It’s been a long season, and now that it’s finally over,
it’s time to see how everyone did! For
the first time ever, this blog is going to bring you a Northwest Conference
review. Starting from the bottom and
working our way to the top, we’ll see how each of the seven teams performed on
the season.
7. Pudget Sound
Record: 0-9, 0-6 NWC
Thoughts: No real
surprises here with the Loggers finishing last in the league; if anything, the
biggest surprise was how noncompetitive they were over the course of the
season. On the defensive side of the
ball, the Loggers gave up 52.2 points and 557.7 yards of offense per game, both
last in the conference by a country mile.
The Loggers had the worst defense I have ever seen, as indicated by the
fact that they gave up 55 points or more in six of their nine games. On the offensive side of the ball, the
loggers averaged 17.9 points and 357 yards of offense per game, both last in
the NWC. The Loggers one redeeming quality
in 2012 was the play of All-American wide receiver Adam Kniffin, who finished
the season with 77 receptions for 1002 yards and 11 touchdowns. There’s hope for the future for Pudget Sound,
simply because they can’t get any lower than they were this season.
Grade: F
6. Lewis & Clark
Record: 4-5, 1-5 NWC
Thoughts: Coming off
a 7-2 record in 2011, the Pioneers started out 4-0 in 2012, the magic from last
season seemingly in place again.
However, five straight losses by a combined score of 219-74 gave the
Pios a final record of 4-5, and they barely avoided finishing as the worst team
in the conference. On the offensive side
of the ball, Lewis & Clark averaged 25.3 points and 387.2 yards per game,
which ranked sixth and fifth in the conference respectively. Quarterback Keith Welch, the defending
offensive player of the year, completed 57 percent of his passes for 2,334
yards with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
Welch added 358 yards and nine touchdowns on the year, averaging only
3.0 yards per carry (proof of how bad their offensive line was). Another bright spot for L&C was the
balance in their wide receiver core. Jacob
Constantino led the team with 50 receptions for 625 yards and five touchdowns. Evan Stanbro had 41 receptions for 651 yards
and four touchdowns. Nico Ohland had 29
receptions for 434 yards and three touchdowns.
Connor Immel had 32 receptions for 383 yards and four touchdowns. On the defensive side of the ball, the Pios
were the top defensive team in the conference after the first four games before
falling apart in the final five games, much like the offense. Lewis & Clark’s defense gave up 36.1
points and 443.6 yards per game, both ranking sixth in the NWC. With practically all their skill players
returning in 2013, Lewis & Clark has hope in terms of getting a winning
record, but I wouldn’t hold my breath if you’re waiting for them to challenge for
the conference title.
Grade: D+
5. Pacific (OR)
Record: 3-6, 2-4 NWC
Thoughts: After going
1-17 in the previous two seasons, I didn't have much confidence in Pacific’s
ability to win games in 2012. Boy, were
we all surprised. After blowing out
Occidental 27-6 early in the season, Pacific was very competitive in conference
play, losing to Whitworth and Willamette by a combined 7 points, blowing out
Lewis & Clark and Pudget Sound, and losing to Pacific Lutheran 41-23 before
getting blown out by Linfield 51-17 in the finale. A few plays here and there, and Pacific could
have had a winning record. On the
offensive side, the Boxers averaged 28.7 points and 395.7 yards of offense per
game, ranking fifth and fourth in the conference respectively. Quarterback P.J Minaya was the gem of that
unit, completing 64 percent of his passes for 2,258 yards and 21 touchdowns
with 12 interceptions. On the defensive
side of the ball, the Boxers showed some progress, giving up 33.8 points and
433.4 yards per game, both ranking fifth in the NWC. The boxers run defense, giving up 104.1
yards, ranked third in the conference, but the pass defense, giving up 329.3
yards, ranked last in the conference.
With their whole team coming back next season, 2013 could be year that
the Boxers get a winning record.
Grade: C+
4. Whitworth
Record: 7-3, 3-3 NWC
Thoughts: Entering
the season, many people, including me, thought that Whitworth could contend for
the conference crown and dethrone Linfield.
After starting out the season 5-0, the Pirates lost to Willamette 38-24
and Linfield 54-14 on consecutive weekends.
After beating Pudget Sound 70-11, the Pirates were routed 35-14 by
Pacific Lutheran before finishing the season with a 37-20 victory over Lewis
& Clark. The offense, thought to
have the best collection of skill players in the conference outside of
Linfield, struggled at times, averaging 32.4 points and 378.8 yards of offense
per game, ranking fourth and sixth in the NWC; the Pirates had the best rushing
attack in the conference, but the worst passing attack. Running back Ronnie Thomas led the conference
with 1,239 yards and 13 touchdowns, averaging 4.5 yards per carry. Quarterback Bryan Peterson completed 56.8
percent of his passes for 1,762 yards and 16 touchdowns with nine
interceptions. Wide receiver Jake
DeGooyer had 1,015 yards and eight touchdowns on 73 receptions. On the defensive side of the ball, the Pirates
gave up 27.2 points and 421.1 yards of offense per game, both ranking fourth in
the conference. While they lose Thomas
and DeGooyer to graduation, Bryan Peterson will return to lead the Pirates in
2013.
Grade: B-
3. Willamette
Record: 8-2, 4-2 NWC
Thoughts: After going
4-6 in 2011, not a lot of people had high expectations for the Bearcats in
2012. All of a sudden, Willamette
unleashed the most prolific passing attack, and one of the most explosive
offenses in the country on their way to a 6-0 start, which got them ranked 22nd
in the nation. However, a 41-27 loss to
Pacific Lutheran and a 45-10 loss to Linfield ended their playoff hopes. The Bearcats rebounded by beating Pacific
35-31 and Pudget Sound 55-0 to end the season.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Bearcats were as good as anybody
in the nation, averaging 39.6 points and 498 yards of offense per game, ranking
second and first in the NWC. Quarterback
Josh Dean, a bench fixture in 2011, was the biggest surprise of the nation in
2012, completing 64.7 percent of his passes for 3,345 yards, a school-record 34
touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. Jake
Knecht had 55 receptions for 773 yards and 11 touchdowns. Jake turner had 50 receptions for 763 yards
and five touchdowns, while tight end Benny Weischedel had 47 receptions for 711
yards and six touchdowns. Running back
Dylan Jones led the team with 716 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground, averaging
4.5 yards per carry. On the defensive
side of the ball, the Bearcats give up 26 points and 376.5 yards of offense per
game, both ranking third in the NWC. The
Bearcats tied for second in the conference in quarterback sacks, and were third
in turnovers forced with 27. With so
much talent coming back next season, the Bearcats have another shot at
contending for the conference crown.
Grade: A-
2. Pacific Lutheran
Record: 7-3, 5-1 NWC
Thoughts: Entering
the season, I had PLU very low on my list, not believing the NWC preseason
coaches poll that listed them as second in the league. I was holding last season’s offensive
futility against them, stating that unless they improved on that, they wouldn't finish in the top half of the league.
After starting out the season 1-2, with the losses to Linfield and Cal
Lutheran, the Lutes turned it on, winning six games in a row to end the regular
season, finishing second in the conference.
To everyone’s surprise, the Lutes were selected to play in the first
round of the Playoffs, where they lost to Linfield 27-24 at Maxwell Field. On offense, the Lutes averaged 32.6 points
and 404.7 yards of offense per game, both ranking third in the NWC. First-team all-conference quarterback Dalton
Richey completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 2,723 yards and 19 touchdowns
with 11 interceptions. The Lutes balanced
running game was led by Brandon James, who had 497 yards and four touchdowns, averaging
4.9 yards per carry. Kyle Warner led the
conference with 1,264 yards and eight touchdowns on 67 receptions. On the defensive side of the ball, the Lutes
gave up 22.2 points and 328.4 yards per game, both ranking second in the
conference. The PLU defense led the
conference with 36 forced turnovers, and tied for second in the conference in
sacks with Willamette.
Grade: A
1. Linfield
Record: 11-1, 6-0 NWC
Thoughts: The
Wildcats lived up to the expectations in 2012 by surviving a brutal slate of
non-conference games before mostly rolling through a Northwest Conference that
tougher than it’s been for many years.
After their first four games, Linfield was showing a lot of
problems: The offense struggled with
turning the ball over and committing drive-killing penalties, while the defense
struggled at times against some of the top offenses in the nation. Then, over the next five games, the Linfield
offense cut down on those mistakes, becoming one of the most explosive,
up-tempo teams in the nation. The
defense took over the rest of the season, becoming one of the nation’s elite
units. After surviving PLU 27-24 in the
first round of the NCAA playoffs, the Wildcats capitalized on seven turnovers
to defeat North Central (IL) 30-14. In
the quarterfinals, Linfield found themselves up on UW-Oshkosh 24-9 entering the
fourth quarter before the Titans came back to win in overtime 31-24, bringing
the Wildcats season to a close. On the
offensive side, the Wildcats averaged 40.3 points and 443.3 yards of offense
per game, ranking first and second in the conference. Quarterback Mickey Inns had another
incredible season, completing 60.8 percent of his passes for 3,288 yards and 30
touchdowns with 8 interceptions. Charlie
Poppen led the receiving core with 57 receptions for 909 yards and nine
touchdowns, averaging 15.9 yards per reception.
Deidre Weirsma had 62 receptions for 710 yards and eight
touchdowns. Lucas Jepson had 48
receptions for 643 yards and four touchdowns.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Wildcats were a ball-hawking,
heavy-hitting, play-making unit that ended up being better than last season’s
dominant unit, something that not many thought could happen in the
pre-season. The Wildcats gave up 17.9
points and 300.7 yards of offense per game, both tanking first in the NWC. The Wildcats led the nation in quarterback
sacks, the conference in tackles for loss, and second in the NWC in turnovers
forced with 30. With their entire
defense and four starters on the offensive line, as well as Poppen, all the
running backs, and all the back-up quarterbacks coming back next season,
Linfield has a chance to win their fifth straight NWC title in 2013.
Grade: A
Final Thoughts: 2012
was a banner year for the Northwest Conference: you had Linfield proving
themselves as a national power; Pacific Lutheran not only finished second in
the league, but managed to become the second team from the conference to make
the playoffs, which was incredible considering the bias against the NWC. Willamette went 8-2, and had one of the most
explosive offenses in the nation, as well as one of the nation’s best stories in
Josh Dean’s rise from bench to national prominence. Even Whitworth, who finished fourth in the
conference, went 7-3 and had some nice non-conference wins against quality
teams from other conferences, including Chapman (the third-place team from the
SCIAC) and St. Scholastica (the conference champion from the UMAC). The NWC’s non-conference record was 19-7, and
just about every week, there were two or more match-ups that had my eye, and
there was so much quality football being played by everyone in the conference,
except for UPS. The 2012 season was one
that will be remembered for many years to come.
See you guys next fall,
Justin Derby
