Game 3 Preview: Linfield at Menlo

We're going back to 'Cali, Cali...Going back to 'Cali...I don't think so. Sorry Uncle L but Linfield is going back to 'Cali and this time the 'Cats are headed down to the South Bay Area for Linfield's NWC opener vs the Menlo College Oaks.

This is game number 3 in the incredibly long "Linfield West Coast Road Trip" and I have to tell you that I'm not expecting this to be a sure thing for our 'Cats. Yeah, Menlo is 1-3 but the Oaks have shown significant improvement in their passing attack and overall offense in each game and the Oaks have a big physical offensive front. Mix in the fact Linfield is coming off their second really long road trip and headed to a "facility" where Linfield has had some issues in the past and we could have a ball game.

Wildcat11 will try his best to get to the field by kickoff as I'm flying down Saturday morning for a noon kickoff and I'm really looking forward to see if Linfield takes another step forward in their march towards a potential NWC Crown.

Get to Know an Oak: #21 Boo Molinary (Defensive Back)

Hometown: San Diego, California

High School: Scripps Ranch High School

Vitals: 5'8", 190 lbs.

Current Stats: Played in 3 out of 4 games, 24 tackles (tied for 2nd on team), 2.5 tackles for loss, 1 pass break up

A Fan of: Texting, Cookie Dough, Mexican Food, Sour Patch Watermelon

TV Shows: Doug, Fresh Price of Bel Air, Rocko's Modern Life

Figures you Admire: God, Darren Sproles, Will Smith, Megan Foxx

Favorite Place To Eat: In N Out Burger

After last week I thought that we should also get to know one of your Linfield Wildcats each week too so here is our first "Get to know a Wildcat"

Get to Know a Wildcat: #63 Joe Schelsky (Offensive Guard)

Class: Senior

Hometown: Tualatin, Ore.

High School: Tualatin High School

Major: Business

Favorite Place in Mac to eat: Golden Valley Brew Pub

Favorite Movie: Remember The Titans

Favorite Music: Rap, hip-hop, and you gotta love that country-GET' R' DONE'

Favorite TV Show: Two and a half men: Big bang theory, CSI, Entourage, Dexter

Favorite Pro Football Team: Gotta support the Seahawks

Cookies or Ice Cream: Cookie dough Ice cream

Dog or Cat: Dog for sure

Xbox, PS3, or Wii: Xbox

Mac or PC: Mac

Favorite Coach Hire saying: Take out the trash!

Yes or no on Linfield's All-Purple Uni combo: Yes on the all purple i think we should wear knee high purple socks with them.

Wildcat11's Key To Victory:

-Don't Be Satisfied with Good Start: The 'Cats have started out great but there is now a new challenge: how does this group handle the early season success? Is it just more fuel for the fire or does this cause the team to start phoning it in? Being around this group my gut says they're not satisfied with just a good start but they're going to keep working hard to get better but this game vs Menlo isn't a "in the bag" contest. Linfield has to work through the issues of being on the road for ANOTHER long road trip and come ready to play or Menlo is going to have surprise in store for our 'Cats.

-Have to Pressure and Pester Oaks Quarterback Nick Ruhl: The Junior transfer from Stanford has gained his footing and has displayed a strong and accurate arm for the Oaks so far this season. After getting off to a slow start vs Occidental, the Quarterback has thrown for 243, 201, and a 2009 NWC best 361 yards last week vs Whittier. The Oaks offense is built around the passing game and the 'Cats defensive line HAS to get the job done without needing extra blitzers. If we can get pressure with the front 4 the 'Cats will be in good shape.

-Get The 'Cat Backs Running: Linfield should be able to run the ball vs the Oaks defense and this is another must in order to control the clock and to help allow the Cats receiving game to operate.

-Try to limit James Bassett and Kenny Cavness: They are Menlo's 1-2 punch at wide receiver and are pretty darn good football players. The 28 year old Bassett is a big and physical target and the Cavness is a super frosh out of the bay area. The 'Cats Defensive Backs are one again going to get tested and they have to be up for the job this weekend.

-Don't let Menlo stay in the game: The most dangerous thing you can do on the road vs a team you should beat on paper is allow them to hang around late in the game. If Linfield has the chance to put them away they better close the door and not give the Oaks life down the stretch. I want to see Linfield get a lead and CLOSE THE SHOW this weekend.

Overall.

-'Cats by 14. Menlo is getting better each week and I think they are going to be a stiff test for the 'Cats in their NWC opener. Linfield has to have their road warrior cap on and ready to battle this weekend. Menlo is a difficult place to place because of the facilities are bunk. Linfield has to set up a make-shift outdoor locker room for half time, it's muggy during the day, and did I mention it's another long road trip? If Linfield can continue to play and improve like they have the past few contests then there is no reason why the 'Cats can control this contest from start to finish but I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't some adversity this weekend. Looking forward to it. Go 'Cats!

SOU Post Game Interview Defense

OK...YouTube was finally able to get on track so here are the post game interviews with our defensive 'Cats. We talked with Rover Steven Dark, DT Scotty Ray and Safety Drew Fisher. Can somebody give me a count on how many times I say "Tell me a little bit about..."

SOU Recruiting Video

Sorry, I know that I posted this up last year but this video is just too good. Best line: "HAVE YOU EVER SCORED THE GAME WINNING TOUCHDOWN FOR SOU??!!!!! I haven't either but his year I will!" Enjoy and Go Raiders!

'Cats Win! Linfield plunder the Raiders for a big 37-21 victory.

The 'Cats bussed down to Raider Stadium and the smoke that filled the Southern Oregon air was foreshadowing as the 'Cats came out on fire and burned the SOU Raiders with a convincing 37-21 victory. As we've mentioned before Linfield and Southern Oregon have had some very tight and close fought games in the past. However, Saturday night was neither of those as the 'Cats opened up a huge first half lead and then proceeded to turn away SOU as the Raiders tried to make it a contest in the 2nd half.

It was just an overall good performance by the 'Cats who are in the middle of a meat grinding schedule with another long road trip. I was concerned about where the team would would emotionally after a draining trip and hard fought win in LA but Linfield was mentally sharp from the get-go. You could tell the Raiders were stunned by the 'Cats as Linfield took an emotionally charged home crowd out of the game early and Linfield never looked back.

The Good:

Take Away Machine: The tone of the evening was set on the very first play from scrimmage as SOU ran a toss sweep that was met with a crushing hit by Safety Drew Fisher. The hit caused a fumble that kicked off Linfield's 6 takeaway night. The Defense really shut SOU down that first half and set up the 'Cats offense with some prime scoring chances. The salty D gets 5 "alrights" from Catdomealumni.com.

Balanced Offense: Fantastic. The offense ran 82 stinkin' plays with 42 of those being run and 40 being pass. Just outstanding. The totals of the night were 170 net rushing yards with 304 passing yards. The 'Cats really had SOU turned around all night as the Raiders were so off balanced by Linfield's spread offense that SOU is very fortunate Linfield didn't put up 50 on the night.

Defense on 3rd and 4th down: This was a category that I slotted in "The Bad" last week vs Oxy. This week the 'Cats defense only gave up 4 out of 9 3rd down conversions and blanked SOU 0-2 on 4th down. A very good turn around and effort by the 'Cats Defense.

1st Unit Defense only giving up 205 total yards: SOU had 285 yards of total offense but the Raiders racked up 80 of those yards vs our young bucks in a late 4th quarter drive. Take away that 12 play drive and SOU only had 205 total yards on 46 offensive plays. A very solid night by the defense.

Offensive Line and Williams, Abbott, and Avritt: A big question coming into the game was how the running game would be effected by the loss of starting running back, Simon Lamson, but the 'Cat backs responded with a fine performance. SOU was big, physical, and fast but the offensive line was great all night long in providing lanes for the hard running of Aaron Williams who racked up 101 net rushing yards on the night (including some highlight reel runs). Also, I think Kevin Abbott and Taylor Avritt took their opportunity to shine and made good on the chance to tote the rock. Both running backs did a good job in filling that 2nd RB spot in showing some pop with hitting the hole. Both of these backs are going to play a major role in the rushing attacking going forward.

WR core making plays: Aaron Boehme and the WR core is on the same page. No doubt about it and the 'Cats receivers were outstanding in making plays down field, diving for balls, and busting backside in blocking down field. These guys work hard and it shows. Great job boys.

Scout Team: A shout out to the 'Cats who may not get the press or PT at this point of their careers but I had multiple 'Cats comment on the great of look the scout team provided the week leading up to SOU. Scout Team is the unsung hero of the Linfield program and it has been for years. Any Scout Team'er that reads this just know that many of us former/current 'Cats know what you mean to the program and we appreciate what you guys do.

The Bad:

Again, this is hard because the 'Cats played very well. This is like WC11 criticizing a double cheeseburger from the Deluxe. Maybe they could have added a extra sprinkle of salt on my fires or the burger could have been more delicious. Just keep that in mind when you read my "bads" below. There are always areas to get better in...even a Deluxe burger.

Big play on Kickoff coverage: It was no secret that SOU is very good on special teams but the only offense SOU was able to produce in that first half was a big kickoff return that almost went to the house. Linfield faces some very good special teams programs in the NWC so we have to keep fine tuning this group. The rest of the night the coverage was good but Linfield should be disappointed they gave up even one big return.

Boehme's jersey was too dirty: I love our offensive line...I really do but there was too much green on Boehme's white jersey for my liking. Linfield gave up zero sacks on the night but SOU was able to put some solid hits on our QB. I understand the QB is going to get hit during a game...it's football. However, I would just like to see him get hit not as much. The O-line has permission to give WC11 dirty looks next time I'm around the 'Catdome.

Giving up the second 100 yard rusher on the season: The first half the 'Cats defense did a great job vs the SOU rushing attack but SOU was able to break free at times during the 2nd half. Baldwin is a good running back but the defense shouldn't be satisfied in giving up 145 rush yards to the Raider Sophomore. In fact this is the 2nd 100 yard rusher in 3 games the 'Cats have allowed. I would love to not see this happen during the rest of the season.

The Ugly:

Raider Stadium's visitors sideline footing: Holy cow, I forgot just how freaking bad the visiting team's sideline is. There is a big gray canvas that covers the entire SOU visitor's sideline but what you don't see is that under that are two long jump pit area right in area of the 50 yard line. They cover the long jump pits with plywood and what you get is a broken ankle in waiting if you're not careful. Seriously, a page with braille is 100X smoother than that surface.

Raider Stadium has an awesome backdrop for football but the place needs some serious work. The visitors grandstand feels like the wood is rotting and could collapse at any moment, a once fine sod surface was in horrible shape (only after 2 previous early season home game) and then you add in that sideline situation. It's really too bad because that facility has a ton of potential to be a real small college gem but it just feels run down.

SOU Post Game Interviews or the "Tell me a little bit" interviews

WC11 thinks that I'm going to have to start to call these the "Tell me a little bit about" post-game interviews because I think that I ask that about 2,000 times in the post-game interviews that I've ran so far. I swear that I'll work on that for future on-the-spot interviews. Hopefully nobody plays a drinking game where they have to take a shot after every time I say "Tell me a little bit about" or said person would wind up at the hospital getting their stomach pumped.

Anyways..the YouTube video of the defense is having some issues so I'll have to get that fix later tonight. In the meantime we talked to running back Kevin Abbott who did a great job with Taylor Avritt in filling that 2nd running back slot. We also chatted up Senior offensive guard Kyle Otineru.

Around The Catdome'Oshere

Holy smokes we have a number of stories to catch you up with. Again, I'm sorry that I missed you last week but I was on in the air and on the road headed down to LA. Some good stuff around the NWC and a couple of other articles I thought you all would enjoy. I'll try to tweet on Saturday as I head down to Ashland with the 'Cats. Be sure to check out the twitter feed on the right of the page or follow catdomealumni.com at: http://www.twitter.com/catdomealumni

NewsRegister: 'Cats get In N Out of LA with a win over Oxy.

Ashland Daily Tidings: Linfield game a "better not lose" game for Raiders.

Oregonlive.com: Boehme does a little bit over everything in 'Cats win.

The Pacific Index: Boxers trying to bring football to new Lincoln Park complex.

Honoluluadvertiser.com: Pacific trying to build football base from Island talent.

Ventura County Star: A tough start won't stop Willamette's Whitcomb (ummm...I don't think think they got the news yet)

Bearcat Press via D3boards.com: "Team Effort" helps Willamette snake out a win.

Mail Tribune: Raiders miscues lead to loss to Willamette

The News Tribune: PLU is off to an ugly start.

The Mast: Coach Westering says 'Lutes offense improved in 49-7 loss.

The News Tribune: Headline says it all: Loggers' offense struggles

Royal Purple News: UWW should be ready to absolutely pound the Loggers to dust.

Times-Standard: Humboldt States jacks the Oaks 44-16

Whitworthian: Rats almost bite Redlands late.

The Sun: Once again, Maynard and his Bulldogs gets the best of Whitworth.

Of Interest:

greatfallstribune.com: NAIA, NCAA merger a possibility?

The Vancouver Sun :Simon Fraser University will become an NCAA DII member starting next season.

NWC Pick 'em: Week 4

I think it's pretty much safe to say that my picking skills this year stink. My faith in Lewis & Clark was not rewarded and my hate for Saint John's had me feeling that the Cobbers could get it done but no...those freaking Johnnies rolled. Anyways..I'm still in the bottom half of the NWC Pick 'em race. Maddy is just few pegs downs but not in last and Mack actually fell a place into 3rd. My gut feeling is that Mack is going to have a bad week with his picks. His sniffer must have been on the fritz and Maddy actually had the guts to pick UPS over Whitewater and SOU over Linfield. Needless to say that I made her sleep outside last night for disrespecting the 'Cats. Bad girl! Enough of my running of the mouth and let's get to the picks.

Rats over Chapman: Even though the Rats dropped a game to Redlands they showed life in the 2nd half. Chapman should give the Rats a close game but I'll take them to defend the Pine Bowl.

Menlo over Whittier: Whittier has had one game under their belt while Menlo is going into game number 4 on their season. While the Oaks have been struggling on offense I think we'll see an improved effort and a close win down in LA.

Willamette vs LaVerne: Willamett's defense will be too much for LaVerne and the Bearcats will slowly pull away as the game goes along.

UW-Whitewater vs Puget Sound: Seriously, Puget Sound should just send a white flag in their place to save both teams the trouble. Whitewater would be better off having an inter-squad scrimmage. The Loggers offense is horrible and is facing on of the top defenses in Division III. This could get really ugly.

West Region game of the week (IIAC Showdown):
#15 Central over Coe: I'll take the Dutch at home over the Coe-hawks. Central seems to be on a bit of a roll to start the year and that should continue.

National Game of the Week:
#9 Ohio Northern over #18 Otterbein: I know basically nothing about either of these teams so I'm just going to base my pick on the ranking (like a sucker).

Mack's Pick: 'Cats over SOU (Good boy!), LaVerne over Willamette, Menlo over Whittier, Chapman over Rats, UWW over Rats, Central over Coe, Otterbein over Ohio Northern

Maddy's Pick: SOU over 'Cats (Bad Girl!), LaVerne over Willamette, Menlo over Whittier, Chapman over Rats, UPS over UWW, Coe over Central, Otterbein over Ohio Northern

Game 3 Preview: Linfield @ Southern Oregon

A tough and physical game awaits our Linfield Wildcats this Saturday night at 6pm in Ashland, Oregon. The ‘Cats will head south on I-5 to take on long standing non-DIII rival Southern Oregon (NAIA – Independent). Don’t let the 1-2 record of SOU fool you for one second…this isn’t a 1-2 team. Southern started off the year by coming back on Eastern Oregon (3-1 and just cracked the NAIA top 25), understandably lost to I-AA Portland State (but created 6 turnovers vs PSU), and just dropped another heart breaker to a good Willamette team. In playing a different schedule or have the breaks fall another way, SOU could easily be sitting on 3-0.

While Linfield has been able to string together seven consecutive wins over the Raiders it hasn’t been easy. In fact, it’s been rather remarkable considering that SOU/Linfield has gone to overtime twice and have had multiple games come down to the wire since 2000. It has been a battle just about every single time out and I expect the same type of game this weekend.

Southern Oregon is big, fast, athletic, and is going to want to punch Linfield in the mouth to close out their 2009 home schedule (yeah, only three home games and they are done in September…crazy). Linfield has to be mentally ready to execute the staff's game plan and make plays if our ‘Cats want to leave the Rogue Valley with a win. I love the SOU/Linfield games but I’m already in knots thinking about the contest. In fact, Wildcat11 is going to take a break and grab some Mylanta.

Get to Know A Raider: Senior Offensive Lineman, Jordan Myers
Why only get to know the backs? Let's start to dig into the big fellas up front and SOU has plenty of earth movers we could choose from but WC11 decided that Jordan Myers would be the guy because he is the anchor and main cog of the Raider line. The coaching staff and players are well aware of Myers' ability and respect the big fella.

Vitals: #67, 6' 7", 275 lbs. Senior (Jordan is a big dude)

Hometown: Estacada, Oregon

High School: Estacada High

Honors: Named NAIA All-Independant for 2008 Season, this is his forth year as a starter

General Interests: Football, Hanging out at the river with his buddies (With Jordan on those but there isn't really a good river near my house to hang out at so I'll just have to go to the Deluxe instead)

Music: Rap, Rock, and a little bit of Country (WC11 is on that script 100%)

Movies:Cinderella Man, CRASH, Anchor Man, Super Troopers (Dig Anchor Man but I thought Super Troopers was a little overrated (The Meow bit was great).

TV: Nip/Tuck, ESPN, ESPN2, MTV, MTV2, VH1 (Nip/Tuck is one show that Jordan and I are going to have to disagree on. Hate that show but I like NCIS so what do I really know about good TV?)

Info taken from Jordan's Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/jordanmj

Wildcat11’s Keys to Victory:

MUST limit running back Brandon Baldwin: The Sophomore transfer from Shasta College has been the work horse early in the Raiders season. Baldwin racked up 195 yards vs. Eastern Oregon and had 171 yards vs Willamette (on top of that a 60 yard TD run was called back on a penalty away from the play). SOU will throw the ball often but the key for that offense is feeding Baldwin and pounding the defense up front. Linfield has been strong against the run but we have played against two spread offenses that were heavy on the pass and outside hitting run plays. This will be the test on if our young defensive line and outstanding linebackers can stand up to the SOU line and a strong tailback. This is a huge key of the game.

Have to be able to run the ball: While stopping the SOU rush attack is vital for Linfield, just as important is the ‘Cats ability to run the ball. SOU has been stiff against their first two "like opponents" (EOU and Willamette) in surrendering only 3.5 yards a carry. Aaron Williams will step into the starting roll for injured Simon Lamson but Williams has shown so far this early season he’s a capable big play hitter. The question for the ‘Cats offense is who will step up and perform as the 2nd running back?

Be great Tacklers: This could have been folded into the defensive point above but I wanted to break it out to really spotlight the importance of this basic football fundamental. If we miss tackles and don’t rally to the ball the Raiders will make Linfield pay. The better we tackle the harder we’re going to make the Raider offense work.

Be special on special teams: SOU has blocked punts and PATs so far on the year. The Raiders have been solid on special team but Linfield has to be better. The ‘Cats have been much improved this season on special teams and I like the aggressiveness of the unit. This is the type of game where a breakdown in special teams by either team could play a pivotal role in the outcome. Let’s make sure the ‘Cats are not the one with the break down.

Linfield WR’s vs SOU’s DBs: The ‘Cats Wide Receivers have been great so far this early season. They’ve made plays but this week is different. The WR core will be paired against the best collection of DBs the might face all year long. Linfield is going to have to be able to make plays in the passing game to help loosen up the running lanes so it’s up to the WR core to step up to the challenge and get down and dirty.

Road Warrior mentality: For the second week in a row the ‘Cats have a long road trip. Last week was by plane and this week by bus. The ‘Cats cannot wait for a half to start playing Linfield football. Again, I’m not saying Linfield needs to come out sky high on emotion but the ‘Cats just need to be wound to that right tension baby. Be ready to ride the wave of SOU emotion, settle in, and then play Wildcat football for 60 minutes.

Overall

‘Cats by 7. This might just be the biggest test yet in this young season. If Linfield can remain balanced on offense and do a respectful job vs the fantastic SOU run game then I do like the ‘Cats chances of pulling out a well earned win. It should be an electric atmosphere as these two teams have played classic after classic. Let’s just hope Linfield has a focused week of practice and comes with their lunch pail and hard hat in hand.

Game 3: Linfield @ Southern Oregon Google Map

VIEW IN FULL SIZE CLICK HERE

If you live within driving distance to Ashland, Oregon you SHOULD make the effort to make the trip down to what should be another in a long line of hard fought and close Southern Oregon vs Linfield games. Raiders Stadium is a tough place to play and when you compound the fact that this is the last home game for SOU on the year (for real) that should make the emotion of Saturday even more intense.

Of course Catdomealumni.com will be headed south on I-5 to the base of the Siskiyou Mountain range to take in the action and once again I have my travel buddy (The 2009 Linfield Football Google Map Schedule) to help me along the way.

Remember to view the information all you have to do in move your mouse over the Wildcat with a "2" on it and click. A information bubble will pop up that will give you the run down. If you want to view the Wildcats' 2009 schedule on a bigger page just click on the link right below the map.

Don't forget to wear something warm because it does cool down pretty fast once that sun sets in Ashland.

'Cats Win! Linfield grabs a Tiger by its tail for the 31-26 victory.

Sorry we're late but WC11 has been in catch up mode. The opening leg of the ‘Cats “West Coast Road Trip” was a nail biter as the ‘Cats gave the Occidental Tigers their first non-conference home loss since 1999 and help add to the ‘Cats resume for a potential 2009 post-season invite. The 31-27 win wasn’t easy as the Tigers took a 14-6 lead into the half to only see Linfield make adjustments and come out firing out of the break. Like I wrote in the Oxy/Linfield game preview; these long road games are not easy at all. The ‘Cats faced down a well coached and tough team and still came out the victor. Are there things that the ‘Cats would have loved to do better? Sure, that’s why I have The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, but the bottom line is that Linfield won and knocked off their second straight top 25 DIII team in a row. It was great night to be a Wildcat and I’m just happy to be back in the cooler and greener confines of the Pacific Northwest.

The Good:

Winning in a hostile environment: You know that you have a group with character when you take a long road trip, things are not going well, but the team rallies to take control of the game and still has enough left in the tank to hold off one last rally. There was a major serving of momentum that Oxy was carrying into the half and I was very curious to see how the ‘Cats responded. Well, we know how that went. It was a great job by the staff and players and getting together and getting back in the game.

Rush Defense: The ‘Cats defense held Oxy’s All-SCIAC running back, Jason Haller, to 6 net yards on 11 rushes. Oxy’s quarterback, Scott Saunders, did manage to pick up 49 rushing yards but most of that came off the scramble. It was no dice when Oxy lined up Tiger for ‘Cat and tried to impose their running will. I don’t have a Tiger record book in front of me but I’m sure it’s not too often when Occidental is held to 55 total rushing yards.

Rushing Offense: Excellent. Oxy had some legit speed up front and could cover pretty well sideline to sideline but as the game went on the big fellas up front and hard running of Simon Lamson, Aaron Williams, and a dash of Aaron Bohme started to stretch into some big runs. At the end of the day, Linfield almost rushed it for a 5 yard a pop average and piled up 191 net rush yards. I loved that Linfield stuck with the run as it paid huge dividends.

Kicker Maika Kunioka: The smallest Wildcat on the roster had a big impact on the game Saturday. The 5-5, 120 lbs Freshman from Mililani, Hawaii booted home a pivotal 27 yard field goal early in the 3rd quarter and 3 of 4 on PATS (the one PAT miss was a bad snap). In a situation where Coach Smith could have easily kept the offense on the field on 4th and goal but instead his faith in Kunioka was rewarded by a shot down the middle that inched the ‘Cats closer to Oxy.

Punter Tommy George: In only his second game action, Tommy George, came though all game long with long punt after long punt. The Senior had 6 punts during the evening with a 31.8 average with a key punt within the 10 that pinned Oxy. For only his second game punting it was a fine effort effort from our older/new ‘Cat.

The Bad:

3rd down stops: Monrovia Cat from the D3boards beat me to the punch here but Oxy was able to keep their night alive by converting some long and key 3rd down conversions. I don’t want to say this was “bad” but this one falls into the “could do better” category because the ‘Cats did slam the door on 3rd down a number of times but it just seemed like the ‘Cats were “this close” to wrapping up Saunders in the backfield but he was able to slip away and keep plays alive.

Pressure leaks: Again, this falls into the “could do better” than the “bad” category. I don’t know the game plan but it seemed like Oxy gave the ‘Cats a different look early on in the game because there seemed to be some misreads with the Oxy blitz and they were able to hammer away at Boehme. As the game went along those leaks were sealed up and allowed the passing game to start clicking.

First Half Flats: I don’t know if this was more of a case of Oxy’s game plan, Linfield’s readiness, or a combination of both but it took a half to really get the ‘Cats going and that cannot be something that forms into a habit. Linfield really has to flush that first half because coming out flat in future games is the preverbal playing with fire and the ‘Cats will eventually get burned if the slow starts continue.

The Ugly:

The Lamson Injury: As all of the Linfield faithful knows by now our starting running back, Simon Lamson, broke his clavicle on what Lamson said was a clean hard hit. Early estimation said 4-6 weeks on the shelf before the possibility of a return. The crazy part it was one of the last stinking plays of the game when it happened. Simon took a good amount of crap last year for putting the ball on the turf a little too much but instead of shrinking from it the kid took the challenge, earned the starting job this fall, and had really shown some great improvement and hardnosed running before getting hurt. That tells me all I need to know about Simon as I’m sure he’s going to put in the work needed to get healthy and back for the ‘Cats. Like last week with Hardin-Simmons, you hate seeing these kids get injured especially after how hard they have worked but that is part of the game of football. I’m looking forward to seeing which ‘Cat Back takes this opportunity and runs with it. (pun intended)

NWC Week 3 Pick 'Em Contest

It's time for the weekly NWC pick 'em contest. Right now old Wildcat11 is in a vortex of suck as little Maddy Lou and myself are holding down the fort near the bottom of the leader board. Wildcat11 is at the 13th spot (out of 17) and Maddy is dead last. However, there is some good news. Mack has had a very strong start and currently sits in 2nd place overall. If he keeps this up I may scrap the NWC pick 'em and have Mack start picking NFL games against the spread. All right, enough of this lets get to my weekly picks (at your own risk):

Week 3 Picks:

Claremont-Mudd-Scripts over Puget Sound. Wow I can't believe that I just typed that but Puget Sound left me with no other option after losing at home to freaking Pomona-Pitzer. I knew the UPS offense was going to be bad but the Loggers could only pick up 13 first downs vs P-P. That doesn't bode well for their SoCal trip.

Humboldt State over Menlo. While the Oaks defense has been decent so far this season Menlo's offense has only managed 7 points in two games. Humboldt State is an improved DII squad and should hammer Menlo.

Redlands over Whitworth. Adam Anderson sounds like a question mark with his ankle and the Rats number two back is also banged up. Even if Anderson was healthy I think I would still take Redlands here.

Cal Lutheran over Pacific Lutheran. Wow the Lutes really were made to look horrible in their opening contest vs St. Olaf. Now they have to fly down to SoCal and take on a Cal Lutheran squad that hung with Willamette. I'll take the Kingsmen.

Lewis and Clark over Pomona-Pitzer. I'm going to be wrong here but I just wanted to be able to pick the Pios at some point this season. P-P will throw it all over the yard and beat the Pios but I'm picking them out of hope.

SOU over Willamette. I think this should be a good game down in Ashland. The reason I'm picking SOU is that Willamette's offense hasn't started clicking and I know the Raiders are going to want to revenge a close loss to the Bearcats last year. Raider Stadium is a tough place to get it done.

West Region Game Of The Week:

#23 Concordia-Moorehead over #6 Saint John's. This has been a tight rival game over the past few seasons in the MIAC but Concordia has really been playing well to start the year. SJU seems to have knack of pulling this type of game out but I'll take the home team to defend.

D3 Game Of The Week:

#1 Mount Union over #7 Ohio Northern. Please, Mount will once again crush another top ten team without mercy.

Mack and Maddy's weekly picks:

BTW, these two may looks like a good time but they were skunked last Thursday night at 3 am. Mack woke WC11 up to go potty. I took them downstairs and did the typical "skunk check" and as soon as I opened up the slider they went shooting towards the back corner of the yard where Mr. Skunk was chillin' out. Short version of the story, Mr and Mrs. 11 stayed up till about 5 am trying to get the skunk smell off of them with no luck. It's better now but just be thankful this video isn't scratch and sniff because they still have some skunk on them and stink like UPS's offense.

Mack has: Linfield over Oxy (Good Boy!), Mount over Ohio Northern, SJU over Concordia, P-P over L&C, PLU over CLU, CMS over UPS, Menlo over Humboldt, SOU over Willamette, Redlands over Rats,

Maddy has: Linfield over Oxy (Good Girl!), Redlands over Rats, Willamette over SOU, Menlo over Humboldt, CMS over UPS, CLU over PLU, P-P over L&C, SJU over Concordia, Mount over Ohio Northern

Game 2 Preview: Linfield @ Occidental

It’s been four years since Linfield played Occidental College out of Los Angeles. In fact, 2005 is the last time that Linfield has played anyone in the SCIAC as some of our SCIAC brothers have had their dancing shoes on the past couple of years *cough* Redlands *cough*. Regardless, Linfield and Occidental will be matching up for the first time ever in the regular season as the ‘Cats will be looking to run their series record to 3-0 over the Tigers and 11-0 over SCIAC schools since Linfield first started playing the SCIAC back in 1998 (A 24-23 win at Redlands).

Little can be predicted about this Saturday match up using the 2004 and 05 playoff games as there are no players left from those rosters and neither teams has any common opponents to measure against. However, both squads know that there are large implications for the winner and loser in Saturday’s game. For Oxy, it’s a chance to stake claim at possible inside track for a post-season home game if the Tigers can claim another SCIAC title. Also, you know the entire SCIAC will be pulling and rooting for Oxy to take down Linfield and break up the ‘Cats unblemished record vs their SoCal peers. For Linfield, the stakes are just as high as a loss on Saturday would tarnish a great opening game victory over then #4 Hardin-Simmons and start the ‘Cats off on the wrong foot of what is going to be a treacherous 4 games road trip. Linfield’s 2009 season has little margin for error so the ‘Cats can ill afford a loss to Oxy.

Like WC11 mentioned before, we’ll be headed down to the greater LA area to take in the action and make our first trip to Oxy’s Eagle Rock. I’m expecting a great group of California ‘Cats to be at the game and the atmosphere should be electric. I’m ready to drink a Red Bull, grow wings, and fly on down right now.

Get to Know an Oxy Tiger:

Senior Wide Receiver, Trevor Deussen (6’ 3”, 210 lbs)

Hometown: San Jose, Ca

Previous School: Piedmont Hills HS

Most Influential Person in your life: His coach

Why did you choose Occidental: Great academics and sports

Favorite Movies: Braveheart

Favorite Music: Everything

Favorite Foods: Mexican

Favorite Sport: Basketball

Favorite Teams/Athletes: 49ers, Lakers/ Jerry Rice

Favorite TV Shows: ESPN

Favorite Quotes: "Live free or die hard."

Hobbies/Special Talents: Running, reading, writing

YouTube Video:



Wildcat11 Keys To Victory:

Control the Line of Scrimmage. No doubt about it that the ‘Cats need both sides of the ball to perform and compete vs an Oxy team that is going to try to take it right at Linfield on both sides of the ball. When you’re on the road with a short roster the road team has to be able to control the line early in the game because Oxy is going to keep throwing fresh bodies at the ‘Cats. Linfield has to make it their mission to be the more physical team.

Weather the Storm. Just my own feeling here but Oxy is going to be jacked for this game. They’ve had two weeks to do nothing but eat, sleep, and think about this game. This is their home opener and probably one of their biggest non-conference home games in school history. There is going to be a flood of emotion coming from Oxy and the ‘Cats have to be ready to starve off the Tigers till the game settles into a rhythm.

Continued balance offense. A key to Linfield’s explosion last week was the balanced attack of the ‘Cats spread offense. We need another dose of that balance to keep Oxy blitzers off of Boehme and we need the passing game to be efficient to help open holes for Lamson and Williams. If the offense can remain balanced and efficient then I think we should be able to put points up on the end zone.

Travel well. Long road trips are HARD. Linfield knows this from tough losses out in Abilene in 2006 and 2008. There are examples of this all over the place as Willamette went out to Northern Minnesota and were jumped by Concordia. You have to shorten up the roster, drive to PDX, get on a plane for hours, drive through LA on a Friday afternoon while trying to squeeze in the final practice, sleep in a foreign bed. The ‘Cats have to be of a single and focused mission to offset the travel…strictly business. Games vs. top 25 teams are tough enough without getting distracted by being in a different part of the country.

Wildcat11’s prediction:

‘Cats by 10. That pick is based on IF Linfield can build upon what they did last weekend. If Linfield is content with one game and comes out flat then you can throw the pick right out the window because Occidental is going to try to hit Linfield right in the mouth. However, if the ‘Cats come out an execute the game plan and play a clean game there is no reason why they cannot turn a hard fought game into a solid road victory. This is going to be a battle but in the end I love the physical nature of our line play to set the stage for the ‘Cats offensive and defensive backs.

Week 2: Linfield @ Occidental College

VIEW IN FULL SIZE CLICK HERE

Catdomealumni.com is hitting the road and making the trip on down to watch the newly minted #14 Linfield Wildcats play the #21 Occidental Tigers in what should be the Division III National Game of the week. So we need a good travel companion and the Catdomealumni.com Google Map Schedule is a perfect helper to make sure that WC11 finds the game and finds the closest In-N-Out Burger from the Oxy Campus.

Remember to view the informattion all you have to do in move your mouse over the Wildcat with a "2" on it and click. A information bubble will pop up that will give you the run down. If you want to view the Wildcats' 2009 schedule on a bigger page just click on the link right below the map.

Tomorrow we'll have our Wednesday game preview, Thursday will be our NWC Pick 'em post (Mack is killing just about everyone right now), and we'll wrap up on Friday with a trip Around The Catdome'Osphere.

'Cats Win! Linfield rounds up Hardin-Simmons 37-22

(Trevor Patterson Photo Coutsey of: Brad Thompson's 2009 Linfield Football Photos)

Now that was a heck of a performance. Watching Linfield come out, weather the storm, and then take complete control of Saturday’s game vs. #4 ranked Hardin-Simmons was thing of beauty. The 37-22 victory snapped a 3-year opening game losing streak for the ‘Cats (Yeah, I know that is hard to believe but Linfield hasn't exactly been opening with the Pomona-Pitzer’s of the small college football world.) I have to be honest and say that I knew Linfield had the talent and coaching to get it done but I had a question in my mind in just how all of these unproven but talented pieces would fit at kickoff. Needless to say the pieces on Saturday fit pretty darn well.

The frustrating thing for the ‘Catdome the past 3 seasons is that Linfield has been “this close” to winning the NWC title and making a return trip to the NCAA’s. 2006 and 07 I think the ‘Cats turned over the ball to Whitworth about 47 times and still had a shot to win those NWC titles games in the last few moments and then we had the 4th quarter meltdown vs a very good Willamette team last season. But there was just something totally different about the air of believe from this group of ‘Cats on Saturday. They were not too loose or wound too tight but instead they were just at the right tension. Like an old wind up watch just ticking along at a precise and steady pace. (I know all of you old Linfield players have heard the Watch analogy dozens of times) .

The win is an excellent start to the season but not to get all coach-speak here but one game doesn’t mean much if you come back and lay an egg the next week down in what is going to be a heck of battle vs Occidental. Catdomealumni.com will be headed down to LA to take in the action and load up on some In and Out Burgers. Enough of me blabbing away, let’s get to Catdomealumni.com’s “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” of Satruday’s victory.

The Good.

Game Plan Execution. The Linfield players did an incredible job in their game plan execution. Bottom line is that they played as a unit in all three phases of the game, overcame any hiccups, and just wore out and beat up a tough Hardin-Simmons team.

Team Defense. As a former defensive player old WC11’s chest was puffed up with pride after seeing the amount of toughness and pride the defense played with on Saturday. The Linebacking core delivered the leadership, covered well, and kept Feasters scrambling to a minimum once he broke the D-Line’s containment. The defensive line was missing a few potential starters, had a few guys get banged up during the contest, but the players that came in, rose to the challenge and that is something Coach Smith always asks the players that may not be starters: “When you get your opportunity to play, what are you going to do with it?” I think there were some young ‘Cats that proved they are game ready.

Young Secondary steps up. What an opening test for this group as they faced off against one of the best QBs/WR groups in Division III. While HSU did complete 22 of 29 passes, HSU never hit the big play in the air and were picked off twice. This group will get better each week but this sums it up. I saw a former standout cornerback from the 2003-05 Linfield teams towards the end of the game. We chatted for a minute and he said “I’ve heard all summer about how much talent this young group of DBs has and I didn’t know if I should believe it. Well, I’ll tell you what…they are freaking really good. “

The Entire Offensive Unit. WC11 could easily break this down and give kudos to the offensive line, wide receivers, running backs, quarterback, but instead I’ll just point to the whole group and commend them for their play. The group ran 66 offensive plays with 34 rushing attempts and 32 passing attempts. That is the offensive balance that is going to make this group very dangerous and keep opposing defenses off balanced. I loved the way the O-line played, the running backs did an excellent job of being physical and finishing runs, the WR core MADE PLAYS, and Boehme showed why so many folks around the program believe in his leadership and ability. Just a great job.

The Bad.

None this week. I’m sure there are plenty of areas where the ‘Cats staff is going to see and want to improve upon but there was no glaring bad points in Linfield’s performance and I’m not going to be nit-picky.

The Ugly.

HSU injuries. Linfield and Hardin Simmons have played against each other for 4 straight years and that series ended on Saturday. I’ve grown to have a strong respect of the Cowboys and the operation that Coach Keeling runs. They play fast hardnosed football and you have appreciated that. That’s why I was saddened to see HSU’s QB Justin Feasters go down late in the 3rd quarter with an apparent right shoulder injury and that HSU’s starting slot, ZaVious Robbins, also left the game early with a knee injury. Injuries are an unfortunate part of the game and Linfield did sustain some banged up Wildcats too. I just hated to see these fine players not be able to see this game through to the end and the Catdome wishes them a speedy and full recovery.

Trevor Patterson Photo Coutsey of: Brad Thompson's 2009 Linfield Football Photos
Instant Game Highlights: Linfield Sports Flash Player

Hardin Simmons/Linfield Post Game Interview

WC11 will be bring you short post game interviews with players and coaches that I can get to stand in front of the Catdomealumni.com lens. After the fantastic 37-22 Linfield win over #4 Hardin-Simmons we talked to offensive players: Scott Millenbach (OT), Aaron Boehme (QB), Chris Slezak (WR), Trevor Patterson (WR), and Simon Lamson.

Defensively we had the pleasure of speaking with Coach Jackson Vaughan (Def. Cord), Paul Partlow (LB) and Jaymin Jackson (LB). Come back tomorrow and we'll have Catdomealumni.com game recap (The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly)

Around The Catdome'Oshere

We have a ton of stories for you this week and a big block of Hardin Simmons articles. You as a blogger that keeps tabs on the NWC I think there is nothing more that I like than seeing the different personalities of our coaches. Some are pretty reserve and others love to talk about the brain injuries they are piling up on their team. It's just a fun group to cover.

Linfield Sports Spotlight: Cats DE, Ian Estrada is looking to break heads and not his ACL’s

Spokesman Review: HSUs Feaster’s 2nd half sink Rats ship

Abilene News-Reporter: HSU Cowboy’s Up in 2nd half to overcome Whitworth

Krem.com (video): HSU topples Whitworth

San Angelo.com: HSU’s Coach Keeling still kicking butt 74 years in.

Inforum.com: Cobber roomies team up to bounce Willamette from the Top 25

The Oregonian: Injuries mount up on Whitcomb’s legs but that doesn’t shake his confidence

Willamette Collegian: 2009 Willamette Season Preview

Mail Tribune: The Raiders class it “up” with visit to I-AA Portland State

The Tacoma News Tribune: Remembering “Nellie”

The News Tribune: Lutes remember “Nellie” and look to honor his memory in 2009

Mercury News.com: Oaks “O” Craps Out in Opener against Occidental

The News Tribune: UPS may not have many starters but at least they can cause brain injuries to each other during practice.

NWC Pick 'em: Week 2

Well, Wildcat11 didn't start out gangbusters in the D3boards.com week one of the NWC Pick 'em contest. Currently I sit in a 10-way tie for 3rd place so after this week I could either be in 3rd or at the bottom of the barrel. I should have just gone with my gut feeling with the Concordia/Willamette game but that's what I get for giving Willamette the benefit of the doubt. The good news is that Mack had a great week of picks and sits in 2nd. My Border Collie (Maddy) on the other hand is in dead last. That's ok, I think she has a plan on making a comeback.

Wildcat11's Week 2 Picks:

Whitworth over LaVerne: After putting up a fight for one half down in WEST TEXAS, the Rats secondary did a good job guarding the chalklines at Shelton Stadium but forgot to cover many of the Cowboys. However, the Rats get a SCIAC patsy this week to get back that good feeling. Anderson goes wild and Rats pound LaVerne.

PLU over st. Olaf: Again, I'm not going with my gut but I'll take PLU to come out and show something. Yeah, I know St. Olaf cracked Luther 33-13 but Luther is horrible. I have no idea if PLU is going to be better this year but we'll find out in a hurry.

Puget Sound over Pomona Pitzer - UPS could be bad this year and the only reason I don't say horrible is because the Loggers have Kavin Williams back at QB. However Williams has zero returning offensive weapons. Thankfully for the Loggers, Pomona Pitzer is a dog. Could be one of the only wins for UPS this year.

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps over Lewis and Clark - L&C will continue to get better but CMS will still take care of the Pios.

Willamette over Cal Lutheran: Man, this one is tying me in a knot. Cal Lutheran has been a program on the edge of breaking out in the SCIAC and overtaking Oxy and Redlands in the SCIAC. Willamette's offense REALLY struggled but I suspect they will be much better at home. My big issue is if Willamette has an answer at Flanker and that their running QB is being forced to use his arm more than his legs due to his leg injuries piling up. This will will say a lot for Willamette.

Champman over Menlo: The Oaks were tossed a donut by Oxy last week and barely crossed mid-field. Chapman at home controls this one.

West Region Game of the Week:

UW-Eau Claire over St. John's: The Johnnies don't lose very much at home but I think their opening game at UW-River Falls was an eye opener that SJU could be ripe for the picking. I'll take the WIAC team in a suprising road win

D3 Game of the week:

UW-Stevens Point over Central: The Dutch open their home schedule with the #7 UW-Stevens Point. The Dutch pounded the hapless Lakeland College (40-17 win) last week but I think the Pointers are a legit squad this year that could be giving UW-Whitewater a run for their money. I'll take the road squad.

Mack and Maddy's Pick (The Video should say Week 2, my bad)

Mack has: Linfield over HSU (good boy), St. Olaf over PLU, Willamette over Cal Lu, P-P over UPS, Central over Stevens Point, Eau Claire over SJU, Chapman over Menlo, Rats over LaVerne, and CMS over L&C.

Maddy has: HSU over Linfield (bad girl), Lutes over St. Olaf, Cal-Lu over Willamette, Central over Stevens Point, Eau Claire over SJU, Menlo over Chapman, LaVerne over Rats, and CMS over L&C

Week 1 Preview: Linfield Vs. Hardin-Simmons

I knew it was officially football season when I woke up on Tuesday morning and my exposed feet where freezing cold. Yup, there is a chill in the morning, we had some rain showers in the valley over the weekend, and our apples in the backyard are about ready to be picked. The shift in the season lets me know it’s here….Linfield football. Darn happy to have you back old friend.

It’s no secret that the ‘Cats once again start off another campaign with a highly touted and explosive opponent. The #4 Hardin-Simmons Cowboys will be headed out from WEST TEXAS (I’ve learned from the HSU fans that whenever you write “WEST TEXAS” you have to use all caps) to the great Pacific Northwest to wrap up what has been a hotly contested 4 game series. So far each team has defended their home turf as the 2-1 HSU series leads would indicate. Every Linfield fan is hoping that trend continues this Saturday.

I can state enough that while the season is 9 games long, this my friends is a huge game on multiple levels. Not only is this versus a ranked opponent but against another team with high expectations in regards to their conference title and making a deep playoff run. There is not going to be a distinct advantage for either team in terms of size or speed. When it gets down to it the difference is going to be who executes better and which team is going to make the plays they need to.

Get to Know a HSU Player: #4 ZaVious Robbins (Sr. SB 5-10, 160lbs)

Last year, we ran the “Know Your Foe” segment where we gave a run down of each college or university's mascot so to change things up we’ll pick out a player the ‘Cats will be facing off in the upcoming week. We decided to pick up Justin Feaster’s main target and playmaker, ZaVious Robbins.

Hometown: Mesquite, Tx.

High School: Mesquite

Nickname: Z-Man

Music of Choice: T.I. and he loves Lil’ Wayne

Movies of Choice: National Security and the “Friday” movie series (WC11 has watched Friday about 100 times, great 90s flick)

TV shows of Choice: Fresh Price of Bel Air, Martin, and Jamie Foxx (Z-Man should have been a 90's child.)

Books of Choice: None “I hate reading” (WC11 gives props to Z-Man for being honest. In fact, I can't remember the last book I read. Pretty sad but it's true)

His Heroes: His Father and Barry Sanders

Major: Marketing

Future Goals: To take over his father’s business and/or start his own business to help high school athletes get recruited to college.

Z-Man’s 2007-08 Highlights via YouTube:


Info From ZaVious’s MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/zavious

Just by checking out Z-Man's info seems like a kid I would get along with really well. He loves 90's TV and movies, holds his father up in high regard, and wants to help out others when he finishes College. He seems like a real solid kid...too bad that I'm hoping the 'Cats shut him down on Saturday!

Wildcat11’s Keys To Victory:

-Limit HSU’s big plays: Hardin-Simmons is very capable of slugging together grind it out drives but they are still a big play offense. About 20% of the Cowboys offensive plays vs. Whitworth where for plays of 15 yards or more. The ‘Boys had 6 plays for 14-20 yards and 6 plays of 20+ yards. In fact 4 out of 7 HSU touchdowns this past Saturdays were plays of 25, 29, 14, and 39 yards. Linfield has to be of the mindset that if HSU is going to score they are going to have to march it down and punch it in. Nothing Cheap.

-Wildcat playmaking: The biggest missing piece from last year’s team was the ability to hit big plays. The ‘Cats need for playmakers to rise up on both sides of the ball right out of the shoot and create offensive/defensive points for the ‘Cats. I truly believe that there are a number of current ‘Cats on the roster capable…we’ll see who gets it done.

-Win the turnover battle: Two Linfield early turnovers equaled 14 of HSU’s 29 points last year. We can’t lose possessions versus this team. It’s pretty simple…win the turnover battle and your chances of winning greatly improve. It’s science.

-Balanced Offense: This is year two in the spread offense for Linfield and I’m hopeful that we’ll see marked improvement in the understanding and execution of the scheme. I really believe that the ‘Cats need both the running and passing attack to keep a much improved HSU defense off balanced and guessing. If the offense can execute the way I believe they can then there is no reason why they won’t be productive this Saturday.

-Total Team Effort: There is not a single reason why Linfield cannot win this game. Yeah, HSU has a high ranking but we know there is no gap in talent across each line up. However, Linfield does have a number of new parts in all three phases of the game that have to meet the challenge the ‘Cowboys will present head on. Last year, I thought the ‘Cats came out flat vs HSU before getting into the rhythm of the game. This year, we’re at the ‘Catdome and they are flying out with a travel roster. The ‘Cats have to exploit that advantage to its fullest. I’m NOT saying the ‘Cats have to come out wound up too tight but our squad has to be mentally and physically ready to compete at a high level.

Widcat11's pick:

-Cats by 7. Of course I’ve got my Wildcat’s back but they are going to have to earn it. HSU has a game under their belt and playmakers all over the field. If Linfield’s defense is able to force HSU off the big plays then I really like the ‘Cats chances in slugging it out and winning this baby. There is a lot on the line for both teams and I suspect both will bring their “A” game to the ‘Catdome. Can’t wait!

Week 1: Linfield Vs. Hardin-Simmons Google Map

VIEW IN FULL SIZE CLICK HERE

Catdomealumni.com has a one-stop shop for all of your game time needs for this week's HUGE Wildcat/Cowboy match up. Need to know where you should set up your tailgate? We have that. Need to know where to tune into the Linfield or HSU broadcast? We have your back. Links to game preview? We'll have those as soon as they are out! Want to know the weather forecast? BAM! Want to know where to have a few domestics after the game? Well, WC11 even lists out some of his favorite spots to hit before and after the game. (Best place to take the family (Golden Valley), Best place for best burger without the family (Deluxe)).

All you have to do in move your mouse over the Wildcat with a "1" on it and click. A information bubble will pop up that will give you the run down. If you want to view the Wildcats' 2009 schedule on a bigger page just click on the link right below the map.

Tomorrow we'll have our in-depth game preview along with WC11's game pick (I wonder who I'm going to pick?)

Order you Catdomealumni.com shirts now!

The 2009 Catdomealumni.com T-Shirts are here and ready to be snatched up by the 'Catdome faithful. These shirts are a fundraiser to help with the 'Cats annual Holiday Family Adoption Program. The Holiday Family Adoption Program is run by each year's senior class where they raise money within the team during Thanksgiving and then a local McMinnville grocery story will match their funds. The senior will then purchase food and other necessities to provide to identify local McMinnville families. 100% of the profits raised by the shirts will be handed over the senior class

This year we have two shirts to offer to you. The first is the 24/7/365 shirt. "24/7/365" is the motto of Catdomealumni.com and it means that the Catdome is always open and there for you to catch up on current 'Cats news or to re-live some great moments in Linfield's past. The second shirt is the I "heart" Catdome shirt. Pretty self explanatory as we all have love for the 'Catdome.

All of the shirts come in adult sizes, standard cut. They are printed on grey Port and Company brand shirts and are 90% preshrunk cotton/10% polyester. The shirts will be sold at each home game in the tailgate area in the Keck parking lot or you and order the shirts on-line and the Catdomealumni.com shipping team (Mr. and Mrs. Wildcat11) will ship out your fresh gear.

The cost of shirts are $10 (Small - XL) $12 (XXL) and $14 (3XL). We only have a couple of 3XL in the 24/7/365 shirts and none in the I "Heart". Please add $5 for on-line order to help off set the cost of packing/shipping.

To order shirts e-mail: shirts@catdomealumni.com

Camp Closed...Cats Ready To Roll

The 'Cats wrapped up their fall camp officially this past Saturday as the offense and defense took part of an over three hour full tilt scrimmage. I wasn't filming at the scrimmage because I was slinging brand new 2009 Catdomealumni.com T-Shirts (another post on that later) but it was a nice change to put down the camera and just sit in the bleachers and watch the team work.

My overall impression is that if the offense executes the way it did on Saturday then we are going to be just fine. Quarterback Aaron Boehme showed what many around the 'Catdome have been anticipating for the passing offense. I don't want to get into too much detail but I don't expect too much of Boehme running the ball this year but you will see the offense not be shy in tossing the rock around the yard if need be.

Defensively a player that jumped out at me in terms of play making was defensive tackle Paul Nishizaki (5' 11" 280 lbs, Jr.) as "Nish" was creating all sort of issues for the offense with his quickness off the ball. I'm still anticipating to seeing how our talented but young DBs rise to the challenge of a high octane offense and they don't have to wait long as Justin Feaster and the Hardin-Simmons Cowboys will be putting the 'Cats under fire next Saturday.

The video above is from earlier this past week and will be the last camp video of the year. Hope you've enjoyed getting a little inside look at what Linfield has been up to this fall. Keep checking back all week long as the ADvantage will busy all week long.

Around The CatdomeO'sphere

Holy Smokes it's heating up as you can tell by all the links below as the ADvantage brings you our weekly news roundup/link dump. Some Linfield news this week and a lot of SOU news as the Raiders were one of the only teams in the country to play college football last week so they get their press. Be sure to watch the video on the loss of Nellie up at PLU. He was a fixture for the Lutes and well known throughout the NWC. A sad loss but PLU should be able to celebrate all of the great qualities Nellie brought to that program. I know PLU will miss him terribly.

The Oregonian (OregonLive.com): Cats have tough road that could pay huge dividends.

ESPN.com: Former ‘Cats QB, Danny Langsdorf, listed as one of top “up and coming” coordinators In Division I (Towards bottom of list)

Bendbulletin.com: Former Long Time Linfield assistant coach is back in Central Oregon after taking over Madras HS program

The Statesman Journal: Salem paper highlights Linfield and Willamette area players to watch.

GoLutes.com: PLU Football loses a fixture. Our condolences.

NWCN.com (Video): Loss of "Nellie" has been felt by many.

PaloAltoDailyNews.com: Oaks committed to winning….but who isn’t?

Abilene ReporterNews: Players rally around Coach Keeling’s wife as she battles colorectal cancer.

Mailtribune.com: SOU flexes balanced offense and opportunistic defense in comeback over EOU.

Ashland Daily Tidings: Raiders are looking like a team to contend with

KDRV (Video): Raiders Rally over EOU

SOUraiders09 YouTube Page: SOU game highlights in comeback win over EOU