'Cats Drown Pirates 54-14...

         In the preseason, this was the match-up that a lot of people were looking forward to as the game that would decide the Northwest conference championship.  Going into Saturday, such expectations still existed.  D3football.com had Linfield on upset alert going into the day, talking about how Whitworth ended the previous Linfield regime back in 2006.  Last season, Whitworth almost upset Linfield, and Linfield was looking like a vulnerable team going into the game.

         

         And then, almost magically so, the Linfield Wildcats woke up.

                  

         Putting it all together for the first time in 2012, the third-ranked Linfield Wildcats blasted the Whitworth pirates into the next dimension by a score of 54-14.  The win upped Linfield’s record to 5-0, and 2-0 in conference play.  The loss dropped Whitworth to 5-2 on the season, and 1-2 in NWC play.

                  

         “It was a good game,” Linfield coach Joseph Smith said.  “I thought we executed very nicely.  aI don’t think it was the hardest test we’ve had in ways, but I was very pleased with how our guys played, and we put it together in all three phases.”   

                  

         Offensively, Linfield posted a season-high in yards of total offense and points.  As soon as the first touchdown went on the board, Linfield employed the Ducks-styled tempo, running up to the line of scrimmage after every play and snapping the ball as soon as the ref put it down.  The ‘Cat Attack racked up 585 yards of offense, with 230 yards coming from the ground game and the remaining 355 coming from the air attack.  Running back John Shaffer led all rushers with 108 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries.  Tavon Willis added 54 yards on seven carries. 

                  

         “I’m real proud of the way our running backs came in and ran the ball.  Tevon came back nicely from that (a lost fumble), got his pad level down, and had a nice day running the ball, as did Shaff, and the offensive line blocked well.”      

                  

         Mickey Inns, who came into the game with one of the worst passer ratings in the conference, had his best day of the season, going 23-32 for 261 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions.  Josh Yoder came off the bench in the second half to go 5-5 for 78 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.  Wide receiver Charlie Poppen had five receptions for 68 yards and one touchdown.  Evan Peterson had four receptions for 86 yards and one touchdown.  Deidre Weirsma had four receptions for 40 yards and two touchdowns.  Lucas Jepson had four receptions for 39 yards, and David Sigler had three receptions for 51 yards and one touchdown.

                  

         “He was definitely on, in the zone so to speak.  He had by far one of his better days as a quarterback.  I really felt like he knew exactly what they were doing, when they were doing it, how they were doing it, and had a great grasp of what he wanted to do to attack it.  Much of our success was due to not just Mickey’s arm, but his head.” 

                  

         The Whitworth offense, thought by many in the preseason to have the best collection of skill players on offense in the conference other than Linfield, couldn’t get anything going at all on Linfield’s defense until the fourth quarter, when Linfield’s scout team was put in the game.  The Pirates finished the game with a season-low 225 yards, and a season-low point total.  Quarterback Bryan Peterson went 9-21 for 88 yards with zero touchdowns and one interception, and all-conference wide receiver Jake DeGooyer had six receptions for 67 yards.  Ronnie Thomas, the top rusher in the NWC, was held to 20 yards on 16 carries.

                  

         “First and foremost, our teams and our coaches have long memories,” Smith said.  “The fact that they did put up a lot of points on us last year was not forgotten.  Our defense has a tremendous amount of pride, and every point they score is given up begrudgingly.”

                  

         After both teams punted on their opening possession, Linfield gave the ball away to Whitworth on their second possession by way of a Willis fumble, giving the Pirates a chance grab momentum.  On their first play, Bryan Peterson was picked off by, and the ball was returned to the Whitworth 13-yard line.  On the next play, Inns threw a 13 yard pass to Weirsma, who tight-roped the sideline into the endzone to make it 7-0 with 6:32 to go in the first quarter.  Whitworth went three and out on their next possession, and Linfield marched 68 yards in seven plays, capping the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run by Shaffer to make the score 14-0 with 2:32 to go in the first quarter. 

                  

         After another three and out by Whitworth’s offense, Linfield went 49 yards in four plays, capped by a 31 yard touchdown pass from Inns to Poppen to make the score 21-0 Linfield with 14:54 to go in the second quarter.  After a three and out by Whitworth’s offense, Linfield’s next offensive possession ended on a fourth down failure at the Whitworth 1-yard line.  Whitworth went three and out again, and Linfield’s subsequent possession ended with a missed filed goal by Josh Kay.  After yet another three and out by Whitworth’s offense, Inns threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Weirsma to make it 28-0 with 1:33 to go in the second quarter.

                  

         After Whitworth opened the third quarter with yet another three and out, Linfield went 50 yards in five plays, ending the drive with a 28-yard touchdown strike by Inns to Sigler.  Josh Kay’s missed extra point left the score at 34-0 with 12:01 to go in the third quarter.  After a Whitworth three and out, Linfield’s offense marched the ball down the field 72 yards in eight plays, With Inns tossing an eight-yard touchdown pass to Zach Young, making the score 41-0 with 8:02 to go in the third quarter.  After another Whitworth three and out, Yoder tossed a 52-yard touchdown pass to Evan Peterson.  Kay missed the extra point, leaving the score at 47-0 with 6:23 to go in the second quarter.  After yet another three and out by Whitworth’s offense, Yoder threw a six-yard touchdown pass to Derek Priestly to make the score 54-0 with 1:14 to go in the third quarter.

                  

         “There’s no excuse for that; He’s too good a kicker to miss any,” said Smith in reaction to Josh Kay’s two missed extra points.  “He needs to make sure he maintains his focus.  I’m not sure that he missed an extra point last year, he might have been perfect.  We’re not gonna make too much of it.” 

                  

         Whitworth Back-up quarterback Michael McCune completed a six-yard touchdown pass to Austin Ehlo to make the score 54-7 with 6:00 left in the fourth quarter.  Running back DJ Tripoli scored on a 20-yard touchdown run to make the score 54-14 with 1:33 left in the game.

                  

         “Our team’s still upset that we gave up 14 points late,” Smith said.  “It really puts a tarnish on a defense that worked hard to have a shutout and keep the numbers down and then you give that up late; It’s tough.  It’s great to play young guys, but you hate to see that.”         

                  

         Linfield’s next game is against Lewis & Clark, who is coming off a 56-20 loss to Willamette.  Lewis & Clark lost to Linfield 47-14 at Maxwell Field last season in the game that decided the Northwest Conference title.

                  

         Whitworth’s next game is against Pudget Sound, who is coming off a bye week.   

Link to Boxscore:  http://www.linfield.edu/sports/stats/fb/ww1013.htm

Link to Postgame Analysis video:  http://youtu.be/mMjuLJgkAJo 

Link to Instant Analysis from Saturday:  http://wildcatspread40.blogspot.com/2012/10/linfield-vs-whitworth-instant-analysis.html