Quarterback Sam Riddle, ’17, led the way for Linfield’s 48-14 season opening defeat over the Chapman University Panthers, completing 30 of 38 passes for 391 yards, along with racking up five touchdowns on Saturday at Maxwell Stadium.

The Wildcats ensured that there would not be a comeback, racking up five touchdowns in the first half, followed by a shutout of Chapman in the second half.

A big asset to Riddle and the team, he said, is the fact that the Wildcats have huge depth on their offensive line, including many receivers. This was reflected today by the five wide receivers that had more than 50 yards, who also managed to score five of the team’s seven touchdowns during the game. The receiving total for the team was 406 yards total.

Linfield’s running offense wasn’t lacking either, with eight running backs rushing for 154 yards, and scoring the other two touchdowns of the day for Linfield.

“I think we did a pretty good job, some minor things to work on, but we did good out there,” said Erick Douglas III, ’17, who had 71 yards and a touchdown Saturday.

Concerning some of the team’s big plays that were made today, in addition to the touchdowns, an interception and several fumble recoveries, Douglas said that, “Everything we do is practice. It’s all about our training. None of it was spur-of-the-moment, it’s all practice.”

When questioned about why he was privileged with wearing Parker Moore’s jersey for today’s game, Eli Fults, ’17, said, “We change who’s wearing this jersey every week, this year it’s for the seniors who were in the same class.” This year’s seniors were on the team with Moore when he was a sophomore. Fults also rushed for a touchdown Saturday.

Reflecting on the how the team played, Kennedy Johnson, 17, said, “I think we have a few kinks to work on, obviously it didn’t go perfectly smooth, but we did a good job out there.”

Riddle said that he thought the team performed well today. “A few exceptions that means we have more work to do, but overall we had a good game.”

The ‘Cats suit up to play NCAA playoff rival Mary Hardin-Baylor at 6 p.m. next Saturday in Belton, Texas.