Cats Win! Linfield doughnut the Lutes Again.

Sorry that this is about a full week late but Wildcat11 has been hit by the cold bug that’s been wildfiring around the Pacific Northwest and I’ve been on a mad dash to wrap up the 2008 Linfield Highlight DVD for the team banquet that was held this past Thursday night. However a shut out over the Wildcat’s long time rival deserves a recap.

The Good

-Finishing Strong. All phases of the game were clicking last Saturday and that is a direct result of the Senior leadership on this year’s team. After the ‘Cats playoff hopes were dashed it would have been very easy for any team to lay down for the rest of the season and after a hang over game up at UPS the ‘Cats snapped out of their funk and put out two fine efforts to finish out the year.

-Travis Masters. If you are a senior that is the way that you want to go out. The 1^st team all-NWC receiver was masterful (excuse the pun) on the day in rushing for 135 yards, receiving for 79 yards, and racking up another 59 yards on one kick off return and scoring two touchdowns (one rushing, one receiving). Doing the quick math that is a total day of 273 yards of offensive output. Very nice.

-Offensive Line. The big boys once again set the tempo for the ‘Cats offense and helped pile up 494 yards of total offense. The ‘Cats rushed for an avg 7.4 yards, 3 for 3 in red zone chances, and only had to punt 3 times on the day.

-Cole Franklin. Usually when we talk about Cole it’s about his ability to create with his feet but it was Cole’s arm that was the weapon for Linfield. The quarterback was 15-26 for 194 yards and laid out two super impressive touchdown passes. As he matures as a passer it will make his scramble ability that much more of a weapon.

-Total Defense. Just awesome on the day. Linfield shut out PLU for the 2^nd consecutive year and just dominated PLU in every single aspect. The ‘Lutes only had 2 net rushing yards on the day and would have been in the negative is not for a scramble on the last PLU possession of the day. Linfield’s young defensive backfield had another impressive performance in corralling a solid PLU receiving corp.

-Defensive Line. 9 Sacks. A major strength of Linfield all season long was the play of the defensive line and on the last game of the season they showcased their talent in just making PLU’s passing game miserable. The 9 sacks were spread out over 6 different defenders and being former Linfield defensive lineman I couldn’t have been happier.

The Bad.

None. 45-0 over the ‘Lutes and there is nothing I can pick on in terms of poor performance.

The Ugly.

I would talk about the old carpet at Sparks Stadium but that was a replaced with a new field turf rug and a new scoreboard. The upgrade was needed and it really gave Sparks a fresh feeling to it. PLU is at a disadvantage in not having a true home stadium and I think PLU knows it and I wouldn’t be surprised if in the next few years they will be breaking ground on their campus in Parkland.

Great job 'Cats!