McMINNVILLE, Ore. – No. 8 Linfield turned in a dominant defensive performance to secure a 27-13 victory over No. 5 Hardin-Simmons in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs Saturday afternoon at Maxwell Field. The Wildcats steadily built a 24-0 lead then held off a late-game surge by the Cowboys to secure the home-field win.
Linebacker
Jake Reimer led the way defensively for the 'Cats, totaling seven tackles. Cornerback
Anthony Guttadauro was credited with six tackles.
Wade Ransom, who finished with six tackles, intercepted Turner on the Cowboys' final offensive play to seal the outcome.
Linfield running back
Chidubem Nnoli rushed for 150 yards on 33 carries to pace the Wildcat offense. Freshman quarterback
Wyatt Smith completed 17 of 24 passes for 226 yards and a touchdown.
What it means
With the win, Linfield (9-1) advances to face No. 1 Mary Hardin Baylor, the only team to defeat the Wildcats this season. The location of that second-round game, expected to be Belton, Texas, will be confirmed Sunday by the NCAA.
How it played out
The Linfield defense set the tone during HSU's opening drive when cornerback
Marquis Perrilliat intercepted a pass by Cowboys starting quarterback Landry Turner and returned it 25 yards to the Linfield 41. That began a 14-play drive that resulted in a four-yard plunge by quarterback
Aiden Wilder with 6:33 left in the opening quarter.
The game evolved into a defensive battle for the next several drives, with the teams trading punts well into the second quarter of play. An eight-play drive, aided by two HSU penalties, was capped off with Smith's 15-yard pass to
Keegan Weiss along the back line of the end zone. That pushed Linfield's lead to 14-0 with 59 seconds left.
Less than a minute later, Linfield added more points on the scoreboard. Safety
Duke Mackle picked off Turner along right sideline and returned the ball 53 yards for a touchdown. The extra point by
Willy Warne made it 21-0 with 11 seconds to play before intermission.
Linfield added to its advantage on the opening drive of the third period, getting a 18-yard field goal by Warne at the 9:59 mark.
Hardin-Simmons got a shot in the arm with under five minutes to go in the third quarter, as Reese Childress returned a
Colton Ramos punt 74 yards for a touchdown, trimming the margin to 24-7.
The Wildcats didn't flinch, embarking on a 12-play, 69-yard drive that was ended by a 23-yard field goal by Warne. Nnoli carried seven times on the drive.
HSU reached the red zone with just under nine minutes go play but failed to score.
Jake Reimer forced Jaquan Hemphill to fumble, killing the HSU's best offensive drive of the day to that point.
The Cowboys made the score close in the final four minutes, moving 11 plays and 72 yards to the end zone. Turner connected with Colten Kent on a 5-yard touchdown pass but the extra point hit the upright, keeping the score 27-13.
Three Wildcats –
J.D. Lasswell, Weiss, and
Kyle Kimball – had four receptions each.
Hemphill, a 1,000-yard rusher, finished with 29 yards on 12 carries.
'Cat Scratch
Saturday's attendance was 2,341. . . HSU came into the game averaging 522 yards of offense. . . the Wildcats outgained the Cowboys 414 to 195. . . After three quarters, Landry had 12 passing yards. . . facing steady pressure by the Linfield front four, the Cowboys finished with 87 yards through the air. . . the game was played in a brisk two hours, 28 minutes. . . Linfield won its 13th consecutive opening playoff game . . . the last time Linfield lost its initial game of the NCAA playoffs was to Central College in 2000. . . that game was occured in the second round after Linfield received a first-round bye under the old 28-team playoff format.
