McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Chidubem Nnoli rushed for 137 yards and Troy Fowler passed for two scores, but it was the defense that really rose to the occasion as No. 8 Linfield handed previously unbeaten Whitworth a 38-9 Northwest Conference defeat Saturday in front of a packed Homecoming crowd of 3,353 at Maxwell Field.
 
It helped that the Linfield defense, led by the 13 tackles of Jason Farlow, returned two interceptions for touchdowns, the first by safety Duke Mackle on Whitworth's opening drive and the second by Jake Reimer midway through the third quarter to effectively put the game out of reach.
 
The Wildcats (2-1, 1-0 NWC) rolled up a season-high 38 points on the Pirates defense that entered the contest allowing an average of 7.7 points per contest. The Linfield defense was spectacular all afternoon, keeping Whitworth quarterback Ian Kolste off his game. The senior entered the game with 13 touchdown passes against one interception. He left Maxwell Field having been sacked three times, while surrendering three interceptions and a lost fumble that set up a Linfield score.
 
Whitworth (3-1, 0-1 NWC), which averaged over 50 points through its first three contests, all lopsided wins, was held to three field goals by Rehn Reiley.
 
How it played out
After Mackle spotted Linfield a 7-0 lead with his weaving 56-yard pick-six, Whitworth drew within one point on back-to-back field goals by Reiley from 20 and 33 yards out. Fowler threw the first of two touchdowns to J.D. Lasswell, a 63-yarder to make the score 14-6 with 8:20 left before halftime. Zach Grate's recovery of a Kolste fumble at the Whitworth 28, set up Linfield's next score, a 2-yard run by Aiden Wilder that capped a quick four-played drive.
 
The Linfield defense continued to bottle up Whitworth in the second half, limiting the Pirates to Reiley's 32-yard field goal with 1:08 left in the third quarter. Lasswell capped the scoring with his second TD catch, a 37-yard rainbow from Fowler that completed a back-breaking seven-play march early in the fourth quarter.
 
Stat check
Nnoli, a transfer from Southern Oregon University and Beaverton High School, helped Linfield rush for a season-high 145 yards.
 
Linfield outgained Whitworth 379-365. Fowler ended with 201 passing yards and two TDs, completing 8 of 17. Lasswell had three catches for 122 yards, two of which resulted in scoring plays.
 
Reimer totaled seven tackles while Mackle had six stops. Marcus McGovern, Niles Tuihalangingie and Jake Handran all recorded quarterback sacks.
 
Kolste, who owned the nation's best completion percentage of 77 percent before Saturday, threw the ball a whopping 63 times, completing 32. Garrett McKay caught seven passes for 65 yards.
 
Linfield kicker Willy Warne was perfect on all five of his PAT attempts and hit a 27-yard field goal early in the third quarter.
 
'Cat Scratch
Linfield defeated Whitworth for the 11th straight time while extending its Homecoming win streak to 21 games. . . Whitworth turned the ball over five times; Linfield had two turnovers. . . the Pirates were 6 of 17 on third-down plays. 
 
Next
Linfield heads to Salem to battle the Willamette Bearcats Saturday at McCullouch Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.