Athlete 2006 – 2010
Coming from a small high school in Washington state, 2025 Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Aaron Boehme transformed himself from a relatively unknown football prospect to a record-setting quarterback who piloted the Wildcats to 21 wins, two Northwest Conference championships and a national semifinal playoff appearance.
Aaron wasn’t an instant smash success and his path to stardom was not without its share of bad breaks along the way.
At Stanwood High School in Washington state, Aaron played quarterback and defensive back where he set single-season passing and tackles records as a senior. As the recruiting process got underway, he knew he wanted to be part of a winning culture and program. After watching a Linfield game in person at Maxwell Field, he began to see himself as a Wildcat.
Aaron was invited to be a preferred walk-on at both the University of Idaho and at Oregon. He was all but ignored by the Division II programs in his home state, the level at which he felt his football skills would fit best. Other than Linfield, only a handful of Division III programs sought him out.
Says Aaron “I was pretty set on Linfield for most of the recruiting process. I didn't want to get lost in the shuffle of walking on at a big program. At the time, Linfield coaches Jim Nagel and Jay Locey really sold me on the idea that I would have a great shot to contribute at some point, and I was sold!”
His first two years at Linfield were spent waiting and watching as more experienced quarterbacks ran the offense. By the time he was a junior, he was primed to assume the role of starting quarterback. The Wildcats opened the 2008 season with a road game in Abilene, Texas, against a potent Hardin-Simmons squad. Early in the third quarter, Aaron scrambled for a first down and was tackled hard to the ground, snapping his collarbone and ending his season.
Aaron remembers how much it hurt emotionally, realizing he would have to sit on the sidelines yet another year.
“Finally I had my chance to imprint myself on the team. It was my team that year, and I had to wait for another calendar year. It definitely gave me hunger and an edge.”
As the saying goes, good things come to those who wait. Aaron eventually became the face of the Linfield football program in 2009 and 2010, and many personal accolades naturally followed. Those honors included being named the 2009 Male Ad Rutschman Oregon Small College Athlete of the Year, D3football.com second team All-American, two-time Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and the two-time recipient of the Willis Baker Linfield Most Valuable Player award.
Aaron remembers Linfield’s 2009 run to the national semifinals as one of highlights of his playing career.
“Going to all of those games on the road early in the season. And then our deep playoff run, taking out some of the most storied programs in Division III. Getting to do that with all my friends on the team and experience it together is always something I’ll never forget.”
A scan of the Linfield record book shows Aaron holding seven top-10 single-season passing records. His 405 pass attempts and 3,727 passing yards stand fourth all-time for a quarterback in a single season.
In the career record book, Aaron’s 86 combined rushing and passing touchdowns rank fourth all-time, his 65 TD passes rank sixth, and his 6,276 passing yards and 60.1 pass completion percentage both sit seventh on the Linfield career ladder.
Good friend and fellow quarterback Cole Bixenman remembers Aaron’s intense will to win and a desire to be great. “His ability to diagnose and analyze the opposing defense and know our offense like the back of his hand made him an invaluable asset to Linfield’s football team on the field and for many more years after his playing career ended while he was a coach.”
Away from the football field, Cole says Aaron had “a great sense of humor that appeals to teammates and makes him very easy to like and look up to as a leader.”
Though he originally planned to major in computer science, Aaron quickly transitioned to majoring in mathematics with an education credential, setting the table for a career in coaching. After completing his bachelor’s degree in 2010, Aaron began a 12-year career as a member of the Linfield football staff, coaching quarterbacks, receivers and eventually becoming the Wildcats’ co-offensive coordinator.
Among Aaron’s greatest coaching memories, he says, were having the opportunity to coach and set records with many of the prolific Linfield quarterbacks of the last 15 years, including Mickey Inns, Josh Yoder, Tommy Knecht, Sam Riddle and Wyatt Smith. Aaron’s greatest single game experience as a coach came in 2021 when the Wildcats traveled to Minnesota and knocked off previously unbeaten St. John’s 31-28 in the second round of the Division III playoffs.
Reflecting back on the 2021 season, Aaron says “I really felt like I left my imprint on that team, recruiting so many of those contributors.”
His football experiences continued after Linfield, playing in Europe for Schwäbisch Hall Unicorns of the German Football League, where he earned German Bowl Most Valuable Player honors while leading the Unicorns to a wild 48-44 victory in the league championship. That season, he led the GFL in passing with 4,965 yards, 59 touchdowns and just three interceptions.
Aaron says the life lessons he learned while playing and coaching football at Linfield still resonate in his life today. Themes such as Balance, Finishing the Job, and Preparation.
“Being able to do the dirty work you don't want to do and balancing that with enjoying life and making things fun. I always learned that it's best to just get the job done. Don't leave anything for the next person. At Linfield, we know how to prepare better than any other program.”
Aaron and his wife, Angelica, have been married for nearly 10 years and are raising two children, 8-year-old Huston and 5-year-old Elliott.
An accomplished pickleball player, Aaron works as a data analytics manager for Selkirk Sport, the No. 1 pickleball paddle brand in the country.
