Linfield's Defense Shines in 36-3 Victory over Redlands

Linfield's Alex Hoff had 6 tackles, 2 sacks, 5 QB hurries vs Redlands. Photo Courtesy: Linfield Athletics

(REDLANDS, Calif.) — The Northwest Conference was clearly stronger against its West Coast cousin, the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on Saturday.

At dusky Ted Runner Stadium, five-time defending NWC champion Linfield battered reigning SCIAC kingpin Redlands 36-3 in an early season cross-conference matchup. The Wildcats' impressive win, coupled with Saturday's other road wins by NWC contenders Whitworth (over La Verne) and Willamette (over Cal Lutheran) provided ample evidence for anyone wanting to debate the comparable strength of the two respective NCAA Division III conferences.  

Linfield's passing combo of quarterback Sam Riddle (So., Hillsboro, Ore.) and wideout Charlie Poppen (Sr., Oregon City, Ore.) ran circles around Redlands' smaller defenders while Alex Hoff (Jr., Lebanon, Ore.) and the Linfield defense kept the Bulldogs without a touchdown for a second consecutive week.

Riddle and Poppen combined for eight completions and two touchdowns through the air. A one-man wrecking ball, Hoff was credited with six total tackles, including two sacks and two other stops for negative yardage, plus five quarterback hurries. Jordan Giza (Sr., Salem, Ore.) added five tackles from his monsterback position. Trey Farber (Sr., Wasilla, Alaska) collected two additional sacks.

Riddled ended the night with 355 yards passing, completing 26 of 39 throws without an interception. He also rushed for 52 yards on 11 carries. Poppen had eight catches for 106 yards while Evan Peterson (Sr., Bellevue, Wash.) caught six balls for 117 yards and Brian Balsiger (Jr., Tualatin, Ore.) pulled in six passes for 62 yards.

Not surprisingly, the first half was all Linfield. Michael Metter (So., Portland, Ore.) kicked a pair of field goals, including 27-yarder on the final play before intermission, Riddle ran for a 1-yard TD in addition to his two scoring plays to Poppen, and the Wildcats defense leashed the Bulldogs to 77 yards during the first two quarters.

After Redlands went three-and-out on its second offensive series, Linfield fashioned a 49-yard drive that culminated with a 23-yard field goal by Metter. The ‘Cats pushed their advantage to 9-0 on Riddle's 1-yard run with 2:22 left in the first quarter after Metter's extra point was blocked by UR's Stephen Reyes.

Riddle led the ‘Cats on a third consecutive scoring march, polishing it off with a 11-yard fade pass to Poppen in the corner of the end zone. Once Metter booted the extra point, Linfield led 16-0 with just three minutes elapsed in the second quarter.

Held to just four first downs, Redlands' deepest penetration of the half was the Linfield 39. In contrast, Linfield moved the chains 22 times and rolled up 370 of its 559 total yards during the first two quarters.

Following intermission, Linfield continued its dominance by outgaining Redlands 120-0 in the third quarter. Linfield made it 33-0 when Tavon Willis (Jr., Elk Grove, Calif.) soared over the line to score from the UR 1. Willis finished with 46 yards rushing.

Matt Yarbrough (Sr., Tualatin, Ore.) replaced Riddle to start the fourth quarter, leading the ‘Cats down the field once more where they added Metter's 41-yard field goal for their final points with 13:08 left to play. Redlands averted the home shutout when Sean Murray connected on a 27-yard field goal at the 7:46 mark.

Redlands (0-2) finished with 28 yards rushing on 28 attempts. Quarterback Kevin Russell completed 16 of 28 throws for 128 yards but was sacked four times. Aaron Mandell and Curran Fudge shared game-high honors with eight total tackles for the hosts.

AHEAD: Linfield enjoys a bye week in its schedule before resuming action Saturday, Oct. 4 with the Northwest Conference opener against rival Pacific Lutheran at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup, Wash. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. with the radio pregame show starting at 12:30 p.m.

Source: Linfield Athletics