Linfield University Athletics

NAIA Division II National Champions

The NAIA Division II football national championship earned by the 1984 Linfield Wildcats is best remembered for the 'Cats roaring back from a 22-point second-half deficit to beat Northwestern (Iowa) 36-22 in the final game. Coming on the heels of dominant wins in the national quarterfinals and semifinals, it made it easy to forget just how hard-fought Linfield's 12-0 season really was.

The autumn of 1984 included a quarterback merry-go-round for seven games with four wins coming by a touchdown or less. The 'Cats earned one victory in which the only score of the game came on a safety, and the first time this particular Linfield varsity suited up and took the field, it lost 27-21 to the Wildcat alums. The 'Cats were adjusting to missing three players for the entire season due to injury of quarterback Mike Waud, who had been a contender for the starting job; defensive end Mike McCallister, who had been an all-league player in 1983; and linebacker Mark Siegner, who had been expected to start. Running back Tim Nacrelli and tight end Lance Lopes would also be sidelined during the season.

"I think this has to be one of my most gratifying seasons because of all the things we've dealt with. It's been darn near storybook," head coach Ad Rutschman said after the championship game. "This team has come from behind as far as injuries and replacing people and somebody just comes in and does the job, and does it well."

During the season, Rutschman passed Paul Durham to become the winningest coach in Linfield football history. The other school records set by this Wildcat team weren't marquee marks. John Gray tied the school record for field goals (10) and field goal attempts in a season (20), Greg Hodgkinson set the mark for punting yardage in a season (2,871), Terry Holmes tied the record for kickoff returns (18) and set the record for kickoff return yardage (369) and Rob Russell earned the record for punt returns (43). As a team, the Wildcats set Linfield records for most offensive plays (879), field goals (10), field goal attempts (20), best punting average (37.8 yards per punt), punting yards (2,871) and most punt returns (44).

But Linfield had four NAIA All-Americans, with defensive tackle Steve Boyea and defensive back Floyd Halvorsen receiving first-team acclaim and center Jim Goveia and tight end Keith Machida earning honorable mention. When the all-Northwest Conference team was announced, there were 10 'Cats on the squad.

No Wildcat rushed for more than 340 net yards, but four rushed for at least 200 -- Nacrelli (338), Scott Stapleton (310), Robert Davis (253), Mike Sigman (245) and Terry Holmes (210). Ron Popiel had a team-high 36 catches for 675 yards and four touchdowns, while Dave Ellis, David Lindley and Ernie Rose shared quarterback duties for much of the year.

The season opened with a 30-24 win at Puget Sound as Linfield rallied from a seven-point halftime deficit. The next week in their home-opener, the Wildcats turned back a late two-point conversion try to beat Southern Oregon 14-12. A week later, quarterback Dave Ellis rushed for three touchdowns in the 'Cats-- 21-6 Homecoming victory over Western Oregon.

Linfield needed a big fourth quarter to win at Oregon Tech by a 10-7 score. The Wildcats scored all their points and picked off four passes -- two by Doug Jansen and in the final period as Gray's 31-yard field goal with 1:15 left proved the difference. Ernie Rose had come off the bench to spark the comeback with a 52-yard scoring pass to Popiel.

The non-conference finale at Whitworth was a 25-12 victory that saw Scott Stapleton rush for 150 yards. The victory was the 119th of Rutschman's career, moving him one ahead of Durham, who had coached Rutschman in the early 1950s.

The Northwest Conference season began with a 24-10 home victory over Pacific Lutheran. Jason Barber's 76-yard interception return for a touchdown broke a halftime tie, but the 'Cats needed fourth-quarter touchdown runs by Mike Sigman and Ellis to put the game away.

At home against Pacific, noseguard James Lee's tackle in the end zone provided the 'Cats with a 2-0 win in a game in which Hodgkinson tied a school record by punting 13 times and setting a record with 497 yards worth of punts.

By now, the Wildcats had climbed to second in the national polls while still looking for a quarterback with a consistently hot hand among the group of Ellis, Rose and David Lindley. At Lewis & Clark, Rutschman used all three in the first quarter and Lindley finally pulled away from the others; the sophomore guided the 'Cats to four straight touchdowns and a 28-14 victory.

In the regular season finale, Lindley completed 19 of 22 passes for 235 yards and five touchdowns in a 55-0 home win over Willamette. The 'Cats scored on seven of their eight first-half possessions en route to a 49-0 lead at intermission.

"We talked about winning big to get momentum for the playoffs," Lindley said. "It was just a good effort on everyone's part."

The win gave Linfield the No. 1 ranking heading into a quarterfinal matchup against St. Ambrose (Iowa). The Wildcats' defense blanked the Bees until the offense came up with 19 fourth-quarter points to put away a 26-0 win; Lindley threw for two TDs in a three-minute span to break it open. Boyea had six tackles, a quarterback sack and a fumble recovery for Linfield. Linfield was at home again for the semifinals to face Hanover (Ind.), the nation's top-ranked passing offense. The Wildcats tied an NAIA playoff record with seven interceptions and rolled for 500 yards of offense in a 55-14 victory, with Popiel catching four passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns. Linebacker Jody Tyrell had six tackles, a quarterback sack, a broken-up pass and a blocked point-after kick to lead the defensive effort.

That put Linfield in the national title game against Northwestern, the defending national champion, with the contest being moved from Maxwell Field to McMinnville High for better field conditions. The Red Raiders stymied the 'Cat offense and took a 22-0 lead midway through the third quarter, silencing most of the crowd of 3,562.

Gray's field goal with 3:02 left in the third quarter finally put Linfield on the board, and some Wildcat adjustments began to take hold. A few more passes over the middle, a few more stunts and blitzes to pressure Northwestern's passing game, and the 'Cats began rolling.

Lindley hit Machida with a one-yard touchdown pass and again for a two-point conversion to make it 22-11 at the end of the third quarter. He then hooked up with Hodgkinson for a 37-yard TD and with Randy Reason for another two-point conversion to close the gap to 22-19 with 9:01 left in the game.

An interception by linebacker Scott Sattler on the next Red Raider possession gave Linfield the ball at the Northwestern 23, and the crowd was back into the game. Nacrelli finished the drive with an eight-yard scoring run to give Linfield its first lead at 26-22 with 7:08 left.

Northwestern was forced to punt, then a 44-yard pass from Lindley to Popiel set up Sigman's one-yard run for the clinching touchdown. Lindley finished with 305 yards passing and Popiel had six catches for 120 yards. Defensively, Lee had a quarterback sack and two key tackles for lost yardage in the game. After the championship game, Nacrelli uttered the thought that summed up not just the come-from-behind win, but the entire season.

"We didn't give up on ourselves," Nacrelli said. "Champions don't quit."