McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Linfield scored on its first offensive drive and the 18th-ranked Wildcats never looked back on the way a 38-10 Northwest Conference victory over Pacific Lutheran Saturday on Senior Day at Maxwell Field.
The resounding win was Linfield's seventh straight win and put the Wildcats (8-1, 6-0 NWC) in position to reclaim the league championship with a victory over unbeaten Whitworth next Saturday in Spokane.
Wildcat quarterbacks Luke McNabb and Blake Eaton combined for 341 yards of offense, and Linfield's defense turned in yet another crushing performance against a NWC opponent. The Wildcats victimized PLU quarterback Darius Chaffin for four interceptions, including picks in the first half as Linfield built a 17-3 halftime advantage.
Linebacker Johnny Miller was all over the field on Saturday, registering a team-high eight tackles, including a sack, three other tackles for loss, an interception and a pass breakup. Safety Colby Kalaukoa piled up eight tackles and pass deflection. Tackle Alex Frazier-Dow made four tackles, including a sack and two other stops behind the line of scrimmage.
Linfield twarted PLU's first drive as Miller intercepted Chaffin, a sign of things to come for the Lutes offense.
Luke McNabb broke the ice with a 1-yard run midway through the first quarter. Gavin Dalziel's extra point made it 7-0 in favor of the Wildcats.
Linfield appeared to take a two touchdown lead early in the second quarter but a pass interference penalty nullified the score. Instead, the Wildcats settled on Dalziel's 23-yard field goal that made it 10-0 with 6:53 left before intermission.
PLU's next drive went awry as Kenyon Johnson picked off Chaffin. On the first play after the turnover, Blake Eaton then threw 53 yards to a streaking Chance Sparks at the goal line and the Wildcats led 17-0.
Sparks showed off his athleticism moments later, intercepting Chaffin at the Linfield 1 to turn away a golden PLU scoring opportunity. But Eaton and the Wildcats gave the ball right back as Layne DePeralta intercepted Eaton and returned the ball to the Wildcats 18-yard line. That set up a 42-yard field goal Cole Sargent booted a 42-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
Linfield outgained PLU 207-147 in the first half, holding the Lutes to just 1 yard rushing while intercepting Chaffin three times.
The second half saw the Wildcats pile on three more touchdowns as Eaton passed 12 yards to Connor Wolfe for a score, McNabb rushed for a four-yard TD then hooked up with tight end Will French for a 3-yard scoring play. By then, the score was 38-3.
Chaffin scored PLU's only touchdown of the day with 3:39 left to play on a 36-yard run. He finished with 281 yards passing, completing 21 of 35 attempts but was intercepted four times and sacked four times. Jase Ellamar caught eight passes for 125 yards for the Lutes.
PLU ended the day with net 6 yards rushing and 287 total yards. Linfield totaled 103 yards rushing and 273 passing.
McNabb contributed a game-high 73 yards rushing and scored two TDs. He also passed for 101 yards and a score, completing 12 of 17 throws. Eaton was 10 of 14 for 172 yards and two TDs. Wolfe, Stoneking and Jackson Pfeifer all caught four passes.
'CAT SCRATCH
Linfield defeated PLU for the 24th straight time in the series dating to 2002. . . Saturday's announced attendance was 1,395. . . Thomas Tabor averaged 42.0 yards per punt while his PLU counterpart, Andrew Comito, managed just 22.6 yards on five punts. . . Linfield converted all five of its red-zone opportunities. . . the Wildcats piled up 10 penalties resulting in setbacks of 100 yards.
NEXT
Linfield heads to eastern Washington for a showdown with unbeaten Whitworth. The game will decided the Northwest Conference championship for the second consecutive season as well as determining the NWC's automatic entry into the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Linfield moves to 8-1 with 38-10 thumping of Pacific Lutheran
/seasons/2024/boxscores/20241109_782o.xml
2024
Pacific Lutheran
10
Linfield
38
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Lutheran (6-3) | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| No. 14 Linfield (8-1) | 7 | 10 | 7 | 14 | 38 |
Nov 09, 2024