McMINNVILLE, Ore. – No. 23 Linfield finished the game with 34 unanswered points over the last three quarters to erase an early deficit and beat Lewis & Clark 47-14 in Northwest Conference football Saturday afternoon at Maxwell Field.
The Wildcats (4-1 overall, 2-0 NWC) rolled up 536 yards total offense to win their 27th consecutive Homecoming game. Quarterback
Blake Eaton passed for 339 of those yards, completing 23 of 27 attempts and connecting for a pair of touchdowns. He completed his first 13 passes of the game.
The Pioneers (2-3, 1-1) led 14-13 after one quarter but Linfield's defense allowed L&C just 82 yards of total offense the rest of the way. Pios quarterback Trey Morris completed 14 of 24 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown with one interception while being picked off once, also rushing for 53 yards on eight carries.
Linebacker
Blaze Holani led Linfield's defense with seven tackles, including two for lost yardage. Monster
Colby Kalaukoa, linebacker
Blake Rybar and rover Caiden Beige-Wetgerbee had six tackles each and defensive tackle Dow Frazier added five stops, including three behind the line of scrimmage.
Jacob Slifka caught six passes for 101 yards and two touchdowns for the Wildcats,
Maclain Stoneking had five catches for 75 yards,
Aaron Martinez pulled in four passes for 62 yards and Connor Wolf added three receptions for 57 yards and a score. Eight Linfield players had at least one reception. Linfield also rushed for 190 yards with
Luke McNabb, alternating at quarterback, leading the way with 38 yards and a touchdown. Ten Wildcats had at least one carry.
Lewis & Clark held its lead until well into the second quarter before Linfield scored on McNabb's keeper around the right side to go in front 20-14 with 6:15 left in the first half. That capped a 62-yard, five-play drive highlighted by Eaton's pass to running back Martinez that went for 32 yards and a 14-yard run by Martinez.
After stopping Lewis & Clark on a fourth-and-3 from the Linfield 48, the Wildcats extended their lead to 23-14 on the last play of the half as
Gavin Dalziel booted a 23-yard field goal. Linfield had gone 46 yards in 12 plays to set up the kick, including Eaton passes of 13 yards to Stoneking and 18 yards to
Caleb Woodcock.
On its second possession of the third quarter, the Wildcats marched 80 yards in 12 plays and went up 30-14 as Eaton threaded a pass through tight coverage to Slifka in the end zone for seven yards and a score. At that point, Eaton was 19-for-21 for 275 yards with two touchdowns.
A 51-yard Eaton-to-Slifka pass took the ball to the L&C 3-yard-line, setting up McNabb's 2-yard pass to Connor Wolf that made it 37-14 with 13:34 to play. Linfield added a Dalziel 16-yard field goal to wrap up a drive keyed by
Matthew Spurbeck's 19-yard run for a 40-14 lead 8:04 from the finish. The scoring ended with Spurbeck's six-yard touchdown run with 2:27 remaining.
The game opened with Linfield scoring on its opening drive, getting a 27-yard scoring toss from Eaton to Slifka on the right side of the end zone for a 7-0 lead at the end of a 59-yard, four-play drive. Lewis & Clark responded with an 83-yard, 11-play march of its own, scoring on a 7-yard pass from Morris to Devon Guest to knot things at 7-7.
The Wildcats fumbled the ensuing kickoff to set the Pioneers up at the Linfield 27. On the first play after that, running back Chili Stephens started to the right but pulled up and threw a scoring pass to Julius Walker, giving Lewis & Clark a 14-7 lead.
Linfield came back, going 73 yards in six plays, 39 of those yards coming on an Eaton-to-Wolfe pass and scoring on Martinez's 10-yard run around the left side. The point-after kick was blocked, leaving Lewis & Clark in front 14-13 with 3:15 left in the first quarter.
CAT SCRATCH
Eaton's .852 passing completion percentage (23-for-27) was the third-highest in Linfield history for a quarterback with a minimum of 10 attempts … The win was Linfield's 46th in a row over Lewis & Clark, dating back to the Pioneers 7-4 victory in 1973 in Portland. That may have equalled the college football record for the most consecutive wins over one opponent; the NCAA Division I record books lists the mark as Yale's 46 in a row over Wesley, while the Division II, Division III and NAIA record books do not have an entry in that category.
COMING UP
Linfield heads to nearby Newberg to face Yamhill County rival George Fox next Saturday at 4 p.m.
