McMINNVILLE, Ore. –
Blake Eaton passed for six touchdowns in the first half as No. 5 Linfield clinched at least a share of the Northwest Conference football championship with a 65-0 win over Willamette on Saturday afternoon at Maxwell Field. With the win, the Wildcats (8-0 overall, 6-0 NWC) also assured themselves the conference's automatic berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Eaton completed 17 of 20 passes for 257 yards and the six scores before sitting out the second half.
Colton Smith had six catches for 102 yards and a touchdown as Linfield had a 531-173 advantage in total offense.
Devon Murray had four catches for 22 yards and three touchdowns,
Zach Young three catches for 50 yards and
Connor McNabb two catches for 60 yards and a touchdown to go along with his 22 yards rushing.
The Wildcats used 93 players in the contest, including four quarterbacks, and had 12 ballcarriers and 12 players with a pass reception.
Dawson Lieurance was 9-for-13 passing for 179 yards and a touchdown in relief of Eaton.
Johnny Miller had a pair of sacks for Linfield's defense, which had four sacks and nine tackles for lost yardage in limiting Willamette to 16 yards rushing and forcing 10 punts.
Dante Chaney was 14-for-25 passing for 157 yards for Willamette (2-7, 0-6). Justin Genovia had four catches for 79 yards for the Bearcarts, including a diving grab of a 47-yard completion in the fourth quarter.
Linfield jumped to a quick lead after kicking off, as
Caiden Biege-Wetherbee's blocked Willamette's punt and
Bishop Mitchell returned it 7 yards for a touchdown. The score was still 7-0 late in the first quarter after Willamette turned aside a Linfield drive on fourth-and-4 from the Bearcat 17.
But over the end of the first quarter and the start of the second, the Wildcats scored four times in the span of 6 minutes, 48 seconds to open up a 35-0 lead thanks to a series of short fields; Linfield's scoring drives took two plays, three plays, three plays and one play.
First, it was Eaton getting the ball to
Joel Valadez, who stutter-stepped past a Bearcat for 12 yards and a 14-0 lead with 4:44 left in the opening period. Willamette fumbled the ensuing kickoff and
Aaron Martinez recovered for Linfield at the Bearcat 22-yard line; a 16-yard run by McNabb and a three-yard Eaton-to-Smith pass made it 21-0 with 3:37 to go in the quarter
Willamette then turned the ball over on downs just past midfield and the Wildcats needed just three plays to cover 58 yards, including a 52-yard pass over the middle from Eaton to Smith. That set up Murray's one-handed catch behind a Bearcat on the right side of the end zone for a 28-0 lead with 58 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Maclain Stoneking's 23-yard punt return set Linfield up at the Willamette 28 early in the second quarter and the next play saw Eaton hit McNabb over the middle and the Wildcat running back pushed his way through several Bearcats to make it 35-0 with 12:56 to go in the half.
Linfield added two more scores before intermission, passes from Eaton to Murray of 12 and six yards, to lead 49-0 at the break. The drives covered 67 yards in seven plays and 80 yards in eight plays.
Willamette put together a drive of its own late in the half, reaching Linfield's 28 before settling for a 49-yard field goal try by Camden Dirnberger that fell short on the final play of the second quarter.
Linfield received the second-half kickoff and Lieurance took over at quarterback. On the first play from scrimmage, he hit
Paul Thie with a medium-range pass over the middle and Thie outran the Willamette defenders for a 67-yard touchdown and a 56-0 lead.
Later in the the third quarter the Wildcats went up 59-0 on
Gavin Dalziel's 29-yard field goal. Linfield closed the scoring early in the fourth quarter on Martinez's one-yard run to make it 65-0.
Willamette threatened again late in the game, as Genovia's diving grab on a fourth-and-four play took the ball to the Linfield 13. The Bearcats eventually had a fourth-and-4 from the 7, but
Zane Fragas tackled Chaney for a one-yard loss to earn Linfield the ball back with 1:49 to play.
NEXT
Both teams close the regular season next Saturday, with Linfield playing at Lewis & Clark at 1 p.m. and Willamette playing host to Puget Sound at 1 p.m.
THIS AND THAT
It was the final regular season home game for Linfield; the Senior Day festivities included honoring 23 players, one student manager, two student athletic trainers, seven cheer and dance team members and three marching band members … Saturday marked Linfield's 23rd straight home win (the school record is 31 from 1960-66) ... Linfield now leads the all-time series with Willamette 44-36-3 and the Wildcats have won the last seven meetings The rivalry, which dates back to 1902, is Linfield's most-played series with 94 games; second on the list is the series with Lewis & Clark, which will have its 87th renewal next week …Linfield's share of the 2022 title is the Wildcats' 38th NWC crown; 30 of those have been outright championships and Linfield could make that 31 with a win over the Pioneers … Linfield's 2022 appearance in the national playoffs will be its 32nd, with 17 of those in NCAA Division III. This will be the Wildcats' second straight playoff appearance and their 12 in the last 13 seasons.
