McMINNVILLE, Ore. – No. 8 Linfield's defense limited Puget Sound to 99 total yards and freshman quarterback Wyatt Smith guided the Wildcats to four second-half scores in a 23-0 Northwest Conference football victory Saturday afternoon at Maxwell Field.
 
The win assured Linfield of at least a share of the NWC title and a place in the NCAA Division III national playoffs. When Pacific Lutheran defeated George Fox later in the afternoon, it gave the Wildcats sole possession of the championship.
 
Linfield's earned its ninth straight NWC championship (and 41st overall) as its defense pitched its first shutout of the season. In addition to limiting the Loggers to 16 yards rushing and 83 passing, the 'Carts conceded just eight first downs and a 4-for-19 mark on third-down conversions. Wildcat defensive end Asa Schwartz had four of his team's eight quarterback sacks.
 
The Wildcats pulled away in the second half behind Smith, who made his first collegiate start. He connected with Kyle Kimball on a 41-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to make it 14-0, then Willy Warne tacked on field goals of 20, 48 and 29 yards for the final margin.
 
Smith finished 26-for-46 passing for 318 yards and two touchdowns while being intercepted once. Kimball led the Wildcats with nine catches for 129 yards, while J.D. Lasswell had six catches for 54 yards and Linfield's other touchdown. Dawson Ruhl had four catches for 50 yards.
 
Puget Sound's Tanner Diebold was 13-for-33 passing for 93 yards. Paul Thomas led Logger rushers with 10 carries for 24 yards.
 
How it played out
Linfield opened the scoring in the second quarter on Smith's 11-yard pass to Lasswell in the left side of the end zone 9:28 before the break for a 7-0 lead. That capped a three-play, 47-yard drive. Chidubem Nnoli had run for 12 yards and Smith passed to Kimball for 24 yards to set up the score.
 
A reversal of momentum just before intermission cost Linfield a chance to extend its lead and gave Puget Sound a chance to tie the game. With less than a minute left before halftime, the Wildcats had the ball at the Logger 12-yard line. Smith was hit trying to pass, it was ruled a fumble, and Matt Washam returned the ball 91 yards to the Linfield 4.
 
The Wildcat defense held and forced a field goal try of 24 yards by Kyle Continente, but Linfield's Zach Grate got a hand on the ball to knock down the attempt and keep the score 7-0.
 
By then, Smith was 11-for-19 passing for 104 yards but had been sacked six times. In the second half, he wasn't sacked and completed 15 of 27 passes for 214 yards.
 
The 'Cats threatened to add to their lead on the first drive of the third quarter but Smith's pass for Lasswell was intercepted by the Loggers' Jason Clayton in the end zone.
 
The next possession resulted in Linfield's next score and a 14-0 lead. Prior to Smith finding Kimball deep down the middle for the touchdown, he'd connected with Ruhl on a seven-yard gain to convert a third-and-three from the 48 and keep the drive alive.
 
The Wildcats' next drive was their longest of the day, going 67 yards in 10 plays to set up Warne's 20-yard boot that made it 17-0. The Loggers had Linfield fourth-and-one from midfield but jumped offside to extend the possession.
 
Warne added a 48-yard field goal on the next possession for a 20-0 advantage with 48 seconds left in the third quarter. Smith's 19-yard pass to tight end Jacob Calo was a key play in that drive.
 
Warne finished the scoring with a 29-yard kick with 3:55 to play for the 23-0 final score.
 
'Cat Scratch
Linfield's eight quarterback sacks tied the seventh-best mark in school history, most recently accomplished three times in 2015 (vs. Whitworth, Cortland State and Redlands) … Schwartz's four sacks tied for the fourth-best individual mark in school history; the last time a Wildcat has as many sacks was Alex Hoff's 4.5 at Widener in a 2014 playoff game … Smith's 46 pass attempts tied for 15^th-most in a single game in Linfield history and his 26 completion was just one shy of cracking the top 15 in that category … the 2017 Wildcats team honored its 19 gradauting seniors prior to the game, their last regular-season home appearance … in addition, volleyball coach Shane Kimura was recognized; his final match would be Saturday evening, capping a career that spanned 40 seasons and a national runner-up finish in the AIAW in 1981 … Linfield's last shutout had been against Willamette in a 40-0 win in the fifth week of the 2016 season …

Championship numbers
Linfield's streak of nine straight conference championships is the longest such streak in NWC history. In addition to its present streak, Linfield also won or share NWC titles in six straight seasons from 2000-05 … there have been three other times NWC teams won or shared titles in five straight seasons: Linfield from 1974-78, Willamette from 1940-1947 (there was no NWC football from 1943-45 due to World War II) and Willamette from 1934-38 … through 2016, Linfield has won 40 NWC championships, including 32 outright … Linfield has now won 22 straight conference games, dating back to a 2014 loss to Willamette.
 
Next
Linfield (7-1, 6-0 NWC) wraps up its regular season Saturday at Pacific. Puget Sound (3-5, 2-4 NWC) finishes its season at home against George Fox on Saturday.