McMINNVILLE, Ore. – No. 11 Linfield's defense didn't allow Redlands inside the Wildcat 30-yard line and the host Wildcats took a 13-0 win in non-league football Saturday afternoon at Maxwell Field. That helped the 'Cats (1-1) overcome some costly mistakes to win their home opener in front of a crowd of 2,817.
Linfield has a bye next week before opening Northwest Conference play at Whitworth on September 29.
The Wildcats outgained the Bulldogs (2-1) by 389-199 in total offense but struggled to score, managing a 3-0 halftime lead and adding a touchdown and field goal after halftime. Linfield turned the ball over four times, including twice near the Redlands goal line; the 'Cats also had a touchdown nullified by a penalty and that possession ultimately resulted in a missed field goal.
Linfield's Chidubem Nnoli rushed for 149 yards on 24 carries. Wildcat quarterback Wyatt Smith completed 19 of 28 passes for 246 yards and a touchdown while being picked off twice. Max Novak had six catches for 66 yards and a touchdown while Keegan Weiss added five catches for 44 yards and Tyler Torgerson had four catches for 92 yards.
For Redlands, quarterback Levi Plante ran 23 times for 61 yards and completed 10 of 26 passes for 111 yards with one interception. Blake Roy had four catches for 44 yards.
Linfield's defense sacked Plante four times and had nine tackles for lost yardage. Lineacker Brian Pullman had three tackles for lost yardage, including a pair of sacks, and forced a fumble. Safety Duke Mackle had six solo tackles, one for lost yardage, and an interception.
The Wildcats didn't allow the Bulldogs past midfield until 6:30 remained in the second half. Redlands' furthest penetration was to the Wildcat 30 later in that drive and that resulted in a missed field goal.
Linfield opened the scoring on its second possession, Willy Warne booting a 27-yard field goal with 8:51 left in the first quarter to make it 3-0. That was all the Wildcats could manage after being presented with a short field, taking over at the Bulldog 9-yard line after a botched punt attempt.
Linfield's next drive went from its own 32 to the Redlands 11, the key gains being a nine-yard pass from Smith to Novak on a fourth-and-4 from the 27. But on third-and-3 from the 11, Smith's pass into the end zone was picked off by Redlands' Carl Holmes.
After forcing a punt, the Wildcats again went on the march, driving from their own 24 to the Bulldog 3. The big gainer was a Smith-to-Novak pass that covered 33 yards to the Redlands 27, and Nnoli had seven carries for 38 yards in that stretch. But trying to carry in from the 3, Nnoli had the ball stripped and the Bulldogs' Tobias Leonardos recovered at the 1 midway through the second quarter.
Linfield finally found the end zone on its first drive of the second half, going 70 yards in 11 plays and scoring when Smith ran play-action, then hit Novak with a pass to the left side; Novak's dive for the goal line just got the ball into the end zone for a 10-0 lead with 9:14 remaining in the third quarter.
Redlands' greatest threat of the day was set up by Artie Johnson's fumble near midfield. After the Bulldogs reached the Linfield 30, Nathan Hierlihy's 46-yard field goal try was wide left.
A Redlands turnover resulted in Linfield's final score. Plante fumbled after a scramble, with the ball stripped by rover Tyler Sitton and recovered by end Tony Krauss at the 18. The Wildcats couldn't advance from there and Warne's 34-yard field goal gave Linfield a 13-0 lead with 5:27 to play.
'Cat Scratch
Linfield improved its all-time record against teams from the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference to 28-2, including a 19-0 mark in home games … the Wildcats are now 8-0 all-time against Redlands, and Saturday was the second shutout in the series.
Linfield's all-time record in home openers is now 74-27-3, including a 65-21-2 mark at Maxwell Field … the Wildcats have won 11 of their 13 home openers under head coach Joseph Smith.
Linfield pitches 13-0 shutout of Redlands
/seasons/2018/boxscores/20180915_6jx9.xml
2018
Redlands
0
Linfield
13
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redlands (2-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 21 Linfield (1-1) | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 13 |
Sep 15, 2018