The football team defeated the Menlo College Oaks 38-0 at home Oct. 30.
The game was also a special “Bring a Kid Day” event, and the children were wearing their Wildcat gear with pride.
The ’Cats lead the all-time series 12-0 against Menlo, which, until last season, was part of the Northwest Conference.
A game against a non-conference foe is unusual this deep into the nine-game season, but head coach Joseph Smith said that Menlo’s sudden departure caused scheduling to fall that way.
“Menlo has been difficult for us,” Smith said. “We haven’t played exceptionally well against them over years. I liked our maturity in this game.”
Senior quarterback Aaron Boehme completed 20 of 37 passes for 287 yards and two touchdowns, with an additional 92 yards on the ground. Most importantly, Boehme played a clean game, giving up no turnovers.
Additionally, senior tailback Simon Lamson added three scoring runs on a modest 61 total yards rushing.
Despite these impressive statistics, the story of the game was defense. The Wildcat defense smothered the Oaks, holding them to only 187 total yards of offense and racking up seven sacks in the team’s first shutout victory since 2008.
“I was pleased with [the] young guys at end of game,” Smith said. “They held on. It’s hard to shut anybody out.”
The Lamson-Boehme tandem got things rolling early for their team. Boehme broke open a 34-yard run shortly after the game began, and Lamson scored less than 2 minutes later on a 2-yard bolt into the end zone.
Toward the end of the first quarter, Boehme saw senior tailback Taylor Avritt open and dialed up a short, 3-yard touchdown strike to stake Linfield to an early 14-point lead.
Despite this quick start, the Wildcat offense struggled for much of the contest, such as in a four-and-out on the Menlo goal line late in the second quarter.
“We did not probably play our best on offense, but some of that was due to their defense schematic,” Smith said. “Boehme played fantastic, though. It was one of his better games.”
Offensively, the ’Cats picked up steam in the middle of the second quarter after Boehme hit a streaking senior wide receiver, Chris Slezak, open for a 47-yard hammer — his longest pass of the game. That big play set up Lamson’s second scoring run of the contest: another short run from only 1-yard deep.
Linfield led 21-0 heading into the locker room.
“Offensively, we’re still having assignment problems up front,” Smith said. “We’re going to keep working that in practice every day and hope to see improvement.”
Freshman kicker Scott Goodman had plenty of field time at the top of the third quarter as the ’Cats failed to mount a drive and had to punt twice.
But with about 6 minutes to go in the period, Boehme slashed Menlo for big plays of 11, 25 and 12 yards to set up Lamson’s final, 5-yard touchdown sprint.
However, after a big defensive stand on Menlo’s next possession, senior kick returner P.J. Sequeira choked up the ball after fielding a punt and kept the Oak offense on the field.
“We have to continue to work on protecting the football,” Smith said. “We’re doing better as of late, but that area is still a concern.”
The defense held strong for the remainder of the contest, snagging another two sacks. Boehme added a 14-yard pass to Avritt to score the game’s last touchdown, and with time almost out freshman kicker Jordan Walker boomed in a 45-yard field goal to mark the final score at 38-0.
“The kicker position has been an ongoing battle and issue,” Smith said. “Jordan Walker has a tremendous leg and can get it up quickly, but Maika [Kunioka] and Josh [Repp] are great as well. It’s a good problem to have.”
Following the game’s conclusion, children received autographs from many of the players, including Boehme, Lamson, senior defensive tackle Paul Nishizaki and senior defensive end Eric Hedin.
Hedin, who had five tackles and three sacks during the game, needs only three more sacks to break the school’s 13-year-old, single-season record for sacks. He is also closing in fast on the single-season marks for yards lost from sacks, tackles for loss and yards from tackles for loss.
“Statistically, Eric [Hedin] has a chance to do what no one’s done, and that’s break the all-time season sack record in nine games,” Smith said. “He’s as good as anybody who’s played the game here.”
The ’Cats remain at home for another week to face Whitworth University in a NWC game Nov. 6. Linfield sports the No. 12 ranking in the www.d3football.com Top 25 poll and is also ranked No. 7 in the NCAA’s latest regional rankings.
Those numbers mean that if playoffs began today, the Wildcats would be seeded seventh and face the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, the team that eliminated Linfield in the 2009 playoffs en route to the national title, during the first round. With two games left in the regular season, the Wildcats plan to climb a little higher before playoffs begin.

Chris Forrer/Freelancer
Chris Forrer can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

Riding another career-high outing from senior tailback Simon Lamson, the Wildcats gutted out a gritty victory against the Pacific Lutheran University Lutes and extended their NCAA all-divisions record for consecutive winning seasons to 55.
In addition, the victory over the team head coach Joseph Smith calls Linfield’s “oldest and best rivals” puts the ’Cats firmly in the driver’s seat in the Northwest Conference title race.
“It was a good game for us,” Smith said. “We haven’t had, from the players’ perspective, a good rivalry in recent years, but the coaches always enjoy beating [PLU].”
Until early in the fourth quarter, the game was an all-out dogfight. The two teams traded scores — Linfield riding Lamson’s record-setting performance and the Lutes on the back of senior quarterback Jordan Rasmussen’s 269 passing yards and two touchdowns.
Rasmussen, who averages 236.3 yards per game, made things difficult for the Linfield secondary, who, junior safety Drew Fisher said, was the most accurate and dangerous player the defense had faced all season.
“Rasmussen was highly accurate all day — the most accurate I have seen an opposing quarterback be,” Fisher said. “They probably had the best passing attack we have seen so far. They played us tough.”
The Lutes got a lucky break early when the game was still scoreless. After a punt was blocked by Fisher, Pacific Lutheran managed to recover the ball and get a second chance at a drive downfield.
After a Linfield penalty brought Pacific Lutheran to the Wildcat 43-yard line, Rasmussen was sacked with a bone-crunching hit by senior defensive end Eric Hedin for an 11-yard loss. Hedin strengthened his case for NWC defensive player of the year by collecting nine tackles and three sacks for a total loss of 26 yards.
Penalties would plague the ’Cats for the entire contest, as the team ran up a season-high 11 penalties for 100 yards.
“As a team we played decently but not up to our potential,” senior quarterback Aaron Boehme said. “We still need to get better and not commit penalties and make mental errors.”
Boehme and Lamson led Linfield’s next drive, with the former completing a crucial 23-yard pass to junior receiver Deidre Wiersma and the latter accounting for 31 total yards, including a 17-yard burst into the end zone while breaking tackle after tackle.
After the loss of junior tailback Aaron Williams to injury, Lamson stepped up and carried the bulk of the running game, and the results were apparent.
“We found a way to attack them at a pace that really worked in our favor,” Lamson said. “I mean, I was getting four or five yards a pop initially before contact, and I would finish for a few more after that.”
Both teams faltered offensively until the start of the second quarter, when Rasmussen jogged in from one yard out to tie the game at 7-7. The offense fired back with Boehme launching a 21-yard strike to senior
running back Chris Slezak.
The Lutes chugged downfield on a long, 6-minute drive that resulted in another score and another tie at 14-14.
Sophomore wide receiver and kick returner Josh Hill responded to the tie with a game-breaking 69-yard kickoff return that set up a short touchdown pass from Boehme to Slezak.
Boehme collected only 196 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. That pick set up a Lutes touchdown in the third quarter, and after a blocked PAT, the score was 21-20 in Linfield’s favor.
“I wasn’t very happy with my play, personally,” Boehme said. “They do a lot of different things, blitzing guys from all sorts of places. They did a good job of bringing pressure, but we got it done when it
counted.”
Boehme threw his final touchdown pass of the game to junior tight end Chris Saunders to lead 28-20.
Sophomore kicker Maika Kunioka had a chance to blow the game open on a 31-yard field goal attempt, but the ball flew wide left and missed.
Weather conditions were not ideal during the game, with gusts and rain falling for its entire duration. Kunioka was a perfect 5-5 on PAT kicks but was critical of his performance because of the field goal miss.
“The weather conditions in Tacoma were pretty terrible. It was very rainy, and with a grass field, it made the playing surfaces very slippery,” Kunioka said. “I would grade myself with a C or a D. Even though I made all my PATs, I missed a pretty crucial and very makeable field goal.”
Lamson put the final nail in the Lutes’ coffin with a 17-yard scoring burst to set the final margin at 35-20. With the victory and a 55th consecutive winning season in the books, the ’Cats return home for a non-conference game against Menlo College on Oct. 30. Menlo will bring a 3-3 record into the Catdome, and Smith said the team will continue to bring it hard at every practice.
“They’re very interesting on defense,” Smith said. “They seemingly change a lot and do different things which will pose some problems. Offensively, they’re not as prolific. But we’re going to come out and play hard no matter what.”

Chris Forrer/Freelancer
Chris Forrer can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

In what has become a familiar story this season, the Wildcats scored early and often in a 66-14 romp over Pacific University on Oct. 16’s Homecoming game at the Catdome.
Pacific, playing its first football season in more than 20 years, looked more than outmatched on both sides of the ball, allowing Linfield to gain 557 yards of total offense and only picking up 273.
Besides another big Northwest Conference win, the game also allowed some of the younger ’Cats to see their first extended action on the field. These players included freshmen quarterback Josh Yoder and cornerback Brandon Funk.
Head coach Joseph Smith said he was pleased with the performance of his young players.

“All of our younger and backup players played really well,” Smith said. “I was especially pleased with Josh Yoder’s play. He threw some great balls while he was in.”
While the game certainly had a youthful tone overall, the first half still belonged to the old dogs.
Senior quarterback Aaron Boehme did his most efficient work of the year, completing 10 of 12 passes for 171 yards in only one quarter of play. He also added a pair of early touchdown passes to junior receiver Deidre Wiersma and senior receiver Chris Slezak.
This far in the season, Boehme has amassed 1,270 yards and 11 touchdowns in the air and an additional 182 yards and six scores rushing.
Boehme has also given up six interceptions, but Smith said that statistic is misleading.
“Aaron [Boehme] is having a tremendous season,” Smith said. “Some of those interceptions are bad tips or fluke plays — over half aren’t on him. I’m pleased with him.”
Senior tailback Simon Lamson got the game rolling in a powerful fashion on the Wildcats’ opening drive by punching through the line and streaking down the field for a 39-yard touchdown run, which sent the
fans in the Catdome into a frenzy. Pacific quickly answered, however, by taking advantage of broken coverage on a 79-yard touchdown pass from freshmen quarterback P.J. Minaya to wide receiver Jordan Fukumoto.
Boehme then tossed his touchdown throws on back-to-back possessions, and Funk leapt up to pick off a Minaya pass to snuff out a Pacific drive for the first interception of his career.
“It felt awesome to get my first interception,” Funk said. “And having it in the Catdome made it that much better.”
Boehme and Lamson left the game shortly after the first quarter began and gave way to reserve seniors quarterback Cole Bixenman and running back Taylor Avritt.
Avritt, who saw sizable action early last season after Lamson broke his collarbone, spearheaded a drive downfield and scored on a short 5-yard scamper to cap it.
Bixenman led two more scoring drives and launched two scoring strikes of his own — one to freshman Conner Varnell and one to junior Joe Kloucek.
At halftime, the Wildcats led 49-7.
“We executed very well,” Smith said. “At one point, our coaching staff was joking that since all of our plays were looking so good, we should just pick one arbitrarily.”
In between the Linfield drives, the Wildcat defense did its part by shutting down Pacific’s young offensive unit. The ’Cats racked up four sacks in the second quarter alone — three from senior defensive back Eric Hedin. Hedin collected seven tackles and four sacks, continuing a stellar season.
“I feel like we had a pretty big advantage over Pacific’s offensive line given the fact that they were mostly all freshmen,” Funk said. “But then again, we have a pretty big advantage over most lines considering the talent and depth we have.”
The second half saw Linfield play three more young quarterbacks in sophomore Mickey Inns and freshmen Logan Krellwitz and Josh Yoder. Inns and Yoder threw touchdown passes in the second half, and all three young play-callers were a combined 4 of 7 with 63 yards.
With a 37-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Josh Kay and a meaningless Pacific touchdown late in the third quarter, the final margin was set at 66-14.
For Yoder, it was a memorable end to a memorable first game.
“Going into the game with that big of a lead, I didn’t expect to get to pass much,” Yoder said. “When it turned out to go for a touchdown in my first college game, it really made it special.”
The ’Cats will travel to Tacoma, Wash., to face Pacific Lutheran University on Oct. 23 for a game which has NWC championship implications since both squads are undefeated in conference play.
The Wildcats are ranked No. 12 in the www.d3football.com’s Top 25 poll, and the Lutes sit at No. 22.

Chris Forrer/Freelancer
Chris Forrer can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

Riding the momentum that began in a 35-7 statement win against Willamette University a week ago, the Linfield Wildcat football team took care of business on the road in Tacoma, Wash., with an emphatic 55-14 drubbing of the University of Puget Sound on Oct. 9.
Senior quarterback Aaron Boehme racked up 311 all-purpose yards with four touchdowns, and senior tailback Simon Lamson rushed a career-high 100 yards with another two scores. Lamson, who sat out for the majority of the 2009 season because of a broken collarbone, was elated at the end result.
“My dad always told me things happen for a reason,” Lamson said. “To be able to battle back this season and set some marks I have been working for — it really makes me appreciate the process I went through.”
The offense and defense had opportunities to dominate the ball early. On the Loggers’ opening drive, junior defenseman Kalae’ Parish snatched a pass from Puget Sound senior quarterback Duncan White. On the following Linfield drive, Boehme rocketed 26 yards from scrimmage and into the UPS end zone for a score. The point-after kick was blocked to leave the score at 6-0.
Overall, the Wildcat defense intercepted Puget Sound quarterbacks six times and picked up four sacks.
“We felt like we had a few mismatches on the line,” senior defensive end Eric Hedin said. “We took full advantage exploiting that weakness and letting them playing into our hands.”
With the second quarter just 1 minute old, sophomore kicker Josh Kay added a chip-shot 27 yard field goal, Boehme found senior receiver Chris Slezak 37 yards downfield for a score, and Lamson picked up his first touchdown on a 1-yard dash into the end zone.
“The win against UPS was a statement game,” Lamson said. “I have to credit every yard I earned to my offensive line. They opened up running lanes and really dominated the line of scrimmage for four quarters.”
The second quarter played out much like the first. White was intercepted twice, once by junior rover Kole Kreiger and once by junior cornerback Nate Dixon. Both turnovers led to Linfield scores, the first on another run by Boehme in which he hurdled a defender en route to the end zone, and the second Lamson’s final score.
At the half, the Wildcats were on top 35-0.
“It feels really good to be gelling again like we did last season,” Dixon said. “We knew we could be good if we worked extremely hard, and that’s what we have done throughout spring and fall camp and are continuing to do so now. Our coaches put in a lot of time with our defense, and our success has a lot to do with their effort.”
Boehme and the offensive starters would see only one more series of action before heading to the bench for some much-needed rest, and it still yielded a touchdown on a 33-yard strike to junior receiver Deidre Wiersma. Senior Taylor Avritt and sophomore Steven Nasca added touchdowns for the ’Cats in mop-up time.
Senior backup quarterback Cole Bixenman had a pass picked and returned 80 yards for a score, and backup Puget Sound junior quarterback George Ka’ai lobbed a short scoring pass in the final minutes to round out the final margin at 55-14.
The ’Cats return home on Oct. -16 to battle Pacific University in the annual Homecoming game at 1 p.m. Pacific, which has not had a football program in almost 20 years, is still looking for its first win and isn’t likely to spring an upset. Nevertheless, the Wildcats continue to improve and prepare for their next opponent.
“It’s just another game to get better and improve on doing the little things right,” Hedin said. “Doing the common things in an uncommon manner.”

Chris Forrer/Freelancer
Chris Forrer can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

After a shaky 1-1 start to the 2010 season, the Linfield football team needed a strong performance to open Northwest Conference play. They achieved that goal and more in a 35-7 trouncing of the Willamette University Bearcats on Oct. 2.
The game, which head football coach Joseph Smith called a “statement win,” is sure to send a powerful message to the rest of the teams in the NWC: Watch out for the Wildcats.
“Our guys have been pretty frustrated until now,” Smith said. “We hadn’t played up to our level yet, but we put it together Saturday and got it right.”
Willamette won the toss and deferred to the second half, which allowed senior quarterback Aaron Boehme and the Linfield offense to take the field first.
The ’Cats efficiently moved the ball downfield in less than 3 minutes, aided by an early pass interference call against the Bearcats. Boehme then found junior tight end Chris Saunders from 15 yards out to put his team up 7-0.
Boehme was back in dominant form, finishing with 277 yards passing and two touchdowns as well as 52 yards on the ground with another three rushing scores and only one interception.
“I love playing at home,” Boehme said. “I felt prepared and comfortable, [quarterback] coach [Brett] Elliot had a great game plan and the line played very well.”
The Linfield defense had an early opportunity to flex its muscles. After Willamette sophomore quarterback Brian Widing found sophomore receiver Jake Knecht wide open and launched a pass downfield for 64 yards, the ’Cats held strong and stuffed the touted fly offense on three consecutive plays for no gain.
Willamette freshman kicker Kyle Derby missed a chip-shot 26-yard field goal on the ensuing play.
Then, after the Bearcats picked off a high Boehme pass shortly after, Derby missed another attempt — this one from 42 yards deep. The kick barely had enough power to roll meekly out of the end zone.
“For the defense, it is a huge confidence
booster and allows you to get momentum going,” senior linebacker Eric Hedin said. “Everyone plays better and has a lot of confidence.”
The teams traded scores to close the first quarter. A Bearcat touchdown followed a fumble by senior running back Simon Lamson.
The Wildcat defense shut out Willamette for the rest of the contest, and also piled up six sacks while constantly harassing Widing as he dropped back to pass.
Offensively, however, the ’Cats were far from finished.
“The offense flat got it done,” Smith said. “They did an excellent job of mixing in the pass and the rush and keeping them off-balance.”
Boehme piled on three more scores before the day was done. At the top of the second quarter, he hit senior receiver Chris Slezak with a short screen pass, and Slezak burst through several Willamette defenders to pick up 44 yards on the play.
The ’Cats plunged deeper into Bearcat territory before Boehme knifed into the end zone on the 1-yard line and put Linfield up 21-7.
Early in the third quarter, it was the same story with a different back. Boehme dumped a short pass to junior running back Aaron Williams, who blasted up the right sideline while breaking tackle after tackle to gain a whopping 42 yards. Boehme then jogged in for another score from the 3-yard line.
Boehme’s success can partly be attributed to the solid play of the Wildcat offensive line, which kept him from being hit or sacked the entire contest, he said.
“It takes a little while for the main players to come to the top and for them to gel,” Boehme said. “But right now they’re really rolling. It gives me a ton of confidence going forward that they are playing well.”
Boehme tacked on a 12-yard shot to junior Deidre Wiersma to set the final scoring margin of 35-7.
The game’s only low note came at the start of the fourth quarter when Williams was tackled and gave up a fumble while falling awkwardly under several defenders. He left the field suffering from an unspecified injury and did not return.
The ’Cats head north to Tacoma, Wash., on Oct. 9 to take on the University of Puget Sound Loggers. They return home the following week to face Pacific University at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 16 for the Linfield Homecoming game.

Chris Forrer/Freelancer
Chris Forrer can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

Following a tough opening-week loss, the Wildcat football squad got exactly what it needed Sept. 25 on the road against the University of La Verne: an emphatic win.
Riding a stifling defense that nearly secured a shutout, Linfield defeated the Leopards 30-3. The defense forced three turnovers, and the offense outgained the Leopards in yardage 427-78.
Head coach Joseph Smith said he was satisfied with his team’s overall improvement in the two weeks following the initial loss.
“I’m very pleased statistically,” Smith said. “Any time you have a 20-to-3 advantage on first downs and a 400-yard advantage, you know things are going well.”
The Sept. 25 game was never close. In the first half, the Wildcat offense found the end zone on three separate occasions.
Senior running back Simon Lamson thundered into the end zone from one yard out on Linfield’s opening drive, three plays after senior quarterback Aaron Boehme connected with senior receiver Chris Slezak for a 42-yard shot downfield.
Boehme finished with 241-yards passing, one touchdown and one interception, which came on a desperate throw from his own end zone to prevent a safety.
“His decision making was much better in game two,” Smith said of Boehme. “He took care of the football nicely, but he took too many hits for my liking. That’s something that we’ll really focus on this week.”
Boehme’s lone touchdown strike came on a 15-yard pass to junior Deidre Wiersma at the top of the second quarter. In the middle of the quarter, senior running back Taylor Avritt powered in for a score from the 1-yard line to bring the Wildcat advantage to 21-0.
While the ’Cats couldn’t convert in the red zone for the remainder of the game, sophomore kicker Josh Kay, a transfer student from Whitworth University,
booted field goals of 20, 37 and 25 yards and was 3-3 on point after kicks.
“It was a great feeling to get out there again and kick field goals and pats,” Kay said. “Last year at Whitworth, I was limited to just the kickoff duties, and now that I have the opportunity to do both.”
La Verne’s only points came on a field goal immediately following Boehme’s interception.
With a victory under their belts, the ’Cats turn their gaze toward the Catdome for a showdown with perennial rival Willamette University at 1 p.m. on Oct. 2.
“I come from Salem, so I know how intense this
rivalry is and how much it means to us, the coaches, our school and our whole community,” Kay said. “Willamette is a talented squad, and it is going to be a battle, to say the least.”
The Bearcats bring a 2-1 record and a No. 15 ranking in the www.d3football.com’s Top 25 poll.
Smith said preparing for an offense that the team will only see once in the season is a sizable task to do in only one week.
“I’d rather [this game] come in a few weeks, as we’re still finding ourselves, particularly on offense,” he said. “It’s going to be a difficult, good football game against the most talented team we’ve played so far. We’ll have to play our ‘A’ game to be successful.”
Willamette runs the obscure and intricate fly offense, which can give opposing defenses fits if not prepared for properly. However, the ’Cats have had success against the fly in the past, and Smith remains confident that they will find victory.
The winner of the game will also likely end up as the Northwest
Conference champion, as ’Cats and Willamette has traded conference titles for the past few years depending on which team was
victorious.
The players are fired up for a high-profile game and are brimming with confidence about their chances.
“All we can do in our respective units and as individuals is execute our jobs to the best of our ability and take care of business,” Kay said. “I believe that the team who wants it the most is going to come away with this win. And I know that that’s us.”

Chris Forrer/Freelancer
Chris Forrer can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

The Wildcats appeared to be picking up right where they left off at California Lutheran University to begin
the 2010 season, following a 12-1 finish a year prior. But after going up 28-14 in the first half, the ’Cats were
outscored 33-14 the rest of the way, en route to losing their first regular season game, 42-47, in more than
two years.
Kingsmen tailback junior Daniel Mosier led CLU down the stretch with 202 yards rushing and three
touchdowns, and the normally water-tight Wildcat offense choked up the ball five times down the stretch.
“It’s an emotional loss for us,” head football coach Joseph Smith said. “We couldn’t put the game away,
and it gave them life in the second half. We turned the ball over, and they got their running game going.”
Normally rock-steady senior quarterback Aaron Boehme was intercepted on Linfield’s opening drive
following a 64-yard march down the field to the CLU 4-yard line. The pick was returned 97 yards to the
Linfield 1-yard line, and Kingsmen running back Bobby Rodriguez blasted in for a touchdown on the
following play to go up 7-0. Boehme finished the day with 361 yards in the air and four touchdowns, but
was intercepted three times and lost a fumble. These are uncharacteristic numbers for the defending
Northwest Conference Offensive player of the year, who went several games at a time last season without
surrendering a turnover.

“I’m very disappointed
with my performance. I just need to get the job done and take care of the football,” Boehme said.
Linfield answered with a 71-yard drive of its own, capped by a 1-yard charge into the end zone by
senior running back Taylor Avritt to tie the score at seven apiece. Boehme’s woes continued with another
interception on the ’Cats’ next drive, but junior cornerback Taylor Skore picked off a CLU pass shortly after
to bring the offense back on the field.
From there the Wildcats took control of the half. Linfield scored on three successive drives, capped
by 18-, 21- and 27-yard touchdown strikes to junior Deidre Wiersma, Avritt and junior Buddy Saxon,
respectively. After Moser scored his first touchdown, a 1-yard scamper with about two minutes left in the
half, the Wildcats led 28-14.
“Offensively I’d give us a ‘B’ in the first half,” junior center Hayden Mace said. “We marched the ball down
their throats the entire first half, and realistically the game should’ve been 42-7 at halftime.”
Mace was one of three offensive linemen who got a career start last Saturday. Others included seniors
Ikaika
Kaninau and Travis Tocher. The offensive line protected Boehme in the first half, but as CLU began to fight
back in the second half, things began to unravel.
“We were beaten man-to-man on offense,” Smith said. “I was not pleased with how our offensive line
played, and that’s something that will get better.”
Following punts by both teams, the Kingsmen surge began with a 29-yard field goal by CLU junior kicker
Jackson Damron.
On Linfield’s next drive, a Boehme pass from scrimmage at the Wildcat 40-yard line was tipped,
intercepted and ran back 45 yards for a touchdown. The score stood at 28-23, Wildcats.
“CLU’s rushing attack really took off in the second half,” Avritt said. “And their defense brought the
pressure to Boehme, too.”
The Kingsmen struck again less than a minute after the fourth quarter and took the lead for the first time
at 31-28. The Wildcats answered on a 71-yard explosion by junior running back Aaron Williams to set up
a 1-yard touchdown run on an ensuing play. The ’Cats would not find the end zone again until the game’s
closing minutes, and Boehme was sacked twice in the final period.
“I felt very sick at the end of the game when I looked at Boehme’s jersey and saw how dirty it was,” Mace
said. “Our goal up front is to keep him off the ground, and we didn’t do a very good job of that in the second
half on Saturday.”
CLU added a 42-yard field goal and two touchdown runs by Moser of 45 and 49 yards to buff their lead to
47-35. The ’Cats’ last real chance to change the game, with 3 minutes, 35 seconds
left on the clock. It ended with a Boehme sack and fumble, which was recovered by Kingsmen junior
defender Sean Post. Boehme would score again, with 28 seconds left, on a 28-yard pass to freshman
receiver Conner Varnell.
Despite the loss, there were many positive notes to take from the contest. Smith said racking up more
than 500 yards of total offense and over 40 points is always a good thing. But, he added there were many
problems with fundamentals that he intends to fix in the coming two weeks before the Wildcats go on the
road again Sept. 25 to University of La Verne in California.
“I questioned our readiness a bit,” Smith said. “Mid-week, I was concerned we weren’t up to full intensity.
We had some over-exertion issues, and once the game turned into a dogfight many of these things came to
the surface.”With a painful loss under their belts, the Wildcats will use the game and the feelings it produced as
motivation as the season goes on.
“I won’t forget that feeling as we prepare for the rest of the season,” Mace said.

Chris Forrer/Freelancer
Chris Forrer can be reached at linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com.

The last four days have marked the move-in of new and returning students at Linfield College. But for members of the Wildcat football team, things have already been in full swing since the start of summer training camp.
Beginning Aug. 16, every player, both prospective and returning, was required to report to a two-week camp that would help get the team in playing shape, build character and team camaraderie and, of course, finalize the roster for the season.
Traditionally, head football coach Joseph Smith has kept details scarce as to what goes on during training camp. However, this season he and senior quarterback Aaron Boehme offered a few insights as to what these intense two weeks look like for the players and coaches.
The days last 12 hours for players and often over 16 hours for coaches, Smith said.
“Breakfast is at 7, and our first meetings are at 8,” Boehme said. “We’ve got a workout at 9:30, more meetings at 10:30, then lunch, practice at 2, dinner, a team activity and more meetings after.”
Boehme, last season’s Northwest Conference offensive player of the year, is bringing a team-oriented attitude into camp. Boehme said the veteran players of last year’s squad, which made it all the way to the national semifinals, are not allowing last season’s success to overshadow the work ethic needed for a good team to function.
And as for those workouts Boehme mentioned? They might not all be what you expect.
“We obviously have a lot of practice time in the afternoons, but we also do a lot of recovery work in the pool, on the field and even yoga,” Boehme said.
Coming into camp, Smith said that special teams, linebackers and the offensive line were the major areas he wanted to improve during the two-week intensive. With many key players lost to graduation last year, such as all-American guard Scott Millenbach and all-conference linebacker Jaymin Jackson, there are several big shoes to fill.
But, Smith said, players have already begun rising to the challenge.
“The defensive backfield has improved nicely,” Smith said. “Our young linebackers are coming along, as is our offensive line.”
Expectations and enthusiasm are running high, with the season’s first game only two weeks away on Sept. 11, a road rematch against California Lutheran, whom the ’Cats dispatched in the first round of last season’s playoffs, But with dozens of returning starters, young talent improving rapidly and a seasoned coaching staff, the sky’s the limit for this year’s Wildcat football team.

Chris Forrer
Freelancer

If you haven’t yet established an interest in Linfield’s football program yet, there’s never been a better time to do so than now.

Last season, the Wildcats captured a record of 12-1, battled their way to the semi-finals of the NCAA Division-III playoffs and finished the year ranked No. 3 in d3football.com’s Top 25 poll. The reigning Northwest Conference champions aim to continue their stellar play through to the next season, and with many returning starters, the pieces are in place for the ’Cats to shoot for the Northwest Conference crown once again.

“Our teams always feel the pressure of living up to the high standard that the previous Wildcat teams before them have set,” head coach Joe Smith said. “That is nothing new. Our guys are committed to sticking to the values and philosophies that have made this program consistently successful and that is what they need to be focused on.”

Perhaps the most familiar face to return for the 2010 season is senior quarterback Aaron Boehme. Last season, he threw for 3,261 yards and 33 touchdowns while also rushing for 466 yards and another 10 scores. Despite the fact that he has finished his degree,

he still retains a year of eligibility and will return to direct the offense one final season.

“I’m personally working on my decision making, my leadership and my footwork in the offseason,” Boehme said. “These are the things that will push me to be the best I can be, if I’m able to focus on them and improve every day.”

In addition, nearly every other offensive player is returning — except senior wide receiver Trevor Patterson. Although Patterson was by far Boehme’s favorite target during the 2009 season, Boehme will have largely the same unit to work with next season.

“I think that our mentality every possession is to score the ball,” Boehme said. “If we have that sort of goal every drive, every game we are going to do very well.”

On the offensive line, however, three key roles will need to be filled in the form of offensive tackles seniors Chris Buck and Aaron Heston and center Kyle Otineru. All three were named to the NWC All-Star team in 2009. Sophomore Jordan Barnes, also named to the NWC’s highest honor, will play a large role in filling that gap.

“There are a lot of guys returning on this team,” sophomore safety Drew Fisher said. “A lot of leadership is still present along with a ton of confidence. I think it’s just the right amount of confidence that gets us believing that we are going to win every game we play in.”

On the defensive side of things, many more impact players have hung up their jerseys for the last time. Senior linebackers Jaymin Jackson and Paul Partlow, who were both named to the NWC All-Star team, are the most noticeable absences.

Fisher will lead the remaining players in an effort to recapture the suffocating power that last season’s squad possessed; in 2009, the Wildcat defense piled up 30 interceptions, 39 sacks and 17 recovered fumbles.

“A few goals of mine are to solidify myself as a leader on this team,” Fisher said. “I’d like to take some young guys under my wing as well as fire up us veterans on defense by knowing the game plan week in and week out and performance on the field. If we can come together as one on defense, play fast and make up for lost leadership in our linebackers then all of our goals will be attained much easier.”

As always, Smith will lead the ’Cats. Smith was named both the NWC 2009 Coach of the Year and American Football Monthly’s 2009 Division III Coach of the Year. In his four seasons at Linfield, Smith has compiled a 30-10 record and is only improving his abilities as time rolls on.

“[Retired] coach Langsdorf used to tell us here that ‘If you always do what you’ve always done, you will always get what you’ve always gotten,’” Smith said. “The leaders on this team are committed to doing what we do here at Linfield: committing to team, excellence, attitude and class. If we all do that to the best of our ability, then we will accept however the chips fall.”

With so many returning starters and high optimism, look for the Wildcats to make a lot of noise in both the NWC race and the national picture. Linfield kicks off its season on the road against the University of California Lutheran Crusaders on Sept. 11 and will return for its first home game against Willamette University on Oct. 2.

Chris Forrer

Freelancer
Chris Forrer can be reached at

linfieldreviewsports@gmail.com