McMINNVILLE, Ore. –
Blake Eaton passed for 302 yards and three touchdowns to power the No. 9 Linfield Wildcats to a 41-13 rout of the George Fox Bruins in Northwest Conference football action Saturday at Maxwell Field.
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The Homecoming victory assured Linfield of a 67th consecutive winning season, extending the longest run of winning campaigns in the history of college football. The Wildcats (5-0, 3-0 NWC) last experienced a losing season in 1955.
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Eaton excelled in the pocket, completing 26 of 31 throws without an interception.
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Wideout
Devon Murray enjoyed his best game of the season, pulling in seven passes for 117 yards and one touchdown.
Colton Smith accounted for six grabs for 39 yards. His 2-yard TD strike with 5:45 left in the second quarter gave Linfield an insurmountable 35-0 advantage.
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Connor McNabb led the Linfield running game with 32 yards on nine carries. He also caught five Eaton passes for another 57 yards.
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Tackle
Nick Severson finished as the Wildcats' leading tackler, making six stops, including four unassisted.
Alex Frazier-Dow and
Caiden Biege-Wetherbee contributed four tackles each.
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For the day, Linfield amassed 403 yards, averaging 5.7 per play. The 'Cats did not turn the ball over.
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Aaron Martinez got the Wildcats on the scoreboard, capping Linfield's opening drive with a 1-yard plunge.
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A bad snap on a punt on the Bruins' ensuing possession gave the Wildcats the ball at the visitors' 1-yard line. Two plays later, McNabb soared over the goal line and into the endzone. The extra point by
Gavin Dalziel made it 14-0 with just eight minutes elapsed in the first quarter.
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George Fox struggled to move the ball against the Linfield defense, only surpassing 100 yards of offense midway through the fourth quarter. The Bruins' points came on Taylor Saben's 87-yard kickoff return to open the second half and Dillan Dobbins' 75-yard pass reception from Max Richey with 2:11 left to play.
GFU linebacker Austin Canchola led all defenders with nine tackles. Nolan Martin added seven stops.
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CAT SCRATCH
Saturday's attendance was 2,227. . . the Bruins managed to convert just 1 of 13 third-down plays and went 1-for-4 on fourth down. . . Linfield converted 7 of 8 red zone opportunities into points. . .
Paul Thie and
Maclain Stoneking combined for 78 yards on six punt returns. . . Linfield punter
Thomas Tabor consistently pinned the Bruins deep in their own territory, averaging 46.3 yards per attempt, including three that were downed inside the 20-yard line.
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NEXT
Linfield hits the road to Tacoma, Wash., next Saturday where they will play the Puget Sound Loggers. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Baker Stadium. George Fox will host Willamette.
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