McMINNVILLE, Ore. –
Luke McNabb rushed for three touchdowns and passed for another score, leading the No. 23 Linfield Wildcats to a dominating 45-0 non-conference victory over the Redlands Bulldogs Saturday afternoon at Maxwell Field.
The Wildcats (2-1) rebounded last week's disappointing overtime loss on the road at Wisconsin-Oshkosh with an emphatic home-field victory.
McNabb lead all rushers with 64 yards on 11 carries, including three short scoring jaunts. The fourth-year junior shared time behind center with senior
Blake Eaton, who passed for 249 yards and three scores, completing 25 of 33 throws without an interception.
Caleb Sell led a stifling defensive effort by the Wildcats, who piled up five sacks, intercepted two passes and limited the Bulldogs to fewer than 100 total yards until the waning moments of the fourth quarter. Linfield outgained Redlands 250-60 in the first half and 463-126 for the game. The Wildcats converted 8 of 14 third-down plays while holding the Bulldogs on just 2-for-14 on third down.
Tackle
Alex Frazier-Dow returned from an injury that sideline him last week to record four tackles, including a pair of sacks and one other tackle for loss. Defensive backs
Brady Crenshaw and
Makai Williams each recorded their first career interceptions.
McNabb scored the game's initial touchdown on 1-yard run with 8:38 to play in the first quarter and the Wildcats never looked back after that.
The next Redlands drive went for negative yardage and the Bulldogs were forced to punt minutes later. Eaton then hooked up with
Jacob Slifka on the subsequent play for a 40-yard touchdown pass into the end zone. The extra point by
Gavin Dalziel made it 14-0 with 7:10 left in the opening period.
McNabb scored his second rushing touchdown of the half, capping a an 11-play, 59-yard march that ended at the 10:31 mark of the second quarter. Dalziel's 41-yard field goal as time expired in the half gave the 'Cats a comfortable 24-0 advantage at the intermission.
The'Cats added three third-quarter touchdowns to put the finishing touches on the bounce-back victory. First,
Maclain Stoneking hauled in a 4-yard toss from Eaton midway through the quarter, then McNabb danced his way for a 15-yard rushing TD a little more than three minutes later. The period ended with McNabb spotting tight end
Will French in the end zone for a 2-yard TD pass, giving the hosts an insurmountable 45-0 lead.
Redlands quarterbacks Jayden McKey and Will Reid were harassed all afternoon by the Linfield defense. The pair combined to complete just 9 of 25 passes for 83 yards.
Backup tailback
Carson Mullins contributed 51 rushing yards on seven carries while
Jackson Pfeifer ran for 47 yards to pace a Linfield attack that piled up a season-high 206 yards on the ground.
AHEAD
The Wildcats enjoy a week off before opening Northwest Conference play at Willamette on October 5. Due to a large-scale cross country meet earlier that day at Bush's Pasture Park in Salem, kickoff for the Willamette game is set for 4 p.m. The following weekend, the 'Cats host Lewis & Clark in the annual Homecoming game at 1 p.m.
