Linfield at Redlands
Saturday, 7 p.m.
Ted Runner Stadium, Redlands, California
 
Linfield (1-0) heads to Southern California to square off against the University of Redlands Bulldogs (2-0). Redlands, a member of the Southern California Intercollgiate Athletic Conference, is unbeaten this fall after season-opening victories over a pair of Northwest Conference clubs. Linfield, a longtime NWC member, is coming off a 35-14 win at Rowan, a game in which the Wildcats traversed nearly 6,000 miles round trip.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Graeme Fineman and Dave Hansen 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. Redlands will provide a free video webcast of the game. Links to both streams, plus live statistics, are listed above.
 
REDLANDS OFFENSE
Led by dynamic junior quarterback Nathan Martinez, the Redlands offense comes into this matchup on a roll. After winning a share of the SCIAC title a season ago, head coach Mike Maynard's Bulldogs were voted to finish atop the league this season.
 
Sporting the top offense in the SCIAC in 2018, Redlands returns three all-conference players and is picking up exactly where it left off last fall. Scoring a total of 93 points in two games, Redlands is undefeated after matchups against Northwest Conference participants George Fox (35-19) and Puget Sound (52-7). After putting away the Bruins in the fourth quarter of their Week 1 matchup, the Bulldogs easily cruised through their follow-up encounter against the Loggers.
 
Martinez has been efficient thus far, completing 37 of 49 passes for 465 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. The Wildcats will be seeing another dual-threat quarterback as Martinez is also a running threat. Last week he rushed for 65 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries, following an 18-carry, 75-yard effort in his season debut.  
 
Tailbacks Kai Thompson and Mason Carvalho add to a strong running game. Thompson, a sophomore, dominated in Week 1 with 95 yards and two touchdowns before the freshman Carvalho went off in Week 2 with 134 yards and a touchdown.
 
Redlands returns a deep group of receivers, including all four of its top receivers from 2018 on the roster. First team SCIAC selection Blake Roy is back after a stellar year in which he brought in six touchdowns and 406 receiving yards, both team highs. Senior all-conference receiver David Molina paces the wide receivers with 311 receiving yards in 2018.
 
The 'Cats face a veteran offensive line on Saturday, a group that includes two seniors, two juniors and one sophomore. All-conference selection Calhoun Helmberger starts at left guard.
 
LINFIELD OFFENSE
Wildcat fans have reason to be excited after what they saw in the season opener against the Profs. Linfield was able to use the full field from sideline to sideline while mixing in some explosive, long-yardage pass plays.
 
The immediate stand-outs: the offensive line and the receiving corp. The Linfield line kept junior Wyatt Smith clean all game, allowing the quarterback plenty of time to make accurate passes. A late change just before game time, senior Sam Fults moved from right guard to tackle for his first snaps on the offensive side of the ball. Julian Sears slid in at right guard, with Zach Jacobs, Matt Metcalf and Taylor Adams filling out the starting lineup. Linfield allowed only one sack in the game, keeping a very stout defensive line at bay.
 
It was four remarkable senior performances that highlighted the Linfield offense in New Jersey. Keegan Weiss went for five catches and 104 yards to go along with two touchdowns. After a long 55-yard TD to open the scoring, Weiss sealed the deal with an 11-yard score. Keaton Wood had several long catches as well, finishing with 63 yards and a touchdown. Jacob Calo added another score of his own, with Tyler Torgerson recording a team-high seven catches.
 
Smith was impressive in his season debut, throwing for 283 yards and four touchdowns in the 35-14 victory against Rowan. Smith did throw two interceptions early, but was able to orchestrate four touchdown-scoring drives to help the 'Cats secure the victory. The deep ball was particularly successful for Smith, who connected on lengthy passes of 55 and 48 yards.
 
After being locked up earlier in the game, tailback Artie Johnson finally found some space in the second half. A 21-yard rush, followed immediately by a 15-yard carry, put the 'Cats in great field position for an 11-yard TD on the next play. Tanner Earhart added a bruising, one-yard carry at the goal line for Linfield's second touchdown.  
 
REDLANDS DEFENSE
The Bulldogs return three all-conference defensive players for this matchup against the Wildcats. This group is full of veterans, as they will start four seniors and six juniors. Only one sophomore is in the starting lineup, defensive back Jake Geisbaur, who had an interception last week.
 
The second-leading tackler in 2018, defensive back Chad Virgil returns at free safety joined by senior captain Vincent Vanhorne. Cornerback Jeff Hector will draw another start after receiving SCICA Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week honors in the big win over Puget Sound. The senior picked off three passes from the Loggers. Hector, who also runs back kickoffs for the Bulldogs, scored one return touchdown in 2018. Linfield will see a familiar face as one-time Wildcat Khory Day will handle the punt returns for Redlands.  
 
Redlands created a lot of turnovers in their Week 2 matchup, racking up six interceptions and two fumble recoveries. The Bulldogs had the second-most interceptions in the conference in 2018 and are already well on their way to being near the top in that category again this year.
 
Elias Hackney should present a tough test for the Linfield offensive line. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, he demands constant attention coming off a season in which he led the team in sacks and tackles for loss. As a team, Redlands was third in the SCIAC in sacks a season ago.
 
Redlands is coming off a strong defensive season in 2018, leading the conference in points per game allowed with 17.2. They were particularly strong defending the run, allowing only 64.2 yards per game which also led the SCIAC. The pass defense struggled at times, giving up the second-most passing yards per game at 247. 9. It's likely the 'Cats will to continue to to go the air in their second game.
 
LINFIELD DEFENSE
The Wildcats' defense was able to wreak havoc and disrupt the Rowan defense repeatedly, coming away with three interceptions and one fumble recovery. Linebacker Brian Pullman and rover Keyell Davis were at the top of the stat sheet with 15 and 13 tackles, respectively. Pullman also added a forced fumble en route to being selected as NWC Defensive Student-Athlete of the Week. Including another nine tackles from Brock Klosterman, the Linfield linebackers were impressive in their season debut.
 
The secondary was also excellent in the opener. Tyler Sitton and Chris Adamo shut down the outside receivers for Rowan, adding an interception each. Dusten Ramseyer-Burdett contributed a couple of crushing hits and an interception while Tyler Bergeron was credited with nine stops.
 
Although there were no sacks on quarterback Mike Husni, the defensive line applied consistent pressure on him all game, leading to several mistakes. With the preseason attention going to Linfield's defensive ends, it turned out that the tackles were the ones who really lit things up. Chase Lydig and Grayson Cosier each tallied five tackles, while Brady Wessel added a tackle for loss. Travis Swanson was a nightmare for the Profs' offensive line, being involved on six tackles while having one and a half tackles for loss.
 
Linfield stayed right on par with its points per game allowed from a year ago, only allowing two touchdowns. The red zone coverage was as good as advertised, creating several stops backed up against its own end zone. Adamo's interception was the highlight, with the Profs threatening from the Linfield 4-yard line before the senior intercepted a pass in the end zone. Rowan mounted only two drives in the second half that lasted longer than four minutes.
 
OVERALL
Linfield put any lingering memories of last season's poor start to rest with a big road victory to open 2019. The schedule proves no easier against a very talented Redlands team that's coming off big wins over two solid NWC foes. After sweeping the NWC Student-Athlete of the Week awards in all three phases of the game for the first time in program history, Linfield put together a complete team win. More of the same will be needed as the 'Cats defense will be put to the test in this matchup and the offense must get going early to provide scoring support.
 
SERIES HISTORY
Linfield has an all-time record against Redlands of 8-0 in a series dating back to 1998 … The last meeting was in 2018 with Linfield winning 13-0 in McMinnville; the first meeting was the Wildcats' 24-23 win in Redlands … The last meeting in Redlands was in 2014, with Linfield taking a 36-3 victory … Linfield is 3-0 on the road in the series and 5-0 at home … The widest margin of victory was 48 points, 48-0 in 1999 in McMinnville; the closest game was that 24-23 game in 1998. Linfield's widest margin in Redlands was a 59-21 win in 2002 ... One of the games was in the NCAA Division III national playoffs, Linfield's 31-23 win in the 2003 first round in McMinnville … Against teams from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Linfield has an all-time record of 28-2.
 
THE STREAK
Going into the 2019 season, Linfield is riding a string of 63 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 508-116-10 for a winning percentage of .809. Linfield's record at home during the streak is 276-42-4 (.863), and at Maxwell Field it is 273-42-4 (.862).
 
BY THE NUMBERS
2019 is Linfield's 105th season of football, dating back to 1896. The Wildcats' all-time record is 612-267-28 (.690).
 
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 four 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).
 
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.
 
Since the start of the 2009 season, Linfield is 102-15 overall (.872), 85-6 (.934) in the regular season, 57-3 (.950) at home and 63-2 in NWC games (.969) … 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 120-24 (.833), which is the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Wildcat football history … Smith's record includes marks of 103-15 (.873) in the regular season, 77-6 (.928) in Northwest Conference games, 17-9 (.654) in the postseason and 67-7 (.905) at home.