The Linfield football team welcomes a familiar foe to Maxwell Field on Saturday as the Wildcats host Redlands in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.
 
Kickoff is set for noon (PST) in a rematch of the Wildcats' 51-10 win on Sept. 18 in Southern California.
 
The Wildcats claimed sole possession of the Northwest Conference football championship for the 35^th time in program history. They have also shared the title on eight occasions. The 'Cats completed a perfect 9-0 regular season, including a 7-0 record in NWC play. Linfield dominated the All-NWC team with a school-record 22 players earning recognition, including 14 on the first team. Head coach Joseph Smith was named the NWC Coach of the Year for the 11^th time.
 
The Bulldogs' (8-1, 6-0 SCIAC) only loss of the season was to the 'Cats. Since then, they have won six straight games to claim their conference-leading 29^th Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and their first since they shared the title in 2018. The Bulldogs are coached by 1994 Linfield graduate Jim Good.
 
Linfield enters the week ranked No. 7 in the latest D3football.com Top 25 and No. 6 in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll. Redlands is ranked No. 25 by D3football.com and No. 21 by the AFCA.
 
TICKETS
Fans have until 4 p.m. on Friday to purchase reserved seating for the game. Advance purchases of reserved seating must be made through Linfield's ticket portal. An ample supply of general admissions tickets is always available for purchase on the day of the game at the Linfield ticket booth, which opens at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
 
COVERAGE
The Linfield Sports Network will provide live video play-by-play coverage with Joe Stuart and Dave Hansen calling the action. Viewers can watch the game live, free of charge, at GoLinfieldWildcats.com.
 
THE WILDCAT OFFENSE
Senior quarterback Wyatt Smith defended his title as the Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year, having also won the award in 2019. Smith completed 220 of 316 passes for 2,665 yards and a conference-leading 33 touchdowns while also rushing for five touchdowns. He ranks fourth in Division III with 228 points responsible for, ninth with a 69.6 completion percentage and 13^th with 300.67 passing yards per game.
 
Junior running back Connor McNabb earned First Team All-NWC honors after rushing for 60.2 yards per game. He rushed for eight touchdowns while also catching three touchdown passes. Fellow junior Connor Morton earned a second-team nod after scoring eight touchdowns of his own, including six on the ground.
 
Smith has four all-conference pass catchers to throw to. Wide receiver Joel Valadez was named the NWC Freshman of the Year and a first-team selection after catching 31 passes for eight touchdowns and a team-leading 591 yards. Juniors Devon Murray and Colton Smith also earned first-team honors. Murray had eight touchdowns on 41 catches and 498 yards while Smith caught 37 passes and led the NWC with nine touchdown receptions. Senior tight end Sam Paris was named to the second team.
 
The offensive line saw four players land on the All-NWC Team. Senior center Matt Metcalf and senior guard Julien Sears were named to the first team while senior tackle Taylor Adams and sophomore guard Bailey Lee earned second-team honors.
 
THE BULLDOG OFFENSE
Senior quarterback Nathan Martinez captains the Bulldog offense. The SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year completed 125 of 179 passes in the regular season for 1,692 yards and 12 touchdowns to go with five interceptions. He also ran for three touchdowns.
 
Leading the Redlands ground game is senior running back Kai Thompson, who has run for 561 yards on 101 carries with nine touchdowns. He is averaging 62.3 yards per game. Fellow senior Tony Williams Jr. has eight rushing touchdowns while junior Andrew Kellstrom has four.
 
Senior wide receiver Kai Kang leads the pass catchers with 41 yards per game to go with one touchdown. Freshman Evan Aguon leads the group with four touchdowns while former Wildcat, senior Khory Day, caught 25 passes for 272 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
 
THE WILDCAT DEFENSE
The Wildcat defense matched its offensive counterpart with seven First Team All-Northwest Conference selections. The 'Cats lead Division III with 9.7 tackles for loss per game and rank second with 38.3 rushing yards allowed per game, 4.44 sacks per game and a 17.2 third down conversion percentage defense. The defense is also third in the nation with 105 first downs allowed, fifth with 198.9 yards allowed per game and 14^th with 11.67 points allowed per game.
 
The defense is anchored by senior defensive end Travis Swanson, the Northwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Swanson is tied for second on the team with 36 tackles, 22 solo. He is fifth in Division III with 2.2 tackles for loss per game and tied for eighth with 1.22 sacks per game.
 
Joining Swanson on the line with First Team All-NWC honors are tackles Chase Lydig and Nick Severson. Lydig has 14 tackles with 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks. Severson has 17 tackles and is second on the team with 5.5 sacks. Senior defensive end Vinny Niosi has 23 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, five sacks, five pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
 
Three members of the linebacker corps earned All-NWC honors. First-teamer, sophomore rover Caiden Biege-Wetherbee, has 36 tackles, 21 solo, to go with an interception and five pass breakups. Senior Cedric Agcoili-Ostrom earned second-team honors with his 18 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Sophomore Blake Rybar was named an honorable mention with 30 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.
 
The Linfield secondary got a much-needed return from senior safety Tyler Bergeron after he missed a handful of games due to injury. Bergeron was still named to the All-NWC first team after totaling 30 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions in the regular season. Senior cornerback Tyler Sitton and junior monsterback Ben Baxter also earned first-team nods. Sitton has 29 tackles on the year with four pass breakups and an interception. Baxter had two picks of his own and leads the team with 38 tackles.
 
THE BULLDOG DEFENSE
Redlands has allowed its opponents 319.3 yards per game, including 93.6 on the ground and 225.8 through the air. Opposing offenses have averaged 19.8 points per game against the Bulldogs.
 
Senior Brandon Serrano highlights the Redlands defensive line. He has 33 tackles on the season with 8.5 tackles for loss and four sacks. Senior Noah Widgins has 26 tackles while fellow senior Solomon Iosefa has 15 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and a sack.
 
The linebackers are led by a pair of First Team All-SCIAC selections in seniors Jacob Harrold and Michael MacDonald. Harrold leads the position group with 44 tackles to go with 1.5 tackles for loss and an interception. MacDonald has 30 tackles while senior Ryan Place has 38.
 
The secondary will also be a strength for the Bulldogs. Senior Jace Tessaro and junior Scott Tinsley lead the defensive backs with 55 tackles apiece. Tinsley has five tackles for loss and six interceptions while Tessaro has 3.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Senior Noah Taplett is sixth on the team with 33 tackles.
 
THE SERIES
Linfield and Redlands have met 10 times dating back to 1998 with the Wildcats winning nine of those games. The Bulldogs' lone win was a 27-19 meeting in 2019 at Ted Runner Stadium. Saturday's game is just the second postseason pairing. In 2003, Linfield hosted Redlands in the first round of the NCAA playoffs, a game that saw the Wildcats prevail by a score of 31-23.
 
Linfield took the first meeting of the season, 51-10, on Sept. 18. Redlands didn't score a touchdown until the fourth quarter. The Wildcats racked up 498 yards of total offense, 166 coming on the ground and 332 through the air. The Wildcat defense was just as dangerous, limiting the Bulldogs to one red zone opportunity and 2 of 11 on third down.
 
Wyatt Smith completed 27 of 35 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns in the 41-point win. Connor Morton rushed for 51 yards and two touchdowns while Joel Valadez caught four passes for 114 yards and two touchdowns. The Linfield offensive line didn't allow a sack in the game on its way to earning D3football.com Team of the Week honors. Travis Swanson led the defense with eight tackles, four solo, with five tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. 
 
PLAYOFF HISTORY
Linfield earned the Northwest Conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs. It's the program's 31^st national postseason appearance, which includes a school-record string of nine straight from 2009-17. The Wildcats have earned 11 trips to the NCAA Division III playoffs in the last 12 seasons. The Wildcats have an all-time playoff record of 42-26 (.618), including a 26-14 record in the Division III playoffs. Their last trip to the playoffs was in 2019, where they fell short in a 68-65 shootout at Chapman in triple overtime. Linfield owns four national championships, three in the NAIA. The 'Cats won the Division III title in 2004 with a 4-0 postseason run capped off by a 28-21 victory over Mary Hardin-Baylor.  
 
SPECTATOR POLICY AND COVID-19 PROTOCOLS
All individuals (age 12 and over) entering any athletics venue must provide proof of vaccination along with photo identification. Since all Linfield faculty, staff and students have completed this task in order to be on campus this fall, the Linfield individual must simply show their current Linfield ID.
 
Masks must be worn by all spectators at all times. Participants, including players, coaches, support staff and media on the sidelines, must wear masks throughout the duration of all athletic events, both indoor and outdoor, and during pregame and postgame activities.