Box Score
McMINNVILLE, Ore. – Pacific's six-game win streak and their run towards their first NCAA Division III playoffs bid came to a screeching halt Saturday as perennial conference power Linfield put the breaks on the Boxers with a 59-0 victory in Northwest Conference football action at Maxwell Field.
The Wildcats clamped down hard on the Pacific offense, limiting the Boxers to just 144 yards of total offense. One of the top teams in the nation in terms of third down efficiency, the Boxers converted just 4 of 15 on third down and found themselves in the red zone just once.
With the victory, Linfield (8-1, 6-1 NWC) earned a share of their sixth consecutive conference title and clinched the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Pacific, who clinched their share of the NWC title last week with a victory over Willamette, finished the season at 6-3, 6-1 NWC. The loss capped an incredible run that saw the Boxers won their first title since 1952 just five seasons after the program was reinstated.
Warner Shaw (Jr., Waimea, Hawaii) completed 8 of 17 for 38 yards for the Boxers, but was sacked six times. Campbell Summerfield (So., Sandy, Ore.) came in the fourth quarter to complete 6 of 7 for 60 yards. Nathan Suyematsu (Jr., Tualatin, Ore.) caught three passes for 30 yards.
Linfield racked up 401 total offense, with 316 of those coming on the ground. Spencer Payne led the Wildcats with 114 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. Quarterback Sam Riddle completed 7 of 13 for 85 and a touchdown and rushed for 99 yards and two more scored.
Pacific had a golden opportunity to steal the momentum early when the Boxers forced a Payne fumble and recovered the ball five plays into the Wildcats' opening drive. Linfield forced Pacific to go three-and-out and proceeded to march 62 yards for the game's first touchdown, which came on a two-yard run by Riddle.
Turnovers suddenly turned the game into a rout. A muff on the ensuing kickoff gave the Wildcats the ball back on the Pacific 13-yard line, which Riddle converted into a five-yard scoring run four plays later. A fumble on the Boxers' first play of the next drive put the Wildcats in prime field position once again and Payne scampered in 14 yards for the score to give Linfield a 21-0 lead with 3:19 left in the first quarter.
A very short Pacific punt gave the Wildcats great field position again to open the second quarter. Opening at the Pacific 30-yard line, the Boxers' defense succeeded in making the home team settle for a 43-yard Michael Metter field goal with 11:15 left in the first half. Pacific had their first drive into Linfield territory on their next possession, but fell short when Shaw's pass fell incomplete on a 4th and 1 on the Linfield 30-yard line. The Wildcats would make it a 31-0 halftime lead two possessions later, with Riddle completing a 20-yard pass to Evan Peterson with 1:17 left.
Pacific had the ball first in the second half, but were stuffed into another three-and-out. A 33-yard punt return by Jordan Giza gave Linfield a short field again and Giza finished the drive off with a four-yard touchdown run five minutes into the period. Linfield scored again on their next possession as Giza scored again on a two-yard run for a 45-0 lead with 5:18 to go in the third.
The Wildcats struck paydirt two more times in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Matt Yarbrough rushed for a nine-yard touchdown run with 12:18 left and Ben Jeskey closed the day with his one-yard run with 5:18 left.
Jeff Bajema (So., Burlington, Wash.) led the Pacific defense with six tackles. Jaquari People (Jr., Merced, Calif.) and Brandon Harms (Sr., Canby, Ore.) each had five tackles. Keanu Yamamoto, Wesley Meng, Marcus McGovern and Mikey Arkans led Linfield defensively with four tackles each.
BOXER BYTES: The loss ended a record six-game NWC win streak for the Boxers…Shaw finished the season with a school record 68.4 completion percentage, surpassing the 64.7 completion percentage of current assistant coach P.J. Minaya set last season…Brandon Harms set a single season record with 45 assisted tackles, breaking the mark of 43 set by Tom Weeks in 1969 and equaled by Bryan Mills in 2013.
Pacific's Impressive Season Comes To Hard End At Linfield
/seasons/2014/boxscores/20141115_ikua.xml
2014
Pacific
0
Linfield
59
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific (6-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 10 Linfield (8-1) | 21 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 59 |
Nov 15, 2014