McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Linfield set one national record and extended another Saturday at Maxwell Field.
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The home-standing Wildcats fought off a late surge to defeat Northwest Conference foe Lewis & Clark 29-21, securing the program's 69th consecutive winning season. That extended the private university's all-divisions record of plus-.500 seasons that began in 1956 under the late Paul Durham.
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Linfield's defeat of Lewis & Clark marked its 47th straight victory over the Pioneers, establishing what is now known to be the longest run of success by one opponent over another in college football history. That string of dominance between the two conference rivals located 35 miles apart stretches back to 1974.
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The Wildcats (5-2, 4-1 NWC) handed the Pioneers (5-3, 2-3 NWC) their third straight loss after a 5-0 start under first-year coach Brett Elliott, Linfield's former offensive coordinator and a record-setting quarterback during the 2004 and 2005 seasons.
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Luke McNabb passed for 287 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for another score to lead the Linfield offense, which rolled up 396 yards on the day.
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McNabb put Linfield on the scoreboard on the game's first offensive play, connecting with freshman
Jayce Bareng on a 68-yard aerial strike. Linfield never trailed after that. The Wildcats built leads of 12-0 and 26-7 before the Pioneers began to mount a comeback attempt, drawing to within 26-14 after McNabb was intercepted by linebacker Andrew Baum, who returned the errant pass 53 yards for a touchdown with 6:08 left in the third quarter.
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The Pioneers eventually closed the gap to eight points with 8:11 to play after Mateo Maehara passed four yards to Dante Washington, making the score 29-21. But Lewis & Clark would come no closer.
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Mateo finished with 142 yards passing and two TD passes.
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Linebacker
Hudson Reink totaled 10 tackles to pace the Linfield defense, which accounted for two sacks and six other tackles for loss. Cornerback
Iloa Kaio had eight tackles and a pass breakup, while
Blaze Holani contributed eight stops, including a sack and two others tackles for loss.
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AHEAD
Linfield heads to Tacoma, Washington, next Saturday to face the Puget Sound Loggers in another Northwest Conference matchup. Kickoff at Baker Stadium on the UPS campus is set for 1 p.m.
