Jordan Jacobo
Sports editor
The single greatest shift in the football paradigm for the Wildcats squad this year was not necessarily made by them. When sophomore quarterback Aaron Boehme went down with a season-ending broken collarbone against Hardin-Simmons University on Sept. 13, it was a major realignment of offensive might.
Boehme’s injury thrusted sophomore running back Simon Lamson, who ran the ball just 17 times last year, into the spotlight. He has undergone a transformation from reserve player to one-half of the ‘Cats’ dynamic rushing duo.
Senior running back Reggie Ford, the second half of the combination, suffered a severe high-ankle sprain on the first play of the season. He was forced to sit out the games against Hardin-Simmons, Southern Oregon University and Menlo College.
Ford’s return in the past two weeks has been a chance for the Central Washington University transfer to prove himself. He carried Linfield in its narrow Homecoming victory against archrival Whitworth University, rushing for 105 yards and scoring two touchdowns.
His Oct. 18 encore was brief but decisive. Ford scored three touchdowns in the first quarter against Lewis & Clark College, allowing Linfield to let its key players rest for most of the game.
Not to be outdone, Lamson leads the team with 366 all-purpose yards, 13 more than senior wide receiver Travis Masters, a perennial game-changer.
Lamson’s 4.9 yards per rush average is impressive given that he is often the go-to choice in short yardage situations.
Head coach Joe Smith said the battle between the running backs and Willamette University’s stout defensive unit will be a major factor in the outcome of their Oct. 25 matchup.
“The secret, though, has been our offensive line play,” he said. “They’re opening up huge, gaping holes.”
Both Ford and Lamson credit the dominant play of Linfield’s offensive line as a major factor in their output on the ground. Lamson said the line, anchored by senior offensive tackle Jared Hinkle, worked hard during the summer, and the payoff has been a unit much improved from 2007.
The dynamic combination of the two main backs, plus the additional support of runners such as senior Jon Montalvo, junior Cole Rogers and freshman Ash Gibson, has made for a depth at the position unseen for the past five years.
The last time Linfield totaled more yardage on the ground than through the air was in 2002; alumni David Russell, Marty Williams and Thomas Ford accounted for more than 200 yards each game.
Between then and now, it was passing, not rushing, that was Linfield’s bread and butter. Former quarterbacks Tyler Matthews, Brett Elliott and Trevor Scharer led offenses that relied on a gun-slinging, versatile passing game to carry them to victory.
“I think it’s a great change,” Lamson said of the refocused running game. “Last year we were pretty unstable in the backfield. It’s good to have me and Reggie out there this year to take back the run game.”
With Ford being the only runner set to graduate this year, Linfield’s ground game should be dominant for several years to come, Lamson said.
If this year is any indication, the running backs could signal a return to the pre-Elliott football days at Linfield, when the ‘Cats ran the ball up the middle effectively.
“There’s so much experience, size, strength and speed that we have a lot to build on,” Lamson said. “By my senior year, we’ll be expected to do big things.”
Ford said it is the focus and mentality of the running backs that has driven the newfound success of the rushing game.
Though he is still not back to full speed, Ford said he expects his performance against Willamette will be a showcase for what he can do during the remainder of the season.
“I’m probably only at 90 percent right now, so I think the sky’s the limit with what we can do offensively,” he said. “I’m feeling pretty healthy, so I’m excited to see what we can do as a team out there.”
