As the calendar turns to November, the Linfield Wildcats are faced with just two more Northwest Conference matchups this season.
No.4/5 Linfield (7-0, 5-0) will play their final home game of the season this weekend against the Willamette Bearcats (2-6, 0-5) at Maxwell Field.
 
With a win, the Wildcats will clinch at least a share of the 2022 NWC Championship.
 
Saturday's game also marks Senior Day for Wildcats graduating in the class of 2023, as well as Linfield's annual Hall of Fame Game, presented by Pacific Office Automation.
 
Following Saturday's game, the six members of the 24^th Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame class will be enshrined in history in a banquet in Ted Wilson Gymnasium. A brief ceremony will also be held at halftime of the game to recognize these six individuals.
 
 
TICKETS
Both reserved grandstand seating and general admission tickets can be purchased in advance online or at the Maxwell Field ticket booth on gameday, starting two hours before kickoff.

All reserved grandstand seating tickets are $25, while general admission tickets are $15 for adults with discounts available for seniors, youth and students. Children six and under as well as Linfield students with their university IDs can enjoy Linfield football games free of admission.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
Live video and play-by-play coverage will be provided online on the Linfield Sports Network as well as on KRCW-32, Portland's CW, available to Portland, Vancouver and Salem-area Wildcat fans. Both online livestream and television coverage will be available for Linfield home games all season long.

Linfield alum Joe Stuart provides fans with the play-by-play and Linfield Athletics Hall of Famer Gary McGarvie brings color commentary and analysis on both streaming and television. Coverage starts 30 minutes before kickoff on the LSN with the "Farnham Electric Pregame Show."
 
THE SEASON SO FAR
The Wildcats have rolled through the regular season under 17^th-year head coach Joseph Smith despite formidable road tests and a rise in opponent quality throughout the conference.

With their 37-10 win at George Fox the Wildcats have tightened their grip on first place in the NWC and hungrily eye the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA playoffs. Heading into the week's matchup the Wildcats are ranked fourth in the AFCA Division-III Coach's Poll, fifth in the D3Football.com Top-25 and have the seventh highest "strength of schedule" rating in Division-III.

They appeared in the first official NCAA Regional Rankings this week for Region 6. The first rankings of the season are commonly referred to as "regional lists" as they are simply collection of the top seven teams in each region in alphabetical order, before the NCAA releases a ranked order next week.

The Bearcats got off to a 2-1 start in non-conference play under fourth-year head coach Isaac Parker but have since gone 0-4 against NWC opponents.

Their two wins this season came against first-year program Hilbert College (0-5) and La Verne University (2-6, 2-3).

Against NWC opponents the Bearcats have been outscored 271-41 and have been on the wrong end of a shutout twice this season.

On Saturday they'll look for their first upset against Linfield since 2014.
 
THE LINFIELD OFFENSE
The Wildcats have been best offensive team in the Northwest Conference this season, leading the league in both scoring and total offense under co-offensive coordinators Brett Elliott and Aaron Boehme with 41.9 points and 420.7 yards per game.

They've been maybe the most balanced team in the league this season, averaging 35.85 rushing attempts and 34.85 passing attempts per game, and sit third in the NWC in both total passing and rushing offense.

Sophomore Blake Eaton continues his first campaign as the Linfield starting quarterback. Eaton's averaging 268.1 passing yards per game while completing 70.3 percent of his passes and has thrown for 19 touchdowns. He's added four touchdowns on the ground as well, tied for first on the team.

Against George Fox he posted another efficient outing, connecting on 24 of 34 passing attempts for his fourth straight game with a completion percentage of 70 percent or higher. He threw for 181 yards and two touchdowns and ran for nine yards.

Senior Connor McNabb's 60 yards and two touchdowns on 17 attempts led a Linfield rushing attack that totaled 149 yards on 41 attempts against George Fox and averages 137.1 yards per game. McNabb added two catches for 17 yards and was named the NWC Offensive Student Athlete of the Week for the first time in his career.

On the season he leads the team with 324 yards (54.0 per game) and four touchdowns.

Connor Morton follows on the season with 317 yards (45.29 per game) after posting 39 yards on 11 carries against George Fox and has also run it in for four touchdowns this season. McNabb and Morton are eighth and ninth in the NWC in rushing this season, respectively.

Junior Zach Young, Aaron Martinez and Tyler Larson have all also been featured in the Linfield run game this season. Against George Fox the trio combined for 35 yards on six rushes and Larson scored the first touchdown of the game on a one-yard pass from Eaton in the second quarter.

The Wildcats continue to get top production out of their elite wide receiver group.

Junior Joel Valadez is third in the conference in receptions with 41 and second in receiving yards with 595, to go with five touchdowns.

Senior Colton Smith leads the group in touchdowns with seven, fourth in the conference, on 36 catches and 465 yards. Murray rounds out the impressive trio with 33 catches for 366 yards and six touchdowns.

It was Murray who led the receivers against George Fox, posting a season-best eight catches for 77 yards, while Valadez added six catches for 48 yards and a touchdown.

Senior tight end Isaac Hoidal chipped in three catches for 26 yards and now has 17 grabs for 167 yards and a touchdown this season. Junior Franco Keplinger has also contributed eight catches for 58 yards from the tight end position.

The offensive line continues to set the tone for the offense, establishing the run and opening the field for Linfield's passing game. The starting unit features fifth-year seniors Taylor Adams at right tackle, Julien Sears at right guard and Matt Metcalf at center, as well as junior Bailey Lee at left guard and fifth-year senior Tyler Critser and junior Diego Rodriguez splitting time at left tackle.
 
THE WILLAMETTE OFFENSE
The Bearcats have scuffled through the season on offense, sitting dead last in the NWC in scoring offense at 14.9 points per game and are second to last in total offense at 257.3 yards per game. They posted a season-high 21 points in their season-opening loss at Pomona-Pitzer; their best scoring total against a conference opponent this season is 17, at Lewis and Clark on Sept. 15.

Their 53-0 loss to Pacific Lutheran last week was the second time the Bearcats have been blanked this season, also getting shut out at Pacific 35-0 to open NWC play on Oct. 1.

Willamette's offense is fifth in the league in rushing yards per game at 108.6 yards, but last in passing at just 148.6 yards per game. They've scored 12 touchdowns through the air and four on the ground this season.

The Bearcats totaled just 138 yards of total offense last week against PLU, a team the Wildcats were able to rack up over 400 yards against just two weeks ago.

Senior Aidan Kuykendall had been in his second season as the starting quarterback for the Bearcats, before leaving with injury two weeks ago against Whitworth. On the season he'd completed 57.7 percent of his passes for 944 yards and 10 touchdowns with six interceptions and had ran for 201 yards and three touchdowns, which was good enough to lead the team.

Junior Dante Chaney has since taken over as the starter for Willamette. Against Whitworth he stepped in for 171 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Last week at PLU he was held to 73 yards and an interception while connecting on 52 percent of pass attempts.

On the season he's completed 47.2 percent of his passes for 245 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

Sophomore Joseph Castillo has been the lead running back for Willamette on the season, rushing 112 times for 381 yards, fifth in the NWC. He's also recorded the one Bearcat rushing touchdown not recorded by Kuykendall this season, a one yard run in Willamette's win over La Verne on Sept. 10.

Castillo has also caught 21 passes for 135 yards, making him Willamette' third-leading receiver on the season. Against PLU he was contained to 43 yards on 13 rushing attempts.
Sophomore Steven Wright has backed up Castillo with 70 carries for 278 yards, his 4.0 yards per attempt leading the team.

Senior Justin Genovia has been the top receiving option for the Bearcats, with 32 catches for 395 yards and three touchdowns this season. Genovia recorded a team-high six catches against PLU but was held to just 27 yards.

Junior Justin Paredes has been a reliable red-zone threat for Willamette, with six touchdowns (tied for fifth in the NWC with Devon Murray) on 23 catches and 378 yards.
Sophomore Tyler Epefanio has added 184 yards and two touchdowns on nine catches.
 
THE LINFIELD DEFENSE
Even though it was the offense returning 10 starters at the beginning of the season, it's starting to look like the defense may be the calling card for this year's Wildcat squad.

Linfield boasts the top scoring and total defense in the NWC under defensive coordinator Jackson Vaughan. The 'Cats allow just 12.4 points per game, 19^th in Division-III, and 226.6 yards per game, 14^th in Division-III.

They've excelled in limiting their opponents' opportunities, allowing the second fewest first downs per game in in the country (78), posting the fourth best third down defense in the country (22.8 percent), the seventh best rushing defense (53.9 yards per game allowed), and the ninth most team sacks per game (3.71).

The defense has also forced 14 turnovers this season, including six in the last two games.

Linfield's leading tacklers this season have come from the linebacker corps, led by Blake Rybar's 52. Of his 52 tackles, 37 have been solo, 12 have been tackles for loss (second in the NWC) and 3.5 have been sacks.

He was the leading tackler yet again for the Wildcats against George Fox, racking up seven with three for loss and a sack, and was named NWC Defensive Student Athlete of the Week for the second consecutive week and third time this season.

Junior Logan Carr joins Rybar as the other starting linebacker, and has recorded 27 tackles this year, with two for loss and a sack.

Junior Caiden Biege-Wetherbee rounds out the group at the rover position. He's second on the team in tackles behind Rybar with 33, 24 of them solo. 2.5 have been for loss and he's also added an interception and three pass breakups.

Freshman Blaze Holani has made a huge impact at the linebacker position off the bench, rocketing up the stat sheet to now sit fourth on the team in tackles with 22, including four tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks to go with an interception, a breakup and two quarterback hurries. Against the Bruins he was the third-leading tackler for the Wildcats behind Rybar and Biege-Wetherbee, recording five with half a tackle for loss.

The Linfield secondary continues to improve week in and week out, and now looks as dangerous as any Wildcat position group.

Senior monster Jett Searle came off the bench to record the first interception of his career in the second quarter to set up a 36-yard touchdown drive for the Wildcats. Sophomore safety Colby Kalukoa followed with his second interception of the season early in the fourth quarter.

Searle also had two tackles and a breakup while Kalaukoa added a fumble recovery.

Kalaukoa leads all Linfield DBs on the season with 21 tackles.

Junior starting corners Evan Fisette and Chance Sparks both played well in coverage against the Bruins and recorded four tackles and a pass breakup apiece. Sparks also recorded a tackle for loss and a forced fumble.

Sparks has now totaled 16 tackles and four breakups this season with Fisette totaling 14 tackles and three breakups. Both have an interception each.

Senior Ben Baxter continues to start at monster for Linfield, and has posted 11 tackles, two interceptions and two breakups while battling through injuries this season.

Despite all the talent at linebacker and in the backfield for the 'Cats, there strength continues to be along the defensive line.

Junior all-region tackle Nick Severson leads the group with 20 tackles on the season, including 3.5 for loss and 1.5 sacks. He had three tackles with half a tackle for loss against the Bruins.

Severson's paired at tackle with senior Chase Lydig, who has 15 tackles on the season, with 3.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks, one of which he picked up against GFU.

All-American defensive end Travis Swanson continued to work his way back from injury with a pair of tackles against the Bruins. Despite missing time this year, he still leads the team with 5.5 sacks (third in the NWC) and is second with 8.5 tackles for loss (seventh in the NWC).

Senior Vinny Niosi is the opposite flank of the d-line as the defensive end, but missed last game due to injury.

The collection of senior Grayson Cosier and juniors Caleb Sell and Alex Frazier all will likely factor heavily into the defensive line rotation off the bench and have all made impacts this season.
Frazier contributed two tackles and a tackle for loss last week at George Fox.
 
THE WILLAMETTE DEFENSE
The Bearcats are sixth in the league in scoring defense, allowing 34.3 points per game, and seventh in total defense, allowing 409.9 yards per game.

When the Wildcats and Bearcats met in 2021, Willamette allowed Linfield to throw eight passing touchdowns, the most by the Wildcats ever in a single game. The 11 total touchdowns and 77 points were the second-highest totals in each category in program history.

The Bearcats have given up an increasing amount of points to their opponents for now four consecutive games.

The held George Fox to 27 on Sept. 8, but then gave up 39 at Lewis and Clark, 42 to Whitworth and 53 at Pacific Lutheran.

Junior outside linebacker Dylan Hall leads the team in tackles with 41, 28 of them solo. He's also added 2.5 tackles for loss, two of them sacks.

He's joined by senior Chris Brown and junior La'Akea Liki at the inside linebackers, with sophomore Ray Pasay flanking as the opposite outside linebacker.

One of just two all-league selections for the Bearcats in 2021, First Team All-NWC defensive lineman Keaton Adams leads the Willamette d-line as a fifth-year senior.

At 37 tackles he's third on the team, and his 10 tackles for loss are the best on the Bearcats and fifth in the NWC. He's also recorded 2.5 sacks, a pass breakup and a fumble recovery. He had a strong showing last week at PLU, recording seven tackles, with three for loss and a sack.

Adams is joined on the line by senior Dom Torres, who has 18 tackles, five for loss and has forced two fumbles and sophomore Cayden Stankavich, who has 16 tackles, 2.5 for loss.

Safety Hogan Smith has led the Willamette secondary as just a sophomore with 39 tackles, second on the team only to Hall. Smith also has recorded one interception and one pass breakup.

Dominic Corado, also just a sophomore, holds down the other safety position. On the year he has 31 tackles, and led the Bearcats against PLU with eight to go with his first interception of the year.

Seniors Luke Lowe and Albert Ramon are the starting corners for Willamette; Lowe has 27 tackles this year and a forced fumble while Ramon has 13 tackles.
 
LINFIELD SPECIAL TEAMS
The Wildcats excelled on special teams against the Bruins, highlighted by another excellent day by Division-III's top punt return unit.

The Wildcats returned six punts for 112 yards, an average of 18.7 yards per return, helping the Linfield offense start eight of 14 drives in Bruin territory.

On the season Linfield has returned more punts (33) for more yards (518) than any team in Division-III, and is tied for the nations leading mark with three punt return touchdowns.

Sophomore return man Maclain Stoneking leads the nation with 343 punt return yards and is tied for first with two punt return touchdowns. Against George Fox he turned four returns into 53 yards and one kick return into 53 yards.

Senior Paul Thie added two punt returns for 59 yards, adding to his season total of 11 returns for 172 yards and a touchdown.

Sophomore kicker Gavin Dalziel had his best day as a Wildcat against the Bruins, doubling his season total in attempts as he knocked home three of four field goal attempts, including new career-longs of 38 and 43 yards.

On the season Dalziel has now made five of eight field goal attempts, and four of his last six in the last two games.

Senior Thomas Tabor and freshman Cade Johannsen split the punting duties last week, both punting twice. Johannsen has punted 18 times for 697 yards and Tabor has punted five times for 239 yards.

However, they may see limited action this week as the Bearcats have only forced teams to punt against them five times all season.

Freshman Nolan Ahmann continues to handle kickoff responsibilities, and has averaged 56.4 yards per kickoff with eight touchbacks this season.
 
WILLAMETTE SPECIAL TEAMS
Sophomore Camdin Dirnbirger is the kicker for the Bearcats. He has been perfect on scoring attempts this season, hitting all three of his field goal attempts and all 14 extra-point attempts.

Freshman George Wiles-Koehler has punted more than any player in the NWC this season, 50 times, but has averaged just 32.2 yards per punt, worst in the NWC.

Senior Justin Genovia and freshman Ashton Reed will handle kick and punt returns for Willamette.
 
THE SERIES
The series between Linfield and Willamette dates back to 1902, when the schools played to a 6-6 tie in McMinnville. Linfield leads the all-time series 43-36-3. With 93 previous meetings, the series is the most played in Linfield history, edging the 86 games against Lewis & Clark (the 87th game against the Pioneers is scheduled for next week) … The Wildcats have won the last 6 meetings and 18 of the last 21 dating back to the 2000 season … The most recent game was in 2021 with Linfield winning 77-7 in Salem … Willamette's last win in the series was 31-28 in 2014 in McMinnville; Linfield had won the 5 previous encounters from 2009-2013 and also won 7 straight from 2000-2006. The Bearcats' last win in Salem was in 2007 by a 33-32 score … The Wildcats own a 30-11-2 advantage in games played in McMinnville but trail 24-25-1 in games played in Salem … Linfield's longest winning streak in the series was 14 games from 1969-1982. Willamette's longest winning streak in the series was 17 games from 1927-1948 … Linfield's widest margin of victory in Salem was 77 points, 77-0 in 2019; that tied 2021 for the Wildcats' highest-ever score in the series and was their largest-ever margin of victory against the Bearcats. It also matched the fifth-highest scoring game and tied the second-largest margin of victory in Linfield football history … Willamette's widest margin of victory was 48 points, a 48-0 win in Salem in 1948 and the Bearcats' widest margin in McMinnville was 43 points, 43-0 in 1941.
 
HEAD COACH JOSEPH SMITH
Joseph Smith is in his 17th season as Linfield's head coach; he has an overall record of 145-27 (.843), which is the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Wildcat football history … Smith's record includes marks of 115-16 (.878) in the regular season, 96-6 (.941) in Northwest Conference games, 80-7 (.920) at home and 19-11 (.633) in the postseason … in Smith's time as head coach, Linfield has won 11 NWC titles, 10 of those outright … during Smith's tenure, Linfield has put together 6 unbeaten regular seasons.
 
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS
With a win against Willamette, Linfield would clinch at least a share of the 2022 Northwest Conference championship … Linfield earned the 2021 NWC championship, the Wildcats' second straight NWC title and its 11th in the last 12 years. Linfield won or shared the NWC title 9 straight seasons from 2009-17; that's the longest such streak in NWC football history … Linfield has now won 37 NWC championships, including 30 outright … Linfield also won 6 division titles, including 5 outright, while the NWC schools were folded into the Columbia Football Association from 1985-1995.
 
NATIONAL PLAYOFFS
With a win against Willamette, Linfield would clinch the Northwest Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs … Linfield earned the NWC's automatic berth in 2021s; it was the Wildcats' 31st national playoff appearance and that includes a school-record 9 straight from 2009-2017. Linfield's first national playoff appearance was in the NAIA bracket in 1961 … Linfield has an all-time national playoff record of 44-27 (.620). In national playoff games, Linfield's home record is 36-7 (.837) including a 33-7 mark (.825) at Maxwell Field; the Wildcats are 6-17 (.261) on the road in national playoff games and 2-3 (.400) at neutral sites … 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 reached the national semifinals an additional 7 times and has reached the national quarterfinals another 9 times beyond that.
 
SINCE 2009
Since the start of the 2009 season, Linfield is 127-18 (.876) overall, 108-7 (.939) in the regular season, 70-3 (.959) at home and 82-2 (.976) in NWC games … In that time, Linfield has won 11 NWC titles, including 10 outright … During that span, Linfield is 19-11 (.633) in the postseason … since 2009, Linfield has recorded 6 unbeaten regular seasons … in its last 100 regular season games dating back to the 2011 season, the Wildcats are 94-6.