LINFIELD AT WHITWORTH
Saturday, 12:30 p.m.
Pine Bowl, Spokane, Wash.
 
The defending Northwest Conference champion faces the perennial NWC champ on Saturday Whitworth hosts Linfield in a marquee football matchup. Linfield (6-1, 5-0 NWC), which won a NWC-record nine straight titles from 2010 to 2018, is ranked 19th in the American Football Coaches Association Top 25 poll and No. 24 by D3football.com. Whitworth, which snatched the NWC title from Linfield's grasp last season, topped the Wildcats by five points last fall in Spokane.
 
Whitworth (5-2, 4-1 NWC) enters the game without a national ranking, though was slotted ahead of Linfield in the top 25 poll to start the season and was the NWC coaches' pick to repeat as champion.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Graeme Fineman and Dave Hansen will be on site 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. Whitworth will provide a live video broadcast, courtesy of local cable channel SWX. The links to each broadcast, plus live statistics, are listed above.
 
WHITWORTH OFFENSE
The Pirates are led by quarterback Leif Ericksen out of Kalispell, Montana. Last season, the senior threw for over 2,900 yards and 27 touchdowns, culminating in a first team all-Northwest Conference selection. This fall, he has thrown for 17 touchdowns, second-most in the league. Ericksen has missed one game this season, a defeat against Puget Sound but was able to come back and throw for over 300 yards and a touchdown against Pacific Lutheran last week.
 
In the event Ericksen is unable to play, the Pirates have a capable backup in Connor Johnson. The junior is completing a higher percentage of passes than Ericksen and has thrown for five touchdowns. The Snohomish, Washington, native is very dangerous with his legs. Johnson has appeared in all seven games this season and has 203 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
 
The lead tailback for the Pirates is junior Brayden Corona. The NWC's fifth-leading rusher in terms of yards, Corona is a multi-dimensional threat. The shifty back has over 200 yards receiving out of the backfield, highlighted by a 90-yard catch-and-run against Lewis & Clark that he took to the end zone. Corona has the ability to create a big play on special teams, too, and has a 48 yard return to his name in 2019.
 
Whitworth has a trio of talented receivers which the Linfield secondary must attempt to corral. Two seniors anchor this group in Taylor Kolste and Nick McGill. Kolste has the fifth-most catches in the NWC to go along with five touchdowns. McGill is coming off a strong game against PLU with 93 yards receiving and one trip to the end zone. The X-factor is junior Andrew Meredith, who leads the team in receiving yards. After starting the season quietly, he has put together two strong games in his last three and has scored six touchdowns.
 
Noah Alejado is a weapon on special teams as he does the kicking and punting for Whitworth. He is 5 for 6 on the season in field goals and 30 for 33 on PATs, both second overall in the NWC. No one has more yardage in total punts then the Kapolei, Hawaii, native, yet Whitworth has punted the ball the second-most timesof any team in the NWC. 
 
The offensive line of the Pirates is a large, veteran group. Four of the five players on the O-line are seniors and Whitworth also has a senior and a junior as backups. The only non-senior starter is freshman guard Cody Bolig, so it will be worth keeping an eye on him and see if Linfield will focus on the inexperienced guard.
 
LINFIELD OFFENSE
First, a quick bit of trivia. How many quarterbacks in the nation have thrown more touchdowns this season than Wyatt Smith? Answer: 1.
 
With another six-touchdown game last weekend against Lewis & Clark, Wyatt has thrown for 32 scores this season. That total is tied on Linfield's all-time career ladder with Sam Riddle for sixth-most in one season in Linfield football history. Smith threw for 399 yards to go along with his six scores against a porous L&C defense, earning his sixth NWC Offensive Student-Athlete of the Week award. Smith and the Wildcats expect a much tougher test against the Pirates, the NWC's third-ranked pass defense. Smith only needs one more passing score to equal co-offensive coordinator Aaron Boehme's mark of 33 set in 2009. No. 1 in that category may be too high to pass, with fellow co-offensive coordinator Brett Elliott's remarkable benchmark of 61 TD passes in 2004.
 
Another game means another multi-touchdown game for Keegan Weiss, the conference's leader in receiving scores. The senior added over 100 yards to his total last week, solidifying himself as one of the top receivers in the conference. Keaton Wood had scored at least one touchdown in three of the four conference games this season and kept that streak going last week in Linfield's big home win. Colton Smith made the most of his two catches, cashing in with one touchdown and 54 receiving yards. Senior Tyler Torgerson opened the game up with a big 44-yard catch en route to a 75-yard game. Senior tight end Jacob Calo came alive for 55 receiving yards on five catches. If all five of these receivers play like they did last week, the Wildcats are a difficult out, to say the least.
 
The running game continues to improve. Tailback Artie Johnson put together another great game for Linfield, going over 50 yards rushing in back-to-back contests. The junior has scored three touchdowns during that stretch, making some very physical runs to remind defenders that he is not easy to take down. To make matters worse for opposing teams, Johnson showed his receiving skills with a 33-yard receiving TD in the win.
 
The Linfield offensive line allowed two sacks in the win. Linfield did rush for 170 yards while amassing over 400 yards passing and that was in large part to the strong work of the offensive line. Although an exact date is still uncertain, this group could receive a boost at some point as senior center Zach Jacobs is hopeful of making a return from injury this season.
 
In a matchup of the top kickers in the conference, no one has hit more extra points than Wildcat place kicker Andrew Starkel. The junior is 2 for 2 on field goals but has not been called upon to attempt a 3-pointer since the game against Pacific four weeks ago. That may change in Saturday's highly anticipated matchup with Whitworth.
 
WHITWORTH DEFENSE
The Pirates live off creating chaos for opposing offenses. No team in the NWC has created more interceptions, recovered more fumbles, recorded more sacks or scored more defensive touchdowns than Whitworth.
 
The Pirate defense is fully experienced, particularly in their front seven. Six of those seven players are seniors, the other being starting nose tackle Mason Miksch, who is a junior and played all 11 games last season for Whitworth.
 
Senior Andrew McCoy is going to be quite the handful for the Linfield offensive line. The native of Snohomish, Washington, leads the conference in tackles for loss and sacks. He headlines a deep group of defensive ends, as RudyJay Keipuhiqa and Solofua Grey are also among the top-10 tacklers for loss and both are non-starters. Charlie Ball from Roanoke, Virginia, has three of Whitworth's 19 sacks this season.
 
Linebacker Kale Wong leads the team in tackles and will get a chance to play against former high school teammate Keyell Davis. Wong is joined by seniors Gunnar Swannack and Iain Black at the linebacker position. Swannack has two interceptions, making his matchup with Wildcats tight end Jacob Calo an interesting a battle to watch.
 
Rover Zach Hillman is tied with Wildcat defenders Chris Adamo and Keyell Davis for the conference lead in interceptions and also has five pass breakups. Five different players have at least two interceptions for this ball-hawking secondary. The only two starting underclassmen for the Pirates defense are defensive backs Colton Chelin at cornerback and Jacob Hogger at free safety. This should a blockbuster matchup between Linfield's elite receiving corps and Whitworth's talented secondary.
 
LINFIELD DEFENSE
In its last three games, the Wildcat defense has allowed an average of 5.6 points per game. Over that stretch, they pitched a shutout and have not allowed a touchdown in the first half. Linfield is surrendering just over 260 yards of offense but faces its toughest test of the NWC schedule this weekend.
 
Keyell Davis' impressive season continued last weekend with a team-leading 10-tackle performance. Davis leads the team in total tackles with 54, now sixth-highest in the conference, to go along with his NWC-leading three interceptions. His performance earned the senior NWC Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week honors.
 
Ray Thomas has complemented starting defensive ends Travis Swanson and Tony Kraus well throughout the year. Thomas recorded a sack in last week's win, his fourth-straight game taking down an opposing quarterback in the backfield. For good measure, Swanson entered the game in the second half and added another tackle for loss, raising his season total to 5½. Whitworth sits smack in the middle of the conference in third-down conversions and it will be important for Linfield's defensive line to create pressure on third to force Whitworth's offense off the field.
 
With Brian Pullman sidelined last week for precautionary reasons, several players put in great shifts at the linebacker position. Kamaehu Beltrame-Aila started in place of Pullman and recorded a tackle for loss. Sam Paris rotated in and also added another TFL. Cedric Agcoili-Ostrom led the group in tackles with four and Brock Klosterman had two. Treve Earhart recorded an interception in the fourth quarter, the first of his career. Pullman should be available this week but even if he is not, linebackers coach Phil Rombach has an embarrassment of riches at this position.
 
Tyler Sitton added to his conference-leading 13 pass breakups to spearhead the Linfield secondary. The McMinnville native also intercepted his second pass of the season but was overshadowed by backup Malik Campbell, who came into the game and intercepted two passes. Tyler Bergeron put in a strong game with seven tackles and Chris Adamo had a pass breakup. Linfield has 14 interceptions on the year, right behind Whitworth to add to this already exciting matchup.
 
OVERALL
The premier matchup in the Northwest Conference this weekend, this game has been anticipated for both of these teams all year. The conference title can be decided this weekend as Linfield can claim its 41st NWC title with a win. As if there was any added motivation for the game, Linfield fell to Whitworth last season and is eager to return the favor at the Pine Bowl.
 
THE SERIES
Linfield has an all-time record against Whitworth of 37-6-2 in a series dating back to 1952. Whitworth won the last meeting 19-14 in Spokane in 2018; prior to that Linfield had won the last 11 meetings, including 38-9 in McMinnville. In 2017 … the first meeting was a 13-13 tie in McMinnville on October 4, 1952 … Linfield's last win in Spokane was in 2016 by a 45-31 score; Whitworth's last win in McMinnville was in 2006 by a 17-13 score … Linfield has a 17-5 record against Whitworth in Spokane and a 20-1-2 record against the Pirates in McMinnville … Linfield's widest margin was 61-0 in 1966 in McMinnville; the Wildcats' widest margin in Spokane was 35 points, 49-14 in 1982. Whitworth's widest margin was 34 points, 41-7 in 1954 in Spokane; the Pirates' widest margin in McMinnville was four points, 17-13 in 2006 … one of the games in the series was in the postseason, in 2015 with Linfield winning 48-10 in McMinnville in the NCAA Division III playoffs first round.
 
THE STREAK
In 2019, Linfield has clinched its 64th consecutive winning seasons; the Wildcats' streak, which began in 1956, is the longest in the history of college football at any level … During the streak, Linfield is 513-117-10 for a winning percentage of .809. Linfield's record at home during the streak is 279-42-4 (.865), and at Maxwell Field it is 276-42-4 (.863) …
 
BY THE NUMBERS
2019 is Linfield's 105th season of football, dating back to 1896. The Wildcats' all-time record is 617-268-28 (.691) … Linfield's all-time home record is 345-91-16 (.764), including a Maxwell Field record of 325-79-11 (.796) …
 
PLAYOFF HISTORY
Linfield has made 29 national playoff appearances; a school-record string of 9 straight in the NCAA Division III playoffs from 2009-2017 was snapped last year … Linfield has won 4 national championships: 1982, 1984, 1986 (all NAIA Division II) and 2004 (NCAA Division III). The Wildcats have played in 3 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).
 
CONFERENCE HISTORY
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 107-16 overall (.870), 90-7 (.928) in the regular season, 60-3 (.952) at home and 68-2 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 125-25 (.833), which is the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Wildcat football history … Smith's record includes marks of 108-16 (.871) in the regular season, 82-6 (.932) in Northwest Conference games, 17-9 (.654) in the postseason and 70-7 (.909) at home.