Following a 44-10 win over Redlands at Maxwell Field in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs, Linfield football hits the road for a heavyweight second-round bout with top-10 power Saint John's (Minn.), the champion of the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
 
Kickoff is set for noon (CST) at Clemens Stadium. Linfield is ranked No. 7 in the latest D3football.com Top 25, released Nov. 14. The Wildcats are also ranked No. 6 in the latest American Football Coaches Association poll. Saint John's is ranked No. 5 in both national rankings.
 
TICKETS
Tickets for the game are $8 for adults and $4 for students. Online tickets went on sale on Monday at 8 a.m. Stadium entrances and on-site ticket booths open on Saturday at 10 a.m., two hours prior to the start of the game. A link to the Saint John's ticket portal can be found above.
 
COVERAGE
Saint John's will provide a live video broadcast as well as audio coverage and live stats. Linfield will provide a live audio broadcast on the Linfield Sports Network with commentary from Joe Stuart and Dave Hansen. The LSN's coverage begins at 11:30 a.m. (Central) with the Farnham Electric Pregame Show. Coverage links are available above.
 
HOW THEY GOT HERE
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.
 
Linfield lit up the scoreboard with 28 second-half points against Redlands in the opening round. Senior quarterback Wyatt Smith completed 25 of 35 passes for 337 yards and four touchdowns while also rushing for a touchdown. Junior Devon Murray caught five passes for 114 yards and a pair of touchdowns while fellow junior Colton Smith had six receptions for 109 yards and a touchdown.
 
Saint John's is 11-0 on the season with a 7-0 record in MIAC play under head coach Gary Fasching. The Johnnies scored a last-second touchdown in the MIAC title game to slip past Bethel, 29-28, as senior quarterback Chris Backes completed a three-yard pass to junior tight end Alex Larson.
 
The Johnnies took care of business in their first-round matchup with a 41-14 romp of Lake Forest. Backes threw for 120 yards and four touchdowns while senior running back Devin Vouk rushed for 143 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries.
 
THE WILDCAT OFFENSE
The Wildcats have the third-best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 51.9 points per game. Wyatt Smith returned for a fifth year with the Wildcats and claimed his second straight Northwest Conference Offensive Player of the Year award in 2021. He has completed 245 of his 351 passes for 3,002 yards and 37 touchdowns while also rushing for 208 yards and six touchdowns. Smith, a semifinalist for the prestigious Gagliardi Trophy, ranks fourth in Division III with 37 touchdown passes and 258 points responsible for. He also ranks seventh in completion percentage (69.8), 10^th in passing yards per game (304.3) and 12^th in total offense per game (321.5).
 
Making Smith's life easier are three First Team All-NWC wide receivers in juniors Devon Murray and Colton Smith and freshman Joel Valadez. Murray and Smith are tied for the team lead with 10 touchdown catches. Murray has 46 catches for 612 yards while Smith has 43 catches for 582 yards. The NWC Freshman of the Year, Valadez has nine touchdown receptions and leads the 'Cats with 614 yards and 18.61 yards per reception.
 
Leading the run game are junior running backs Connor McNabb and Connor Morton. McNabb has rushed for 584 yards and eight touchdowns on 102 carries while also reeling in three touchdown catches. Morton has 565 rushing yards and eight total touchdowns, six on the ground.
 
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 'Cats are tied for No. 15 in Division III with nine sacks allowed.
 
THE JOHNNIE OFFENSE
Senior Chris Backes will lead the Saint John's offense against the Wildcats. He has completed 69 percent (78-113) of his passes for 946 yards and 15 touchdowns while filling in for an injured Aaron Syverson.
 
Senior running back Henry Trost will anchor the ground attack. The First Team All-MIAC pick is tied for 13^th in Division III with 17 rushing touchdowns, running the ball 126 times for 736 yards. Fellow senior Devin Vouk is second on the team with nine rushing touchdowns.
 
The strength of the Johnnies lies in their receiving corps. The group is led by senior Ravi Alston, the MIAC Player of the Year. Alston has 58 catches for 819 yards and eight touchdowns. Junior tight end Alex Larson earned a first-team nod with 445 receiving yards and eight touchdowns while sophomore Jimmy Buck has six touchdowns.
 
THE WILDCAT DEFENSE
The Wildcats rank No. 2 in Division III with 43 sacks, 199 yards allowed per game and a 19.7 third down percentage defense. They are also tied for fifth in the nation with 91 tackles for loss and fourth in rushing defense, allowing just 45 yards per game. The 'Cats have allowed opponents to 11.50 points per game.
 
Leading the defense is senior defensive end Travis Swanson, the NWC Defensive Player of the Year. Swanson has a team-leading 42 tackles on the season, 27 solo, with an interception. He is ninth in the nation with 19.5 tackles for loss, including 11 sacks, which ranks tied for 12^th.
 
First-team tackles, senior Chase Lydig and sophomore Nick Severson, have also been reliable up front. Lydig has 18 tackles, 13 solo, with 7.5 tackles for loss and four sacks, including a sack for a safety against Redlands in the first round of the playoffs. Severson has 19 tackles and 6.5 sacks. Senior defensive end Vinny Niosi has 28 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and five sacks to go with five pass breakups and two forced fumbles.
 
The linebacker corps is led by sophomore rover Caiden Biege-Wetherbee, sophomore Blake Rybar and senior Cedric Agcoili-Ostrom. Biege-Wetherbee is third on the team with 36 tackles, 21 solo. He has five tackles for loss, six pass breakups and an interception. Rybar has registered 33 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks. Agcoili-Ostrom owns totals of 22 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and a pair of sacks.
 
A solid trio of first-team selections in the Linfield secondary will look to tame the Johnnies' air attack. Senior safety Tyler Bergeron has been the team's motivational leader, collecting 34 tackles, 28 solo, to go with 1.5 tackles for loss and two interceptions. Senior cornerback Tyler Sitton owns 33 tackles and an interception while junior monsterback Ben Baxter leads the 'Cats with three picks of his own while also ranking second on the team to Swanson with 39 tackles.
 
THE JOHNNIE DEFENSE
The Johnnies are 11^th in Division III in scoring defense with 11.27 points allowed per game. They also rank 15^th with 242.7 yards allowed per game. The Johnnies own the nation's fourth-best red zone defense, allowing opponents to score on 48 percent of their trips to the red zone. 
 
Three defensive linemen earned a first-team nod from the MIAC. Selected as the MIAC Co-Lineman of the Year, senior Seth Morem has racked up 48 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks to go with a fumble recovery. Fellow senior Metoriah Faoliu has 44 tackles and three sacks while junior Michael Wozniak has 26 tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss and 9.5 sacks.
 
Erick Bjork and Kyle Kornovich lead the linebackers. A junior, Bjork leads the team with 68 tackles, 33 solo, to go with 4.5 tackles for loss and an interception. A senior, Kornovich is second on the team to Bjork with 53 tackles while also totaling 8.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and two picks.
 
Senior cornerback Tommy Deters and junior safety Ethan Stark earned all-conference honors for the Saint John's secondary. Deters has 26 tackles on the season with two tackles for loss and an interception while Stark has 29 tackles, two for loss, with an interception of his own.
 
THE SERIES
Linfield and Saint John's have met three times entering Saturday's game. The Johnnies won all three meetings, all in postseason play. The Johnnies took down the Wildcats 33-0 in the 1965 NAIA Champion Bowl in Augusta, Georgia. The two teams met in the NCAA Division III quarterfinals in back-to-back years with the Johnnies winning 21-14 in McMinnville in 2002 before winning the rematch 31-25 in Collegeville in 2003.
 
LINFIELD 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 43-26 (.623), including a 27-14 record in the Division III playoffs. 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.