Last season, the match-up between
Lewis & Clark and Linfield on the final day of the regular season was the
game that decided the Northwest conference championship, a game Linfield won
47-14 at Maxwell Field. This season, Lewis
& Clark comes into the game with a 4-2 record, having lost their last two
games against Pacific Lutheran and Willamette by a combined score of 87-34;
desperate to get a win, the Pios will look to upset the third-ranked Wildcats,
who come into the game with a 5-0 record and one of the most explosive offenses
in the nation.
Linfield’s
offense is coming off an explosive game against Whitworth, where they posted
season-highs of 54 points and 585 yards of offense. The ‘Cat Attack comes into the game averaging
39.4 points and 459.2 yards of offense, both ranking second in the NWC. Leading the offense is all-conference
quarterback Mickey Inns, who comes into the game completing 57.4 percent of his
passes for 1286 yards and 15 touchdowns with five interceptions, giving him a
passer rating of 139.39. Leading the
receiver core is Deidre Weirsma, who has 23 receptions for 185 yards and three
touchdowns, the receptions and touchdowns leading the team. Lucas Jepson has 20 receptions for 246 yards
and two touchdowns. Charlie Poppen has
19 receptions for a team-high 330 yards and two touchdowns, as well as an
astounding 17.4 yards per reception. The
Linfield running attack comes into the game averaging 185 yards per game, which
is tops in the NWC. After Josh Hill’s
season-ending injury, previously third-string running back John Shaffer has
come alive in the past two games, rushing the ball 30 times for 196 yards and
two touchdowns.
The
Lewis & Clark defense comes into the game as a unit that gives up a lot of
plays, but also makes some. On the
season, the Pios defense is giving up 30.5 points (fifth in the conference) and
394.7 yards per game (fourth in the conference), but they rank second in the
NWC in quarterback sacks and turnovers forced.
However, in the last two games, the Pios defense is giving up 43.5 points
and 546.5 yards per game.
While
not as explosive offensively as the previous season, Lewis & Clark brings a
solid offensive unit into Saturday’s game.
Running the Oregon zone-read option-based offense, the Pios average 31.3
points and 411.4 yards of offense per game, which ranks third and fourth in the
NWC respectively. The running attack has
seen a major drop from last season’s productivity, averaging 130.4 yards per
game on the ground. Running back Curtis
Shirey leads the Pios with 447 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 4.4 yards
per carry. The major source of offense
for the offense is Quarterback Keith Welch, the defending NWC Offensive Player
of the Year from 2011. Welch on the
season is completing 58.2 percent of his passes for 1,637 yards and 15
touchdowns with five interceptions; Welch also has 237 yards and seven
touchdowns on the ground on the season.
His quarterback rating of 134.5 ranks fifth in the NWC.
Linfield’s
defense comes into the game on a roll after some early season struggles against
high-powered offenses. The Wildcat
defense leads in the conference in points per game allowed at 22.4, and they
rank second in yards per game allowed at 350.8.
The Linfield defense ranks first in the Northwest conference in both
quarterback sacks and tackles for loss.
Lewis & Clark has struggled on offense the past two games against
the solid defenses of Willamette and PLU, and here comes the Wildcats defense.
Keys to the game for Linfield:
-limit turnovers and
penalties: In Linfield’s first four
games, turnovers and penalties prevented the ‘Cat attack from putting a serious
whipping on their opponents. Against
Whitworth, Linfield limited those mistakes, and put a massive beating on their
defense. If Linfield can limit those
mistakes against L&C, then another offensive masterpiece should be on
display.
-win the line of scrimmage on
defense: In the Pios last two games,
Pacific Lutheran and Willamette dominated Lewis & Clark offensive line,
which lead to sub-par offensive performances.
If Linfield’s defense can win the battle up front and live in the
Pioneer backfield like they've been doing to other teams, Linfield’s defense
could be in for a big day.
-Bring the A-game: Linfield’s two road experiences this season
were their 33-30 win over Cal Lutheran, and their 31-24 win over Pacific
Lutheran, Linfield was plagued by turnovers and penalties. While Lewis & Clark does not have the
physical talent of those teams, The Wildcats have yet to be sharp on the
road. They need to be on Saturday.
Keys to the game for Lewis &
Clark:
-Put points up on the board: While the Lewis & Clark defense has shown play-making ability at times this season, they still give up a lot of points and
yards, especially in their last two games.
Lewis & Clark will need to score at least 35 points if they want to
have a chance of winning this game.
-Establish the running game: While the Pios passing game is as dangerous
as they come, they’ll need to be able to generate a running game to break up
the Linfield defense. If Welch and
Shirey can get the zone-read option game going like they did against Pudget
Sound, Lewis & Clark may have a puncher’s chance of beating Linfield.
-Get off to a good start: Before the Whitworth game, Linfield had been
documented for their slow starts to games, especially in the first
quarter. If Lewis & Clark can get
off to a fast start against Linfield, they may gain enough confidence to make
plays and hang with Linfield later on when things get tough and tense.
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