LINFIELD AT PACIFIC LUTHERAN
Saturday, 1 p.m.
Sparks Stadium, Puyallup, Wash.
 
Linfield heads north to Washington state looking to extend a pair of winning streaks Saturday when the Wildcats face Northwest Conference foe Pacific Lutheran in 71st meeting between the two clubs. A victory by the Wildcats (4-1, 3-0 NWC) will extend Linfield's all-divisions record for consecutive winning seasons to 64 while also stretching the program's series win streak to 20. The Lutes (1-4, 0-3 NWC) will try to put the brakes on their own four-game losing slide. The Wildcats are ranked 19th by the American Football Coaches Association and 24th by D3football.com.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Graeme Fineman and Dave Hansen are set to provide play-by-play audio coverage of Linfield football on the Linfield Sports Network. Exclusive coverage begins 30 minutes prior to kickoff for the Farnham Electric Pregame Show. PLU is providing live video coverage. Links to both audio and video streams, plus live statistics, are listed above.
 
PRE-GAME TAILGATER
Join alumni, parents and fans of all ages for a pre-game barbeque and social gathering Saturday prior to kickoff. The event runs from 11 a.m. until 12:45 in the parking lot across the street from Sparks Stadium. Cost is $10 per person and children under 8 are free of charge.
 
PACIFIC LUTHERAN OFFENSE
The Lutes' offense are mired in a four-game losing skid but there have been bright spots beneath the surface. PLU ranks seventh or eighth in the Northwest Conference in several offensive categories. At 17 points per game and about 259 yards of total offense, the Lutes are in need of an offensive jolt. There have been changes to the offense in recent weeks, though none have led to the desired results in the win column.
 
At quarterback, sophomore Braden Amorozo is slated to make his first start of the season, replacing junior Bryce Missey. Amorozo came on in relief of Missey in the second half of last week's loss to Puget Sound, completing 13 of 25 passes for 146 yards. He also added 27 rushing yards on eight carries. The Waipahu, Hawaii, native is playing his third game of the season as part of a new-look offense.
 
Throughout the year, PLU has rotated several different receivers with four different quarterbacks who have seen action. Over the last couple of weeks, the Lutes have seemed to have settled on three regular wideouts. Veterans Alex Rendon and Wesley Nixon have stood out with Rendon's play especially strong of late. Two weeks ago in a loss against George Fox, he hauled in six catches for 65 yards and followed that up with a six-catch, 80-yard performance last week.
 
Ryan Chang II is a youngster to keep an eye on at receiver. Although not listed as a starter, the freshman is an emerging threat. Against George Fox, Chang II ripped off a long 80-yard catch-and-run for a touchdown. He had five other catches in that game before adding four more last week. Sophomore Jace Keim, son of Lutes defensive coordinator Jud Keim, rounds out the receivers with 14 catches, one more then Chang II and six behind Rendon, the team leader.
 
Perhaps the offensive player who enters Saturday's game with the greatest confidence is tailback Cody Brown. The junior from Tualatin High School takes on Linfield following 100-yard rushing performances in back-to-back games. Looking to make it three straight century-mark games, Brown accounted for 128 yards on the ground against the Bruins and another 106 against the Loggers.
 
Brown is running behind a big offensive line, with the average height of 6-foot-3. Alex Fairhurst and Logan Black are the two seniors of the group with Ryan Lusk the lone junior. Andrew Ahlf and Jacob Espinosa are two underclassmen who are projected to start, beating out older players at right tackle and left guard, respectively.
 
Alex Brost does the kicking for the Lutes and he is notable as the leading field goal kicker in the conference. The senior from Waimea, Hawaii, has made 5 of 6 field-goal attempts and is a perfect 10-for-10 on PATs.
 
LINFIELD OFFENSE
After scoring a season-high in points with 77 against Puget Sound two weeks ago at Homecoming, the Wildcats' offense followed that performance up with another 77 points against Willamette. The offense continues to move up the leaderboards in several categories, not only within the NWC but nationally as well. Linfield now boasts the top passing offense and third-highest scoring offense in NCAA Division III, the result of otherworldly performances by quarterback Wyatt Smith and an extremely talented receiving corps.
 
Smith didn't play the full game against the Bearcats but was magnificent. The junior threw for six touchdowns and nearly 400 yards in less than three quarters and was on pace to break his own record for TDs in a single game set the week before. His only blemish was one interception at the goal line, the first since the season-opener at Rowan. Smith now ranks second in the nation in passing efficiency and completion percentage. His 23 TD passes place him No. 4 nationally and are five more then he threw all of last season.
 
Wideouts Colton Smith and Keegan Weiss were the biggest beneficiaries in the receiving game during last week's offensive outburst. Both receivers hauled in two scores and surpassed 100 yards. Weiss is now the conference leader in scores with nine while Smith is tied with teammate Keaton Wood for fifth with five each. Wood added 62 yards receiving on two long catches. Senior Tyler Torgerson returns to his hometown of Puyallup to face the Lutes fresh from a 50-yard, one touchdown effort against the Bearcats.
 
For as much press as the starting receivers are enjoying week in and week out, several younger receivers are worth watching as well. Freshman Spencer Lee added two catches for 37 yards a week ago, including a 32-yard reception. Gilbert Pizarro added a 13-yard catch and tight end Franco Keplinger snagged his first career touchdown reception.
 
Linfield saw 11 different players record at least one carry in last week's win. The blowout offered the opportunity to showcase the future of the running game with seven freshmen logging at least one carry. The ability of the passing game has limited the amount of chances for Wildcat ball carriers, but tailbacks Artie Johnson and Connor McNabb have the makings of a strong 1-2 punch. The two had only 10 rushing attempts between them yet gained an average of 4.7 yards per carry. McNabb was again dangerous as a receiver out of the backfield, coming away with one reception for 26 yards and a score.
 
In what has unfortunately become the norm for Linfield, the offensive line was forced to make another change due to injury. Taylor Adams stepped in as the starting tackle and the line was superb. Another week did see another injury however. Tyler Critser went down in the second half, but he should be ready to go by Saturday.
 
PACIFIC LUTHERAN DEFENSE
The talent and potential of this group cannot be overlooked. As the Lute offense has been struggling, the defense has kept PLU close in many games. On the field more than almost any other defense in the conference, PLU allows 28.8 points per game, fourth-fewest in the conference. The Lutes rank second in the NWC behind Linfield against the run.
 
The biggest strength for this group is the front seven, notably a strong corps of linebackers. Junior Chase Rhinelander is the second-leading tackler in the conference and forms a talented trio with Hunter Briggs and Nicholas Bautista who rank third and seventh, respectively, in that department. PLU has the most tackles per game in the NWC and Briggs is also among the top 10 leaders in tackles for loss.
 
A pair of talented defensive ends also should be highlighted for this matchup. Tristan Thomas leads the conference in tackles for loss and is in second in tackles for loss yardage at minus-41. He trails teammate Max Larson, whose minus-50 yards rank first in the conference. Defensive tackle Mykah Tuiolemotu is in the top five in sacks, trailing Thomas and Larson who are third and fourth, respectively.
 
The secondary for Pacific Lutheran is young. With six pass breakups and one interception, junior cornerback Cody Barnett is tasked with containing Linfield's talented receivers. Barnett's father, Chad, and was an All-America running back on PLU's 1993 national championship team and is the Lutes' current record holder for career touchdowns and scoring.
 
Elsewhere in the secondary, Cheyn Tam-Switzer has two interceptions, tying him in league statistics with Linfield's Chris Adamo, though both pickoffs came during the first two games of the season. Jared Elwin is also in the top 10 in pass breakups for a middle of the road pass defense.
 
LINFIELD DEFENSE
The Wildcats pitched their first shutout of the season, lowering their points-per-game allowed average to just over 15 points. Willamette was never able to get anything going and Linfield only allowed 251 total yards.
 
Linfield allowed an average of 2.5 yards per rush on 40 attempts. Quarterback Mathew Castaneda couldn't complete half of his passes and was limited to 151 passing yards. He saw constant pressure throughout and never could get comfortable.
 
Another blowout saw many Wildcats coming in and out of the game. Twenty-six players recorded at least one tackle. Linebacker Brian Pullman led the team in that category with eight stops and fellow 'backers Brock Klosterman and Sam Paris were strong as well. Klosterman had a tackle for loss and Paris made four stops.
 
Chase Lydig was the second-leading tackler. The defensive tackle had a great game, recording two tackles for loss and a half sack. Fellow defensive lineman Brady Wessel and Ray Thomas were impressive, too. Wessel had 1½ tackles for loss for minus-6 yards. Thomas recorded back-to-back games with at least one sack.
 
Six-foot-six receiver Jordan Jenkins led the conference in touchdown catches coming into last week's game and was shadowed by the six-foot Tyler Sitton all game. The McMinnville native broke up three passes and Jenkins never scored. Dusten Ramseyer-Burdett had two big hits on Jenkins, too, part of one of the hardest-hitting duos in the conference. Monsterback Tyler Bergeron added in a tackle for loss and broke up two passes while Kolby Tomayo added one pass breakup.
 
The Linfield defense ranks among the top 30 in the nation in first downs allowed, passing yards allowed, red zone defense, scoring defense and total defense.
 
OVERALL
Linfield's offense expects a far more challenging matchup against the Pacific Lutheran defense so the 'Cats cannot simply put the offense on cruise control. Yet with the way the Wildcat offense has played as of late, there may be no stopping this train. If PLU wants to try to stay in this one, they must solve their offensive woes and grab some momentum early. With Linfield hitting the road again for the first time in three weeks and coming off consecutive blowouts, Saturday's Linfield-PLU matchup has the makings of a potential "trap game."
 
THE SERIES
Linfield leads its all-time series with Pacific Lutheran 45-21-4 and has won the last 19 meetings (17 regular season, two playoffs), including last season's 41-7 win in McMinnville. The first meeting was in 1933, when Linfield won 19-7 at PLU ... PLU's last victory was in 2001, by a 31-20 score at PLU … Linfield is 26-8-1 in McMinnville and 19-13-3 at PLU's various home fields … 7 of the meetings have been in the NCAA or NAIA national playoffs, with Linfield holding a 4-3 edge … from 1974-1980, 5 of the 7 regular-season games were decided by 1 point … Linfield's widest margin of victory was 45 points, 45-0 in 2008 at PLU; PLU's widest margin of victory was 39 points, 45-6 in 1940 in McMinnville. Linfield's widest margin in McMinnville was 38 points, 45-7 in 2011; PLU's widest margin at home was 24 points, 44-20 in 1987 … there have been 2 overtime games in the series; the first was in 1986, Linfield's 27-21 win at PLU in the NAIA Division II quarterfinals, and the second was in 2017, the Wildcats' 16-10 victory at PLU …
 
THE STREAK
Going into the 2019 season, Linfield is riding a string of 63 consecutive winning seasons…the Wildcats can clinch their 64th straight winning campaign with a victory over the Lutes on Saturday…Linfield's streak, which began in 1956, is the longest in the history of college football at any level … During the streak, Linfield is 511-117-10 for a winning percentage of .809. Linfield's record at home during the streak is 278-42-4 (.864), and at Maxwell Field it is 275-42-4 (.863) …
 
BY THE NUMBERS
2019 is Linfield's 105th season of football, dating back to 1896. The Wildcats' all-time record is 615-268-28 (.690) … Linfield's all-time home record is 344-91-16 (.780), including a Maxwell Field record of 324-79-11 (.796).
 
Linfield has made 29 national playoff appearances; a school-record string of nine straight in the NCAA Division III playoffs from 2009-2017 was snapped last year … Linfield has won four national championships: 1982, 1984, 1986 (all NAIA Division II) and 2004 (NCAA Division III). The Wildcats have played in three more national championship games: 1961, 1965 (both NAIA) and 1992 (NAIA Division II) … Linfield has an all-time national playoff record of 42-25 (.627) …
 
Linfield is seeking a return to the top of the Northwest Conference standings in the 2019 season. Prior to finishing second in 2018, the Wildcats had won or shared the NWC title nine straight seasons. That was the longest such streak in NWC football history … Linfield has won 41 NWC championships, including 33 outright
 
MORE NUMBERS
Since the start of the 2009 season, Linfield is 105-16 overall (.868), 88-7 (.926) in the regular season, 59-3 (.952) at home and 66-2 in NWC games (.971) … During that span, Linfield is 17-9 (.654) in the postseason
 
COACH JOSEPH SMITH
Joseph Smith is in his 14th season as Linfield's head coach; he has an overall record of 123-25 (.831), which is the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Wildcat football history … Smith's record includes marks of 106-16 (.869) in the regular season, 80-6 (.930) in Northwest Conference games, 17-9 (.654) in the postseason and 69-7 (.908) at home.