Northwest Conference

[warhawk78]

TDT  do you know how to define FEAR !!  not regular fear, not football fear, but the fear that if her dad only knew etc !!  That fear, thats the fear you would feel to your core, if I had a daughter and if you dated her !!



GHC  out

yeah he would know that fear because I would fly 8,000 miles just to stab him in the neck or smother him with horrible jacket

[wildcat11]

smother him with horrible jacket

I love the fact that TDT's jacket has gone to legend status.  It's now the Seinfeld puffy shirt of the D3 boards.

[desertcat1]

A great big thank you to all the veterans and current service men and women out there for all you are doing ....

God Bless you all...

Go Cats

[coco]

That's right, desertcat!

Thanks to our veterans and those presently serving. You people are inspiring and so are your families.

[grouchygramps]

This is really exciting. Going into the playoffs. Of coarse, I m happy for my grandson who will be playing in the playoffs after missing a good part of the season with a broken collarbone. I am excited for him and hope he does well. Go Cats. Keep the winning streak alive.

[BearcatFan]

Time for a restaurant review.
 
Mrs. C and I were up at Mt. Hood on Sunday with her brother and his wife and we went to dinner at their favorite restaurant in Welches, a place called the Rendezvous Grill. Mrs. C and I were wearing Linfield gear and one of the servers mentioned that the son of the owners plays football at Linfield. The owner came over to speak to us later -- a great guy who was also wearing a Linfield sweatshirt. His son is an O lineman who loves Linfield and the football program and he (the dad) likes the D3 philosophy. Wildcats are everywhere!

The food at this restaurant is outstanding! We highly recommend it. It's on the left side of Hwy. 26 as you're headed up to Mt. Hood, in a small mall.

We'll miss you, PPJ, but maybe we'll see you the following weekend.
Way to go, Cat Dad, bringing the spectators.

Never take the Lutes for granted.

Go Wildcats!

A second positive note for the Rendezvous Grill. I've been a lifelong homeowner in the Mt Hood area (parents bought property there in 1964), and I can say that they offer some of the best food and service in the Hoodland area. All the local restaurants up there do a great job, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend any of them.

Go Bearcats!

[criswyly]

Cats 42
PLU 24

[Bearcat Press]

LIGHTNING, THUNDER CAN'T STOP DOMINANT WILLAMETTE

Tim Walsh
Sports Editor
 
With the third quarter winding down and Willamette driving deep in Puget Sound territory, an ominous black cloud darkened the sky at Baker Stadium in Tacoma. As lightning crackled in the distance and the period came to a close game, officials ordered the players off the field.

In doing so, they accomplished something UPS failed to do all day: stopping Willamette’s offense.

Putting to rest any question of a “Linfield hangover,” the Bearcats turned in their most dominant performance of the year, a 50-6 win over hapless Puget Sound. Willamette (7-2, 4-1 Northwest Conference) rolled up 552 yards of offense, held UPS (0-8, 0-5) to just 125 yards, and cruised to a statement win that bumped them up to 22nd in D3football.com’s poll.

“I was really proud of how we played,” Head Coach Mark Speckman said. “For a while it looked like we were wearing cleats and they weren’t.”

Conditions on Baker Stadium’s natural grass surface could hardly have been worse – several hours of rain had almost completely washed out the “PS” logo at midfield by game time. But a cold, dry wind was blowing at kickoff, and after holding Puget Sound to a three-and-out, the Bearcats marched 70 yards in 13 plays on a textbook opening drive to take a 7-0 lead.

In a sign of things to come, Scott Schoettgen caught four passes from Brian Widing – including the touchdown – as UPS’ young, undersized defensive backs struggled with Schoettgen’s height and speed.

“We liked our match-ups,” Speckman said. “They’re pretty young on the perimeter, and we took advantage of it.”

A second Willamette drive went 64 yards in nine plays, capped off by Jamiere Abney’s three yard touchdown run. But the most important moment on the possession might have been Widing’s heady play on fourth down at the UPS three, where the freshman’s quick thinking got the ball snapped just before the play clock expired.

Backup Kevin Ramay took over to start the second quarter, but his first possession stalled, and Mitchell Rowan’s field goal was wide left. But the Bearcats were moving the ball at will, and Willamette’s next possession saw Schoettgen make a terrific adjustment to an underthrown pass in the end zone, putting the Bearcats on top 21-0. A later underthrown pass was picked off, but Ramay later led a superb two-minute drill that gave Willamette a 28-0 halftime lead on an acrobatic, twisting catch by Schoettgen.

However, the real story of the first half was Willamette’s defense, which held the Loggers’ to two first downs, six punts and 38 yards in the entire period. Despite the Loggers employing two different offensive sets, the Bearcat front seven refused to bite on any fakes, leveling both Puget Sound quarterbacks multiple times during the half.

“When you play UPS, it’s assignment football,” Speckman said, “and our guys played their assignments pretty flawlessly.”

The third quarter saw more of the same: Puget Sound failed to gain even one first down, despite recovering a fumble inside the Willamette 40. The Bearcats, by contrast, tacked on a Mitchell Rowan field goal to stretch the lead to 31-0, and Widing tossed a gorgeous ball over the top to Schoettgen for the receiver's fourth touchdown catch of the day.

But with lightning and thunder looming over the stadium, the teams were sent to their locker rooms at the end of the third period. As the storm drew closer, UPS officials evacuated the stadium itself, and with hail pummeling the field, there was some doubt as to whether the game would continue.

“In all my years playing or coaching, I’ve never seen anything like that,” Speckman said. “It was kind of a surreal deal.”

The storm abated, however, and inside Puget Sound’s Memorial Fieldhouse, officials and coaches decided to resume the game after an hour-long delay. Jake Turner finished off the Bearcats’ interrupted drive with a touchdown, and a number of backups saw playing time on Willamette’s final possession, which Jose Green finished with a two-yard scamper. Between the two Bearcat scores, the Loggers picked up two of their six total first downs and 51 of their 125 yards of offense, scoring their only touchdown of the day.

In spite of the weather, Widing and Ramay finished a combined 21-31 for 333 yards and four touchdowns – all to Schoettgen, who out gained the entire UPS offense with 135 yards receiving. Behind it all, of course, was the Bearcats’ defense, led by a dominant line and outstanding linebackers. Perhaps most remarkably, not one individual defensive player delivered a standout performance – gang tackling and team defense were hallmarks of the game.

“It really is tough to single out any one of those guys,” Speckman said. “It was just a solid performance all around.”

[Bearcat Press]

GAME DAY #10:
#22 Willamette Bearcats vs. Menlo Oaks

WHEN: 12:00 p.m. Saturday

WHERE: Conner Athletic Field; Atherton, California

RECORDS: #22 Willamette 7-2, 4-1 NWC; Menlo 4-5, 3-2 NWC

ON THE AIR: Webcast at www.willamette.edu/athletics

BRIEFLY: The Bearcats remain an outside shot for NCAA playoff consideration, pending a number of outcomes in the final week of the season. Despite an earlier ban on playoff discussion, Speckman says it is impossible to ignore.

“You can’t really put it out of your mind,” Speckman said. “It’s frustrating. We’re better than some teams that are probably going to make it ... but we lost control of our own chances against Linfield.  We’re ready, though, if we get the call.”

Of course, in order to merit any playoff consideration at all, Willamette first has to beat Menlo, an NWC enigma over the past several weeks. Defensively solid all year long, the Oaks’ offense has had difficulty finding a rhythm after losing starting quarterback Nick Ruhl for the season in their game against Linfield. Without Ruhl, Menlo did score an impressive 14-10 win at Whitworth on Oct. 24, but just one week later struggled to get past Lewis & Clark at home.

“They’re athletic, and they’ve got a very good defense,” Speckman said. “I think they’re struggling a little bit to find an offensive identity.”

For Speckman in particular, games in Atherton have a special significance: an alumnus of Menlo from its days as a junior college, Speckman was inducted into the Oaks’ Hall of Fame this fall.

“It’s fun to go back. I look up and see my dorm room, where I did my work study ... it’s a bizarre little place.”

[cawcdad]

As always, very good articles BCP. Are travelling down to the Bay area? I would enjoy meeting you.

[D O.C.]

TC MIAC

He just goes board to board, looking to right perceived slights of the mightly Central Dutch.  You know, kinda like you and Linfield.

Do not take this as a perceived slight but we can hear the johns gritting their teeth on this side of the rockies about this seeding stuff because we all know your best defensive player is crippled (and we are sorry to see that) and the man behind the curtain does not want to play an away game because the team as a whole is not as strong as you would like to send into battle with really good teams.

I will now go post this own the NWC board to ease your grit.

[Gig Harbor Cat]

So is Simon back this week ?

[Touchdown Tommy]

I'd be more concerned about that 'Cat Defense GHC.  They appear to be porous like swiss cheese...

[MonroviaCat]

I'd be more concerned about that 'Cat Defense GHC.  They appear to be porous like swiss cheese...

Ah...but isn't the best Defense a good Offense?

[D O.C.]

Another Division III moment from the LINFIELD website

http://www.linfield.edu/sports/release.php?id=3191