The Linfield Wildcats will play host to a Northwest Conference opponent for the first time in 2024 this weekend, with the Lewis & Clark Pioneers visiting Memorial Stadium on Linfield's Homecoming Saturday.
 
The Wildcats opened NWC action last week with a 72-0 drubbing at Willamette to move to 3-1 (1-0) under 19^th year head coach Joseph Smith.
 
Linfield is ranked No. 23 in the latest D3Football.com Top 25 and No. 19 in the AFCA D-III Coaches Poll.
 
The Pioneers enter Saturday's game at 2-2 (1-0) after holding off a George Fox comeback last week to win their conference opener 24-22. Lewis & Clark began the season with a split of non-conference meetings against Puget Sound and Pacific before losing to NAIA power Montana Western 56-39 on Sept. 21.
 
The Pios are 11-12 overall and 7-8 against NWC competition since 2022 when head coach Joe Bushman took over for Jay Locey, head coach of the Wildcats from 1996 to 2005.
 
This year's Homecoming festivities include honoring the 40^th anniversary of Linfield's 1984 national championship team and celebrating the 100^th birthday of Linfield's mascot, "Mack the Wildcat." Fans can receive a free promotional t-shirt or bucket hat inside the stadium while supplies last.
 
A full schedule of Homecoming Weekend's festivities can be found on the Linfield University website.
 
TICKETS
Single-game tickets are available online or can be purchased at the Memorial Stadium box office on game days beginning two hours before kickoff.
 
Tickets for covered, reserved seating in the grandstand are $25 apiece while general admission tickets are $15 with discounts available for seniors, students and children. Linfield students with their university ID and children under the age of six can attend for free.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
All Linfield home games feature full video webcast coverage produced by the Linfield Sports Network, which can be found live on GoLinfieldWildcats.com. Coverage begins half an hour before kickoff with the Farnham Electric Pregame Show.
 
Linfield alum Joe Stuart is in his fourth season on play-by-play for Linfield football. He is joined by former Wildcat running back and Linfield Hall of Famer Gary McGarvie for color commentary and analysis.
 
In addition, Linfield Athletics provides live stats for every home game, which also can be found at GoLinfieldWildcats.com.
 
THE LINFIELD OFFENSE
The Wildcats have undoubtably found their rhythm on offense after totaling 117 points and 985 yards in the last two games. Linfield now leads the NWC in scoring at 42.3 points per game, a top 25 number nationally, and averages 412.3 yards of offense per game.
 
Season-highs were set across the board at Willamette with 308 passing yards, 214 rushing yards, an average of 8.03 yards per play and eight offensive touchdowns.
 
Linfield has also been one of the best red-zone teams in Division-III, coming away with points on 94.1 percent of trips, the 15th-most efficient rate in the country, and have committed just four turnovers so far.
 
Both of Linfield's quarterbacks, senior Blake Eaton and junior Luke McNabb excelled again against Willamette to lead the 'Cats to their best offensive day of the season.
 
On the year Eaton has led the passing attack to the tune of 761 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception at a completion rate of 67.01 percent, second in the NWC.
 
McNabb has added 341 yards and four touchdowns as a passer but has also been a focal point of Linfield's run game, running for 101 yards so far this year and sitting second in the conference in rushing touchdowns with six, also good enough for fifth among D-III quarterbacks.
 
Beyond McNabb, Jackson Pfeifer leads Linfield in rushing with 116 yards, averaging 3.7 yards per attempt. He's added a team-high 18 receptions going for 129 yards.
 
Aaron Martinez returned from injury against Willamette and immediately became a key contributor with 78 yards on five attempts to lead the day, including a 65-yard touchdown for the Wildcats' longest rush of the year.
 
Four receivers have cracked at least 10 receptions on the year, led by fifth-year senior Connor Wolfe's 16 catches for 248 yards and three touchdowns. Fellow fifth-year Jacob Slifka also has 16 receptions for 160 yards and two touchdowns while Maclain Stoneking is second on the team in receiving yards with 214.
 
Senior Caleb Woodcock had a breakout game in last week's blowout win, leading the 'Cats with 121 yards and two touchdowns while raising his season catch total to 11.
 
THE LEWIS & CLARK OFFENSE
The Pioneers have become competitive in the NWC the last few seasons through solid offensive production and the start of 2024 has been no different.
 
Lewis & Clark sits top three in the league in scoring and total offense with 36.5 points and 416.0 yards per game, deploying a balanced attack with just four more pass attempts than rush through four games.
 
The Pios are second in the NWC with a 44.4 percent rate on third down and 60 percent on fourth down, and lead the league with 15 red zone touchdowns, converting at a 90.5 percent rate, second in the conference only to Linfield.
 
They are also one of just 10 teams in D-III without an interception so far, but have fumbled 13 times, losing seven of them, the most in the NWC.
 
This fall Lewis & Clark returned all-conference senior quarterback Trey Morris, but freshman Oa Kamakawiwoole has earned the starting job over the first month of the season.
 
Kamakawiwoole had his first career start in the Pios' loss to Montana Western before earning his first win as the starter against George Fox last week.
 
Through four contests he's thrown for 795 yards and seven touchdowns while completing 68.89 percent of his passes, the best rate in the NWC. He's also the only quarterback in the league to throw at least five touchdowns without an interception and has added two more touchdowns in the run game. 412 of his yards and five of his touchdowns came against Montana Western; the Bruins held him to 201 yards and one score.
 
Chili Stephens leads the Pio backfield with 246 rushing yards, sixth in the NWC, and two touchdowns. Isaac Glover has added 140 yards and a score and averages 6.1 yards per attempts, fourth in the league.
 
Ben Burnham and Devon Guest, both all-NWC in 2023, are top options among Pioneer receivers. Both sit top 10 in the league in receptions and yards, with Burnham leading the team with 25 catches for 304 yards while Guest has 18 receptions for 211 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Desmon Holton also has two receiving touchdowns while tight end Julius Walker leads all Pios with three.
 
Two all-conference selections lead the offensive line in seniors Nathan Lien at right guard and Max Atchison at right tackle, but Lewis & Clark has still allowed nine sacks, most in the NWC.
 
THE LINFIELD DEFENSE
After a second consecutive shutout the Linfield defense sits among the top in D-III statistically. The 'Cats are seventh in the country in scoring defense with 8.75 points allowed per game and 12^th in total defense at 214.0 yards allowed per game.
 
The past two contests mark the first time the 'Cats have hung back-to-back goose eggs since 2013.
 
The Wildcats are also tied for third in the country with 19 sacks and sit top 10 nationally in interceptions with eight, opponent passing yards per game at 118.3 and a 22 percent opponent conversion rate on third down. Two of their four interceptions last week were returned for scores, moving them into a tie for the national lead with four defensive touchdowns.
 
Fifth-year linebacker Blake Rybar led the Wildcats with nine tackles at Willamette, bringing his team-leading season total to 30, third in the NWC. He's also top 10 in the conference with four tackles for loss.
 
Fellow linebacker Blaze Holani is still tied for third on the team with 16 tackles, 2.5 for loss, despite missing a game due to injury.
 
In his return against Willamette, he had the first multi-interception game of his career, returning his initial pick 29 yards for a touchdown. His efforts earned him his second career NWC Defensive Student Athlete of the Week award.
 
Fifth-year Caiden Biege-Wetherbee and junior Johnny Miller have shared responsibilities at rover. The duo has combined for 27 tackles with 3.5 for loss. Miller was second on the team in tackles at Willamette with six.
 
Up front, defensive end Caleb Sell has put together an All-American caliber start to his fifth-year season. He is third in the country with 7.5 sacks and top 15 with nine tackles for loss. His 18 total tackles are second on the team.
 
At the opposite end Connor Stevens has three tackles for loss and two sacks, while fifth-year tackles Nick Severson and Alex Frazier-Dow continue to create problems in the middle of the trenches.
 
Severson has three tackles for loss with 1.5 sacks while Frazier-Dow is up to five tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, both top five numbers league-wide. All four Linfield starters along the defensive line registered at least half a sack at Willamette.
 
Monster back Colby Kalaukoa leads the starting secondary with 13 tackles and had his first interception of the season, the fourth of his career, at Willamette.
 
He's flanked by safety Jett Searle, while Chance Sparks and Kenyon Johnson continue to blanket receivers from the cornerback positions.
 
Sparks is tied with Holani for the team lead in interceptions with two and in breakups with Searle at two. Johnson has recorded 10 tackles and has one breakup.
 
THE LEWIS & CLARK DEFENSE
The Pioneers have not found the same success on defense this season as they have on offense. They sit below the NWC median allowing 33.0 points and 436.0 yards of offense per game.
 
Lewis & Clark has particularly struggled against the run, giving up 217.3 rushing yards per contest and 6.0 yards per attempt.
 
The Pios played their best half of the season last week when they shut out George Fox for 30 minutes but ultimately gave up 330 yards of offense and almost the lead by allowing 130 Bruin rushing yards after halftime.
 
Lewis & Clark's defense is led by an experienced group of linebackers with graduate senior Justin Hope and senior Silas Ticeson as the starters, both all-NWC last season, and junior Mitchell Sarmento making contributions off the bench.
 
Hope leads the team and is top 10 in the league with 26 tackles, with three for loss and a team-high two sacks. He is also one of two Pios with an interception and one of four that have forced a fumble.
 
After leading the team with nine tackles against George Fox Sarmento is second on the team with 19 total while Ticeson follows closely behind with 18. Solomon McDaniel joins Hope and Ticeson in the starting lineup and has added 15 tackles with one tackle for loss.
 
At safety Charlie Valencia and Daryl Scott have 17 tackles apiece, Scott adding two breakups and a fumble recovery. All-conference cornerback Thomas Reagan leads the team with three breakups.
 
Along the defensive line defensive end Ramsen Paz leads the unit with three tackles for loss and one sack. Fellow d-end Conner Hilberg and tackle Jack Warren also both have a sack apiece this season, while tackle Logan Wacker leads the group in total takedowns at 15.
 
THE LINFIELD SPECIALISTS
Senior placekicker Gavin Dalziel is top 10 in the country and has made the most field goals of any kicker in the NWC, knocking home five, and has been perfect on 20 PAT attempts, including going nine for nine at Willamette.
 
Fifth-year punter Thomas Tabor is second in the NWC and 25^th nationally with 41.3 yards per punt and has put five punts inside the 20-yard line. Freshman Andrew O'Dell has averaged 62.5 yards on kickoff attempts.
 
In the return game Maclain Stoneking is averaging 18.3 yards on kickoffs and 7.67 on punts while Reid Gray has returned his team-high 14 punts at an average of 8.29 yards.
 
THE LEWIS & CLARK SPECIALISTS
All-region kicker Thien Hoang is perfect on his four field goal attempts, his longest make from 45 yards, and all 16 of his PAT's.
 
The Pios have been dangerous in the return game, averaging 24.5 yards per kick return and 24.17 on punt returns, third in D-III.
 
All-conference return man Jordan Lahusky averages 38.75 yards per return and has a touchdown. Isaac Glover has also returned seven kicks with an average of 28.0 yards.
 
Ben Burnham and Devon Guest handle punt returns. Burnham has returned four for 57 yards while Guest has returned two for 88 yards, including a 65-yard touchdown against Puget Sound.
 
THE SERIES: The series between Linfield and Lewis & Clark dates to 1901, with Linfield holding a 68-19-1 advantage after 2023's 57-13 win in Portland. This will be the 89th game in the Wildcats' second-most-played series; the only team Linfield has played more is Willamette (96 meetings through 2024 in a series dating back to 1902) … The Wildcats have won the last 45 games in the series, beginning in 1974 … Lewis & Clark's last win in the series was in 1973 by a 7-4 score in Portland. L&C's longest win streak in the series was 4 games from 1948-51 … Linfield's widest margin of victory in the series was 77 points, an 84-7 win in 2013 in McMinnville that is the highest score ever recorded by the 'Cats; Linfield's 73-0 win in 2015 was the widest margin ever for the Wildcats in Portland … Lewis & Clark's widest margin of victory was 44 points, a 44-0 win in 1956 in McMinnville; the Pioneers' widest margin of victory in Portland was 40 points, a 47-7 win in 1955 … Linfield is 38-6 against Lewis & Clark in games played in McMinnville. In Portland, Linfield is 27-8-1, and prior to the opening of L&C's Griswold Stadium sites for those games included Vaughn Street Ballpark, Jefferson High and Multnomah Stadium (now Providence Park). The Wildcats were 3-5 in games played in Albany when Lewis & Clark was still Albany College … the 1927 game was part of a one-of-a-kind event in Linfield football history: a doubleheader. The Wildcats beat the Oregon City Independents in a morning game in McMinnville, then hopped the train to Albany and lost 13-6 to Albany College in an afternoon game …
 
HOMECOMING: This week is Homecoming at Linfield. In Homecoming games, Linfield has an all-time record of 71-20-3. Homecoming began at Linfield in 1922, the first season football returned to the school after a 16-year absence; it became an annual event in 1927 … after beating George Fox 41-13 in 2023, Linfield has won 26 straight Homecoming games, the longest skein of Homecoming wins in school history. The last defeat was a 20-13 loss to Eastern Oregon in 1996 … in Homecoming games against Lewis & Clark, Linfield has an 11-2 record; the first meeting was Linfield's 43-0 win in 1946 and the most recent was the Wildcats' 59-7 victory in 2016…
 
HEAD COACH JOSEPH SMITH: Joseph Smith is in his 18th season as Linfield's head coach; he has an overall record of 155-30 (.840), which is the highest winning percentage of any head coach in Wildcat football history … Smith's record includes marks of 127-18 (.876) in the regular season, 104-7 (.937) in Northwest Conference games, 86-9 (.905) at home and 20-12 (.625) in the postseason … During Smith's tenure, Linfield has won 12 NWC titles; 11 of those have been outright, most recently in 2022 … During Smith's tenure, Linfield has put together 7 unbeaten regular seasons …