SPOKANE, Wash. – In a showdown for the Northwest Conference football championship, visiting Linfield's defense dominated Whitworth and led the Wildcats to a 34-7 win on Saturday at the Pine Bowl.
The 10th-ranked Pirates (9-1 overall, 6-1 NWC) must now hope for an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA Division III football playoffs. The #14 Wildcats (9-1 overall, 7-0 NWC) earn the league's automatic bid to the playoffs. The NCAA Division III field will be announced on NCAA.com at 2:00 pm (PST) on Sunday afternoon.
The game started just as Whitworth might hope. The Pirates moved effortlessly on their first possession and finished off a 64-yard drive in seven plays when quarterback Ryan Blair completed a two-yard pass to Evan Liggett. The extra point gave the Bucs a 7-0 lead.
Linfield answered with a 68-yard drive that took 11 plays. The Wildcats converted two third downs and a fourth down along the way and scored when quarterback Blake Eaton scrambled 15 yards up the middle for a touchdown that tied the game.
Whitworth would not offensively drive into Linfield territory again until the fourth quarter as the Wildcat defense adjusted after the first drive and put consistent pressure on Blair. The Pirates also lost their first fumble of the season, leading to a Linfield field goal that extended the advantage to 10-7.
The Wildcats scored their second touchdown when Eaton passed six yards to Connor Wolfe with only 17 seconds left in the half. The snap on the PAT was off and Linfield led 16-7 at halftime.
The Wildcats had the opening kick off of the second half and Whitworth's defense did its job, stopping Linfield on fourth down at the Pirates' 29 when JT Muñoz batted down a pass. But the Pirates could not move on offense, and after a punt Linfield went 81 yards for another touchdown. Eaton scored on a six-yard run that extended the lead to 23-7.
Blaze Holani put the game away for the Wildcats when he returned an interception 62 yards for a score with just under 11 minutes to play in the game. After a successful two-point conversion the 'Cats led 31-7. Linfield added a final field goal from 27 yards with 2:07 to play.
The Wildcats outgained the Pirates 364-221, had a 21-14 advantage in first downs and converted almost half of their third downs (5-11).
Blair completed 24 of 34 passes for 180 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Liggett caught six passes for 71 yards and a score. It was the 18th time this season Blair and Liggett connected for a touchdown pass. Luis Salgado ran 11 times for 48 net yards.
Zach Brooks led the defense for the ninth time in ten games with 12 tackles. Daniel McKiernan had a career-high 10 tackles, picked off his fourth pass of the season and was in on one tackle for loss. Omari Williams also had an interception for the Bucs.
Eaton completed 19 of 26 passes for 229 yards, throwing for one score and running for two. He was intercepted twice. Wolfe caught nine passes for 94 yards and a score. Aaron Martinez ran 10 times for 65 yards. Blake Rybar led Linfield's defense with eight stops.
