Kurtis Williams

Review staff writer

A superb ground game guided the Bearcats of Willamette University to a 52-28 victory over the Linfield football team Oct. 25.
The Wildcats will look for one win out of the remaining three games to make this season the 53rd consecutive winning season for the program, starting with a battle against the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash. on Nov. 1.
The sunny afternoon started ominously for the ’Cats. After three short gains, junior punter Dan Egan’s kick was blocked and eventually convered by Bearcat senior free safety Grant Piros fewer than three minutes into the game.
Undeterred, Linfield took the ball and marched 82 yards in 12 plays. The drive ended in sophomore quarterback Cole Franklin’s sneak into the end zone.
Willamette would find the end zone three more times in the final three minutes of the first quarter thanks to senior tailback Merben Woo and junior tailback Deon Horne’s rushing efforts and another Wildcat kicking game error. Linfield found themselves in a 28-7 hole at the end of the first quarter.
Head coach Joe Smith referred to the gloomy start as one of the downfalls of the game during the Oct. 27 post-game press conference.
“The start was disastrous,” he said. “The mistakes we made in the punting game were devastating. You spot a good football team 14 points off your punting game; we were forced to play perfectly for the rest of the game.”
With a minute left in the half, senior wide receiver John Torsey caught a pass from Franklin to energize the Wildcats going into halftime at a manageable 28-14.
On the first drive after intermission, the ’Cats’ defense held Willamette to three yards and a quick punt.
Linfield turned defensive momentum into offense in the form of senior running back Reggie Ford, who rushed in from 11 yards out. Willamette’s next drive ended with freshman kicker Mitchell Rowan hitting a 23-yard field goal, finishing the scoring for the third quarter at 31-21.
Still fighting back, Ford scored his second touchdown of the game and seventh of the year, closing the gap to 31-28.
“We took their best shots early, and we battled back, and we took the game over,” Smith said. “We had the momentum. We came back and drew within three [points] with eight minutes to go, and it was our game.”
But only two minutes after Ford’s touchdown, the Bearcats scored 14 points and put the comeback out of reach for the ’Cats.
Linfield enjoyed almost twice as much possession of the ball and twice as many offensive plays, statistics that usually dictate the outcomes of games. Franklin out-passed Willamette senior quarterback Grant Leslie 232-160 yards and out rushed him 100-9 yards. Ford rushed for 102 yards while the combination of Woo and Horne finished with 294 all-purpose yards and five touchdowns.
“It wasn’t as much what they did as just what we did, and that’s harder to take,” Smith said of the Bearcats, now ranked No. 12 in the nation. “They made some plays, which good teams do, and that’s why they’re the number one team in the West.”
Linfield’s offense put up 460 yards of total offense, the second highest total of the season, against a stellar Willamette defense.
Despite the loss, Smith remained optimistic about the possibilities remaining in the next three contests. Linfield has a chance to make its case for an at-large playoff bid, and its next game will be a chance to get back on track.
The University of Puget Sound has yet to win in the Northwest Conference this season, with two non-conference wins against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges.
Despite their record, the ’Cats have a few crucial areas of the Loggers’ game to zero in on and shut down.
Although Smith said he thinks the defense isn’t as strong as it has been, he is certainly wary of UPS senior quarterback Kavin Williams.
“Kavin Williams, I think, is a very good quarterback, and he’s the focus of [the UPS] offense,” Smith said. “He runs well, throws well and, again, he’s a good football player, so we have to contain him.”
Junior cornerback Bubba Lemon echoed Smith’s feelings, adding that Logger senior wide receiver Darrell Stewart, Williams’ main target, is one of the fastest receivers in the conference. Lemon said he thinks UPS will throw more often than Willamette.
Further down the line, the ’Cats are considering how to make it to the postseason. With losses to two top 20 teams, Hardin-Simmons University and Willamette University, the Wildcats will have to win their remaining games. The last two will be against Western Oregon University and Pacific Lutheran
University. Smith has an upbeat, yet realistic, outlook on the team’s playoff chances.
“The national committee hasn’t been good to us over the years, but we’ll hope,” he said. “If we can finish 7-2 and beat a good Western Oregon team, we’ll have certainly played a schedule that’s worthy of it; whether we’ll get in or not, I don’t know.”