, the eyes of the nation were on the state of Oregon as the defending Pac-12 Champion Oregon Ducks took on perennial SEC powerhouse Louisiana State University Tigers in the new Cowboys Stadium at Arlington, Texas, with the winner having an inside track to the national title game.

     Although it won’t be nationally televised and an inside track to the national title game is not a guarantee, Saturday’s battle between seventh-ranked Linfield and 16th ranked Cal Lutheran is just as big for shaping the national picture for Division-III as the Oregon-LSU game was for Division-I.

     “They’re good, make no mistake about it,” Linfield coach Joseph Smith said.  “Ben (McEnroe) has done a real good job with that program.  They aren’t a fluke; they aren’t a here today and gone tomorrow program.  They’re there to stay, and I fully expect them to rule the SCIAC for quite a while.”

     “Since I’ve been here, we haven’t had the luxury of a tune-up game; we really don’t know what that’s like,” Cal Lutheran coach Ben McEnroe said.  “Teams like Linfield and Willamette, they help you to find out where you’re at and where you need to improve, and we enjoy competing at a high level.”

     In last season’s opener, Linfield traveled to Cal Lutheran as the fourth-ranked team in the nation, and five turnovers combined with Daniel Moser’s 202 yard, 3 touchdown performance led to a 47-42 upset for Cal Lutheran.  In the first round of the NCAA Playoffs, Linfield exacted their revenge 42-26, powered by graduated senior Simon Lamson’s 99 yards and four rushing touchdowns on 21 carries.      

     For Linfield, Saturday is the chance to show off a roster that will look a little different from the last two seasons, as well as keeping their 12 game win streak at Maxwell Field (both playoffs and regular season) alive.  Even though Linfield has won their last two games at home against Cal Lutheran, motivation will not be an issue for the Wildcats.

     “Game one last year was as bad a taste (in our mouth) as we’ve had for quite some time; we did everything wrong,” Smith said.  “We had a chance in my opinion to put that game away before halftime, and we ended up falling apart in the fourth quarter, just completely unraveling.  We still remember that game, and it’s still a source of bother for me, the whole staff, and the players who were in that game.”

     Linfield quarterback Mickey Inns will be making his first career start on Saturday.  Inns spent the last two season playing as the third-string quarterback behind Aaron Boehme and Cole Bixenman, leaving him with very minimal game experience going into the 2011 season.

     “Mickey has a very firm grasp of the offense,” Smith said.  “He gives us the best chance to move the chains consistently.”  

     Running back Aaron Williams returns for his senior season, while Buddy Saxon (32 receptions, 471 yards, 7 touchdowns) and Diedre Wiersma (42 receptions, 549 yards, 5 touchdowns) return at wide receiver.  Throw in four returning starters on the offensive line, and Linfield looks to have the makings of another great offensive unit like the last two seasons.

    

     "Anytime you got a veteran offensive line coming back, talented tailbacks, good recievers, they're going to be able to the same things that they've done offensively," McEnroe said.  "I don't predict they're going to make a lot of wholesale changes because of the depth they have and all the returners the have."

    
     “We’ve been there in the clutch situations against playoff teams and having all that clutch experience will help keep the quarterback (Inns) on an even keel and calm in those kind of situations,” Williams said.

     Linfield returns seven starters on a defense that has defined what playmaking is over the last two seasons, forcing a staggering 81 turnovers and 91 sacks in the two seasons combined.  The defense, led by All-American safety Drew Fisher and all-conference cornerback Nate Dixon, shouldn’t deviate much from that this season.

     “The defense’s mentality is that they need to be ready to win the game 7-6.  That has to be their mentality; they can’t be hoping that the offense puts up 50,” Smith said.  “It’s not that we don’t believe in the other side of the ball, but it’s a situation where you prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”       

     For Cal Lutheran, it’s a chance to avenge their playoff losses at Maxwell Field in each of the last two years, as well as a chance to prove that they have what it takes to make it out of the first round of the NCAA playoffs this season.

     “They’ll be gunning for us pretty hard since we’ve ended their season the last couple seasons,” Williams said.  “They beat us last season in the first game, so they definitely think they can beat us.”  

     Helping Cal Lutheran’s cause is the return of 18 starters from last season’s Southern California Inter. Athletic Conference champions, including quarterback Jake Laudenslayer (61.9 percent, 1964 yards, 18 touchdowns, 8 interceptions), running back Deme’trek Chambers (775 yds, 14 touchdowns), and wide receiver Eric Rodgers (62 receptions, 817 yards, 9 touchdowns). 

     Moser returns for his senior season after he dropped out of the program three games into last season due to financial aid falling through.  The return of Moser makes Cal Lutheran’s already formidable backfield even more dangerous.

     “Last year going into the playoff game against Linfield, our tailback (Chambers) was really beat up; he saw limited action in the two games prior to that and was physically wore down from all the carries he had,” McEnroe said.  “It gives us another solid option so that one guy doesn’t have to shoulder the burden with all the carries.”

     As intimidating as an offense like Cal Lutheran’s can be, Linfield’s defense doesn’t plan on backing down.

     “We just gotta bring pressure,” Fisher said.  “We gotta bring more than they can block, and then it comes down to us and the secondary to cover guys one on one.”    

      Rather than toss out any predictions for the outcome of the game, here are some keys to the game for both Linfield and Cal Lutheran that may help their chances of winning.

Keys To The Game For Linfield:

-Establish the run: Linfield will be breaking in a new starting quarterback on Saturday to replace the 2009 and 2010 NWC Offensive Player of the year Aaron Boehme; getting the running game established would help take the pressure off Inns on Saturday afternoon. 

 -Stop Cal Lutheran’s running game: In their season-opening win against Linfield last season, Cal Lutheran ran for 252 yards.  When Linfield won the playoff match-up, they were held to 73 yards.  A repeat of the latter performance will greatly increase Linfield’s chances of winning.     

-Limit turnovers:  Despite moving the ball and scoring almost at will, Linfield’s 5 turnovers cost them a victory in the loss at Cal Lutheran last season.  In their playoff win, they had but one turnover.  Ball Security will play a big role in Saturday’s game. 

Keys To The Game For Cal Lutheran:

-Establish their running game:  While Linfield would like to have a repeat of their run performance from last season’s playoff win, Cal Lutheran would much rather have a repeat of last season’s opener when they ran for 252 yards on Linfield.   

-Stop Linfield’s run:  The elite teams that have ended Linfield’s season in the last two seasons helped their cause by stopping Linfield’s running game (106 yards vs UW-Whitewater, 57 yards vs Saint Thomas).  Following in their footsteps can only help Cal Lutheran as they try to steal one on the road.

Williams Anchors 'Cat Running Attack in 2011

     Seeing the ball get snapped, the running back runs across the backfield to the right.  Taking the zone-read handoff from the quarterback, the running back runs outside towards the sideline.  As he approaches the wall of blockers, the running back cuts back, going up the hash marks as he reaches open field.
    
     He makes a cutback to avoid a tackler at the 45 yard line, and keeps going.  As he approaches the redzone, the running back attempts to stiff-arm the defender chasing him down from behind, eventually being pulled down at the opponent’s three yard line.

     The 71 yard run by Linfield running back Aaron Williams in the season opener against Cal Lutheran in 2010 is a play that best exemplifies what Williams brings to the running back position:  Speed, cutback ability, vision, and toughness.

     After having a sophomore season where he was a first-team Northwest Conference selection, rushing for 852 yards and 10 touchdowns with a 4.4 yard per carry average, Williams’ junior season came to a screeching halt when he suffered a season-ending injury in the Willamette game.  Watching from the sidelines was not easy for him.

     “It was just hard not to be out there and to be sitting around on my own, not being able to move,” Williams said.  “The toughest part, other than not being physically out there, was having so much time to myself, thinking about negative things, not knowing what to expect.”

     After averaging 159 rushing yards per game in the 2009 season, Linfield upped their running game to 187 yards per game in 2010, increasing the team yard per carry from 4.3 to 4.8. 

     The biggest difference was seen in the jump in yard per carry averages for Williams and graduated senior Simon Lamson:  Williams jumped from 4.4 to 6.5 before his big injury against Willamete.  Lamson went from 2.9 to 6.2 as he picked up the slack in Williams’ absence.

     The common theory of why a team’s running efficiency would improve that much from one year to the next is improved play on the O-line, or the running backs made major off-season improvements. 

     While both theories were true of Linfield last season, the biggest reason behind the running backs major improvement in yards per carry may have been Aaron Boehme’s ability to make the right reads on the zone-read option last season.  While Boehme’s yard per carry average dropped from 6.8 to 4.7 due to defenses keying on him more, Williams and Lamson’s yard per carry average went rocketing up.

     "I hope that our running game continues to progress and get better," Linfield coach Joseph Smith said.  "As for what we want it to look like, we'd love to have the big chunks of yardage in the running game, everyone wants that.  Having to methodically get eight yards a pop, move the chains, and consistently get third down conversions, it's a hard way to make a living in football."  
    
     “It helped having Aaron Boehme,” Williams said.  “Anytime you have a quarterback like that, and receivers like we did, most of the teams are going to gameplan for that, and that really opens up the run.”

     Winning a national title is the ultimate goal for the Linfield football program, and Williams wants to do more than just help the team out in a statistical way; becoming a better team leader is at the top of his priority list.

     “Winning a national title is more of a team goal, but the personal aspect of it for me is showing up every day, doing the intangible things, being diligent, and leading the best I can,” Williams said.

     With the graduation of Aaron Boehme, the quarterback position is a bit of a question mark heading into the season.  Some might wonder if Linfield will still pass as often as they did last season, or if the running game will be relied upon more than in the past two seasons.

     "One thing we did in our recruiting is that we made sure everyone we recruited at that position could do the zone read and be adaquete at it," Smith said.  "Aaron was electric at it, and he was a gamebrteaker at times when he would run.  I think all our guys are profficient at it, and they've been working hard at it, so I think they'll do just fine." 

     “We’ll do some new things like we do every year, but we stick to the same principles,” Williams said.  “We still got some good runners and some good lineman, so we’ll be sticking with some of that stuff.  It’s obviously a big hit when you lose someone like Boehme, but we have good quarterbacks, and they’re going to do a good job.”

     Ninth-ranked Linfield’s home opener against 17th-ranked Cal Lutheran on September 10 will be the first chance to see how different or similar the offense will be from the last two seasons. 

     No matter if Linfield puts more emphasis on the run from last season or not, if he stays healthy, look for Linfield running back Aaron Williams to lead the wildcat running attack in all-conference fashion as he did in 2009.