'Cat's Get Rolled 49-34...

Linfield's incredible season came to an end in the second round of the playoffs as Wesley beat the wildcats 49-34.  The links to the boxscore and the postgame video are listed below; be sure to check out my analysis of the entire Northwest Conference later this week!

Boxscore:  http://www.linfield.edu/sports/stats/fb/wes1126.htm

Postgame Analysis Video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ixezxW_IG4

Linfield vs Wesley Preview...

It is super-late in coming, but here is my preview video for the Linfield-Wesley game today.  Enjoy the game!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZvuI5gRv-o

Linfield survives Cal Lutheran onslaught 30-27...

Here is the boxscore and postgame analysis of Linfield's 30-27 victory over Cal Lutheran in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs:

Boxscore:  http://www.linfield.edu/sports/stats/fb/clu1119.htm

Postgame Analysis:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfQYbsJwL-w

Be sure to check out my preview of the Linfield-Wesley game later this week!

Linfield vs Cal Lutheran Preview 2...

Experimented with a new format for my preview video.  Check it out and tell me what you think:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NY_PX7RBdCk

Linfield Season stats:  http://www.linfield.edu/sports/stats/fb/teamcume.htm

Cal Lutheran Season stats:  http://www.clusports.com/stats/football/2011/teamcume.htm

What We Learned About Linfield in The Regular Season...

Linfield’s offense didn’t miss a beat:  After losing Aaron Boehme, Simon Lamson, and Chris Slezak to graduation, some people thought that Linfield’s explosive spread offense would see a decrease in production this season.  After averaging 41.7 points and 440 yards of offense, it’s fair to say that Linfield didn’t have any drop-off.  That’s not to say things are exactly the same; the zone read from the last two seasons has virtually been discarded because of Mickey Inn’s lack of running ability.  Linfield has mixed in the pistol offense to try and get the running game going this season, and the rushing production has dropped off considerably from last season.  However, the passing yards have gone up substantially from last season, thanks to Mickey Inns, so the offense as a whole is as efficient as last season.    

Mickey Inns is one of the best Linfield quarterbacks ever:  Can’t believe I would be saying that after watching the season opener against Cal Lutheran, but Linfield quarterback Mickey Inns has gone on since that game to have one of the greatest regular seasons in Linfield history.  Inns completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 2296 yards, 25 touchdowns and only five interceptions.  His quarterback rating of 155.6 was tops in the conference, and was a better rating than Aaron Boehme ever had.        

Josh Hill is a stud running back:  Most people thought that Aaron Williams was going to be the man running the ball this season after his incredible 09 season and after injuries cut his season short last season.  Unfortunately, injuries hit Williams again in the season opener, and he’s barely played this season.  Josh Hill came in for Williams against Cal Lutheran, and rushed for 164 yards in the best rushing performance by a Linfield player since 2003.  On the season, Hill has run for 731 yards and eight touchdowns with a 4.7 yard per carry average.  Amazingly, all four of his 100 yard games came against the four toughest games on Linfield’s schedule (Cal Lutheran, Willamette, Pacific Lutheran, Lewis & Clark).    

Linfield’s defense one of the best in the country: Linfield’s defense figured to be the strength of the team coming into the season, and they lived up to all the hype.  Although most people figured they would carry the offense more than they did, that didn’t prevent Linfield’s defense from being one of the best units in the nation.  Giving up 11.7 points and 285.3 yards per game, the Wildcat defense also forced 22 turnovers (15 of them interceptions) and held opponents to 22 percent on third down conversions on the season.  The numbers would have been even more impressive if Whitworth hadn’t put up 38 points and 422 yards on them a couple weeks ago, but they’re impressive nonetheless.     

Linfield the king of the NWC:  While the Northwest conference was very competitive between the teams that finished between second and fifth in the conference, nobody really gave Linfield much of a challenge.  While Linfield did struggle to put away Willamette in the beginning of the season and with Whitworth a couple weeks ago, Linfield brutally beat down Lewis & Clark (second place) 47-14, and did the same to Pacific Lutheran (third place) in a 45-7 win.  Linfield gets to rule the conference for one more season, and Linfield will have enough key players coming back next season that winning a fourth straight NWC title isn’t out of the question.    

Wildcats Crush Pios 47-14...

           It was supposed to be the Northwest Conference game of the year:  A pass-heavy spread offense against a no-huddle, up-tempo spread offense, and the top-two quarterbacks in the conference facing off.  Linfield was playing for their third straight conference title, while Lewis & Clark was seeking their first conference title since sharing the conference title with Linfield in 1991.

            It wasn’t much of a contest, as it turned out.

            The fifth-ranked Linfield Wildcats beat down Lewis & Clark 47-14 in a cold, rainy game at Maxwell Field, giving Linfield the second undefeated regular season in the last three years.  Linfield improved to 9-0 on the season, and extended their home winning streak to 17 games.  Lewis & Clark finished the season 7-2, and second in the Northwest Conference.

            “I think what we pretend to see is that the rich stay rich, and the poor get poorer, so maybe that’s why it doesn’t seem as special” Linfield coach Joseph Smith said when addressing the team’s undefeated season.  “When you’re in the middle of it, it’s hard to do.  The margin of error is so small between a win and a loss; just because you should win doesn’t mean you’re going to.  I’m very proud that our guys were able to do that; ten teams out of 240 went undefeated this year; it’s not bad.” 

            “It was disappointing, very disappointing,” Lewis & Clark coach Chris Sulages said.   

            Linfield’s spread offense took advantage of Lewis & Clark’s mediocre defense, totaling 477 yards and 29 first downs on the afternoon.  Quarterback Mickey Inns lived up to his sterling reputation, going 20-30 for 286 yards and four touchdowns with zero interceptions.  Evan Peterson led the receiving core with 94 yards and one touchdown on six receptions.  Deidre Wiersma added 75 yards and one touchdown on five receptions.  Buddy Saxon had 38 yards and two touchdowns on three catches.  Josh Hill finished with 111 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries, his fourth 100-yard game of the season.

            “I’m very pleased with how we played:  I felt that we should score on every possession.  I was disappointed that we didn’t score touchdowns on the first two,” Smith said.  “I felt that we could’ve scored right before halftime; we stumbled a bit there, and I thought we should have scored right out of the gate.  We played well, but we could have played a little bit better on offense.”

            “We came up short, especially on some third and longs,” Sulages said.  “We got hurt on some third and longs, and we should have done a better job with that.”

            Lewis & Clark, an offense arguably as explosive as Linfield’s over the course of the season, was held in check on Saturday; The Pioneers were held to 347 yards of offense including 128 on the ground.  Quarterback Phenomenon Keith Welch went 18-30 for 198 yards, one touchdown and one interception, but was held to 49 yards rushing on 15 carries.  All-American tight end Shawn Evans had a team-high 57 yards on four receptions.  Andrew Frisina had six catches for 49 yards and one touchdown.  Running back Joevonte Mayes was held to 14 yards on eight carries, but had five catches for 52 yards.

            “Their tempo is really good when their able to get first downs,” Smith said.  “When you’re a fast-tempo offense and you’re three and out, that’s not good.  It was important to get those three and outs and keep their drives short.”   

            The game opened up with a bang for Linfield; the wildcats drove 52 yards in five plays, capped by a 25-yard field goal by Josh Kay.  Linfield led 3-0 not even 90 seconds into the game.  After Lewis & Clark went three and out on their first possession of the game, Linfield drove 89 yards in 12 plays before settling for a 27-yard field goal by Kay, giving them a 6-0 lead with 9:08 to go in the first quarter.  After another Pioneer three and out, Linfield went 67 yards in 11 plays, capped by Hill’s 6-yard touchdown run, giving Linfield a 13-0 lead with 3:36 to go in the first quarter.  On their next possession, Lewis & Clark drove deep into the Linfield redzone, and was on the verge of scoring a touchdown when Curtis Shirey fumbled the ball into the endzone.

            The second quarter got even worse for Lewis & Clark; Linfield went 80 yards in 12 plays, with Inns tossing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Wiersma to make the score 20-0 Linfield with 10:41 to go in the second quarter.  After yet another three and out for Lewis & Clark, Linfield marched right back down the field, going 44 yards in five plays, and Inns found Saxon for a 9-yard touchdown pass to make it 27-0 with 7:37 to go in the second quarter.  Déjà vu struck the Pioneers again as they went three and out on the following possession, and Linfield marched down the field for another Inns-to-Saxon touchdown pass, this one a 10-yarder, to make it 34-0 Linfield with 4:50 to go in the second quarter.

            After Lewis & Clark fumbled the ball away to Linfield on their first possession of the second half, the Wildcats had a rare three and out, settling for a 40-yard field goal by Kay to make it 37-0 with 12:51 to go in the third quarter.  Welch hit Frisina for a 28-yard touchdown pass to make it 37-7 with 4:43 to go in the third quarter.  Linfield responded by returning the ensueing kickoff to the Pioneer 29-yard line, and Inns hit Peterson for a touchdown on the next play to make it 44-7 with 4:30 to go in the third quarter.  Josh Kay added a 24-yard field goal with 13:43 to go in the Fourth quarter.  Lewis & Clark’s back-up quarterback Dustin Dailey tossed a 21-yard touchdown strike to Evan Stanbro to make it 47-14 with 11:27 to go in the game.    

            Linfield will be playing #8 Cal Lutheran in the first round of the NCAA playoffs at Maxwell field on November 19; Linfield defeated the Kingsmen 24-14 in the season opener.    

           

Link to Boxscore:  http://www.linfield.edu/sports/stats/fb/lc1112.htm

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

Linfield vs Lewis & Clark Preview...

It seems that I'll be doing another video preview this week; This journalist has been starting another blog in order to catch the start of the college basketball season, as well as covering other events.  Here is an extensive video preview of the Linfield-Lewis & Clark game:  It should be a dandy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xglvu2fXL8

Wildcats survive upset bid 42-38...

Unfortunately, too many personal emergencies came up recently for this blog to produce it's normal postgame article this week.  As an apology present, here's the link to my Postgame Analysis video and the boxscore.  Hopefully you viewers can gain some insight from these:

Boxscore:  http://www.linfield.edu/sports/stats/fb/ww1104.htm

Postgame Analysis:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83yCEc7Gd5Q&feature=channel_video_title

Linfield vs Whitworth Preview...

Due to a tough and stressful week in the other parts of life, this journalist didn't have the time to put together his normal preview article.  However, I did make a little preview video of the upcoming Linfield-Whitworth game that I hope you all enjoy, those who follow this blog.  here's the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DF7b8U0QsE

'Cats Chop Down Oaks 23-6...

            For the first time since week 5, Linfield found themselves in a tough game:  Their dynamic up-tempo spread offense finally ran into a defense that could give them serious fits; Inns had his first turnover since week 5, and all the miscues and penalties from earlier in the season returned on a sunny afternoon at Conner Field.

            Fortunately for Linfield, their defense was more than ready to rise to the occasion in the Wildcat’s first true road test of the season.

            The fifth-ranked Wildcats turned back the upset bid of Menlo, the 25th ranked team in NAIA, to the tune of a 23-6 victory in a late-season non-conference game.  The win pushed Linfield to 7-0, while Menlo dropped to 5-3.

            “I’m very pleased with our team having to go through something; we needed to feel pressure again,” Linfield coach Joseph Smith said. 

            The Linfield offense finally ran into an opponent that could give them some trouble; The Wildcats were held to a season-low 299 yards, which is the first time this season that they’ve had under 400 yards, and their second-lowest point total of the season.  The lack of a running game was the biggest issue, as Linfield totaled a season-low 44 yards on the day.  Josh Hill was held to 39 yards on 13 carries, while Stephen Nasca led the team with 42 yards on three carries.  Mickey Inns went 21-38 for 255 yards, two touchdowns and one interception on the afternoon.  Lucas Jepson led all receivers with 136 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions.

            “They just schematically lined up in such a way that it forced us to pass most downs,” Smith said.  “I felt these guys studied us up pretty well, and played us like Cal Lutheran played us.  The sacks are what destroyed us, and we had so many penalties that put us in long yardage situations that our running game never had a chance to get going; I don’t know that we got stopped as much as we just never had a chance to do it. ”

            “We got a great defensive staff here,” Menlo coach Fred Guidici said.  “Our kids have been together here for a while; when there’s continuity, it gives you a chance.  We had a lot of success on defense.” 

            While Linfield’s offense had their worst performance of the season, Linfield’s defense came up big to protect their undefeated record.  The Wildcat defense allowed a season-low 161 yards to Menlo’s offense, which included 40 yards on the ground.  Linfield wasn’t able to force any turnovers, but Menlo’s inability to move the ball with any consistency negated any chance they had of pulling off an upset.  Quarterback Matt Palesasa went 12-28 for 73 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions.  Robert Adan had 109 yards and no touchdowns on seven receptions.

            “We made a lot of mental mistakes, and you can’t do that against a team like Linfield; that’s going to get you killed,” Guidici said.  “One guy going the wrong way, one guy missing a block, we have a penalty, and the penalty sets you back, and you’re trying to dig yourself out of a hole.”

            “We talk all the time about each phase having a mindset to win the game regardless of what the other phase is doing, and if it’s one of those days where we need to win 2-0, then so be it,” Smith said.    

            The game started out fast for Linfield; on their first possession, the Wildcats marched 60 yards in eight plays, capped by Inns’ 31-yard touchdown strike to Jepson to put Linfield up 7-0 with 10:05 to go in the first quarter.  Linfield later would block a Menlo punt for a touchdown; a blocked extra point made it 13-0 Linfield with 4:54 to go in the first quarter.

            “At the time, we didn’t know it was going to be a tough defensive game, but it sure turned out to be one,” Smith said.  “Having a lead is really nice on defense; it allows you to be a little more aggressive with your play-calling; you don’t have to worry about making that one mistake that can cost you the game.”   

            Menlo’s Thomas Reynolds’ 40-yard touchdown run, followed by a blocked extra point, made it 13-6 Linfield with 10:19 to go in the second quarter.  After a few punt exchanges, Linfield kicker Josh Kay tacked on a 37-yard field goal to make it 16-6 Wildcats with 1:37 to go in the second quarter.  After both teams battled through a scoreless, defensive third quarter, Linfield solidified the win in the fourth quarter win Inns’ 73-yard touchdown bomb to Jepson with 6:01 to go in the game, making it 23-6 Linfield.

            “We had a lot of opportunities on offense, but they played real well on defense,” Guidici said.  “I thought it was offensive pass interference to tell you the truth, but the kid made a good play, and that’s how it goes; what are you gonna do?”

            “It put the game away; it left no doubt,” Smith said.  “I don’t know if it would have mattered the way our defense was playing, but it was nice not taking those chances.  I think our offense needed that; they were pretty frustrated with how things were going, and it builds their confidence a little bit.” 

            Linfield resumes conference play in their trip to the Pine Bowl to take on Whitworth next Saturday; Linfield came behind from a halftime deficit to beat Whitworth 42-17 at Maxwell Field last season.

            Menlo takes on Azusa Pacific, the tenth-ranked team in NAIA, next Saturday at Conner Field.     

Link to Boxscore:  http://www.linfield.edu/sports/stats/fb/men1029.htm

Link to Postgame Analysis:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQgWCocuOt8&feature=channel_video_title