McMINNVILLE, Ore. – No. 9 Linfield jumped to a 23-point lead in the game's first 12 minutes then held off Pacific to take a 42-27 win in Northwest Conference football on a clear, windy Saturday afternoon at Maxwell Field.
 
The Wildcats (7-0 overall, 5-0 NWC) scored on their first offensive play, used a 39-yard punt return to set up a field goal, returned an interception for a touchdown and then had a two-play drive to go in front 23-0 late in the first quarter.
 
The Boxers (1-6, 1-4 NWC) responded with a touchdown just before halftime, tacked on another with their first possession of the second half and then scored on their last two possessions to draw within 42-27 with 2:46 left in the game. Pacific recovered an onside kick, but an interception on the next play secured the win for Linfield.
 
For Linfield, Jackson Pfeifer rushed for 88 yards on six carries, including a 66-yard run, and Connor McNabb had 76 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. Blake Eaton was 18-for-35 passing for 240 yards and a touchdown with one interception; Devon Murray had seven catches for 82 yards and a touchdown and Colton Smith had three catches for 84 yards and a score. Wildcat cornerback Chance Sparks had two interceptions, returning one for 59 yards and a score.
 
Pacific's Brody Bantolina netted 106 yards rushing on 16 carries, including an 83-yarder. Braeden Titus completed 16 of 35 passes for 209 yards and four touchdowns for the Boxers with two passes picked off; Kai Bookland grabbed four passes for 31 yards and Isaiah Pitre had three catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Linfield outgained the Boxers 487-352 in total offense, including advantages of 247-143 in rushing yards and 240-209 in passing yards.
 
Linfield jumped in front when McNabb darted through the left side and went 42 yards for a touchdown on the Wildcats' first play from scrimmage but the extra point was no good After forcing a punt that Maclain Stoneking returned to the Boxer 22, Linfield settled for Gavin Dalziel's 36-yard field goal and a 9-0 lead.
 
On Pacific's next possession Linfield defensive end Grady Kentch hurried a Titus' pass; Sparks picked it off and scampered 59 yards for a touchdown and Linfield led 16-0. After another Boxer punt, the Wildcats took over on their own 41-yard line; after a run lost two yards, Smith got behind the Pacific secondary and turned an Eaton pass into a 61-yard scoring play and a 23-0 Wildcat lead with 3:07 left in the opening quarter.
 
The Boxers got on the scoreboard with 4:03 left in the half, cutting the deficit to 23-7 as Titus connected with Pitre on a 19-yard pass on the left side. The 89-yard, four-play drive opened with Bantolina's 83-yard run as he broke a tackle and bolted down the left sideline before Sparks was able to run him down at the Wildcat 6.
 
Linfield answered with a 63-yard, 13-play drive capped by Dalziel's 26-yard field goal and the Wildcats led 26-7 at halftime. Coming out of intermission, Stoneking's 35-yard kickoff return set up a 54-yard, nine-play march; it finished with Connor Wolfe getting open on the left side of the end zone and Eaton hitting him with a 14-yard touchdown pass. The point-after kick was no good and it was 32-7 Wildcats with 11:04 left in the third quarter.
 
The Wildcats pushed the lead to 39-7 on a fourth-and-9 play from the Boxer 24 as Murray caught a pass from Eaton in the lefthand corner of the end zone. The 72-yard, seven-play drive included a 16-yard run by Aaron Martinez.
 
Pacific's rally began with Titus and Braeden Lowe connecting for a 36-yard touchdown pass that made it 39-14 with 1:08 left in the third quarter. Linfield bumped its advantage to 42-14 on Dalziel's 29-yard field goal with 12:10 remaining.
 
Pacific continued chipping away. A roughing-the-kicker penalty and a fake punt kept alive a 75-yard, 11-play drive that ended in a 25-yard Titus-to-Pitre touchdown making it 42-21 with 7:07 to go. After Linfield turned the ball over on downs near midfield, the Boxers went 57 yards in three plays, Titus finding Tyler Penn for four yards and a touchdown; after the missed conversion kick it was 42-27 with 2:46 left.
 
The chance to draw closer was there after Pacific's Neleaun Wallace recovered the onside kick at the Linfield 47-yard line. On the next play Titus tried to find Pitre deep down the middle but Sparks stepped in to intercept at the Linfield 5 with 2:36 to go. Pfeifer then bolted 66 yards to the Boxer 29 to get the Wildcats out of danger.
 
'CAT SCRATCH: This was the 79^th meeting between Linfield and Pacific in a series that dates back to 1897; it is Linfield's third-most-played series after Willamette (95 games) and Lewis & Clark (88 games) …. The Wildcats lead the series 51-24-4 and have won the last 15 contests between the schools … Pacific's last victory over Linfield was in 1988 by a score of 38-24 in Forest Grove; the Boxers did not field a football team from 1992-2009 … Linfield's record against Pacific in games in McMinnville is now 26-9-4 and the Wildcats have won the last 23 meetings on their home field. Pacific's last win in McMinnville was in 1954 by a 20-0 score.
 
NEXT
Linfield heads to Puyallup, Wash., to take on the Pacific Lutheran Lutes in another Northwest Conference contest. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Sparks Stadium. A special alumni pregame tailgate event is planned starting at 11 a.m. across the street from the stadium.
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