Heartbreak at St. Thomas as Linfield's season ends in 24-17 double overtime loss.

It was a roller coaster of emotion at St. Thomas on Saturday. From the brink of defeat to an epic last second drive to force overtime but in the end it just didn't happen. My eyes watered up in the 'Cats post game huddle seeing these tough as nails players cry as the realization settled in for the seniors as they knew they played their last game as a Wildcat and you knew why they were so upset. It was because they gave all they had, they played their guts out, and hurt so bad to have it end before they wanted it to. You cannot help but to love these guys not because of the success of the past two seasons but because of their passion and how hard they worked to put Linfield back on the national stage but more importantly they did it the Linfield way......the right way.

As for the game itself it was just a gritty contest between two of the best teams in division 3. There is no question that the 'cats had their chances to take control in the 2nd half but UST would say they had their chances to put it away in the 1st half; both teams just couldn't KO the other as the 'Cats and Tommies kept making plays to make it up for grabs until the final play was over.

I know it hurts now and the memory of this game will never be the most joyful but what this Wildcat team did this season was awesome. When the 'Cats dropped the season opener the playoffs for Linfield started from that point on and our 'Cats responded 10 fold. This team didn't wallow but ran back to the battle and crushed the Northwest Conference to win the 'Cats second consecutive NWC title and correct the wrong from September by hammering Cal Lu in the playoff opener. Over the past two seasons the 'Cats have compiled a 21-3 record, beat 9 top 25 teams, won 2 NWC titles, have a 4-2 playoff record, and finish both seasons in top 10 in the nation. Just remarkable but it didn't happen by accident. It happened with countless hours of unseen hard work. It happened by guys sticking together in those critical moments. It happened because of a coaching staff that nobody outworks. It happened because of guys not on the playoff roaster staying on campus instead of going home for thanksgiving so they could run scout team. The success of the past two seasons happened because these players expected to win and put in the work to make it happen.

I'm so proud to be a Linfield Wildcat today and so proud of what this team represents. Thank you our 2010 Wildcats for everything. You are champions in every sense of the word and we'll always remember what you have accomplished this season. Go 'Cats.

NCAA DIII Round 2 Preview: Linfield (9-1) @ St. Thomas (11-0)

Linfield will be looking to knock off the west #1 seed.

Who said the playoffs were going to be easy? The 'Cats are on the road and in the cold this Saturday as YOUR Linfield Wildcats will be in the St. Paul, Mn. to take on the West Region number 1 seed and D3.com #4 University of St. Thomas Tommies. The word huge is a pretty good way to describe this game for the 'Cats. It's huge because it's win or go home, it's huge because the 'Cats are playing a huge (large body) team, and it's huge because the underdog 'Cats have an opportunity to knock off the #1 seed in the West. Lots of opportunities for Linfield to do something special tomorrow. However, in order to make it happen the 'Cats are going to have to bring their A game to knock off a high powered offense with a salt worth defense.

In saying that I feel if someone is going to knock off a number one seed tomorrow it's going to be our 'Cats. This Linfield team is built for something great this playoff season and the 'Cats in place the scheme, toughness, and skill to go into a combative environment and deal with the adversity and come out with a hard fought victory. I just believe in this team in how they approach each week and those that have watched Linfield this season knows that the blend of personality, talent, and leadership are all there to handle the challenges of being on the road on a holiday week and understand what it will take to be a team of UST's caliber. It's going to be a physical battle tomorrow and we'll find out just what this Linfield team is made of...my bet is all-heart and grit.

Get To Know A Wildcat

Scotty Ray, #94 Defensive Tackle

Hometown: Chehalis, Wash

High School: W.F. West

Major: Business Management

Favorite Place in Mac to eat: My house after home football games.

Favorite Music: Rap and Rock

Favorite TV Show: South Park and Sons of Anarchy

Do you have a Friday night before game ritual?: Some of the D-Line goes out to dinner.

Favorite Pro Football Team: Seahawks

Class you look forward to the most at Linfield: Leadership in Management.

Mac or PC: PC

What's is your CPU homepage set to: Bing

Xbox, PS3, or Wii: Xbox 360 all the way.

Favorite NWC road trip: PLU or UPS because I get to go home the night before with a couple of guys and eat my Grandpas breakfast.

Least Favorite NWC road trip: Spokane

Favorite Movie that Coach Smith has picked for a bus ride home: Tears of the Sun

Favorite Coach Vaughan saying with D-Line: That's a terrible life decision buddy.

Which D-Lineman has the grossest habits and why: None of the D-Line has zero gross habits because we are not O-Linemen

Wildcat11's Keys To Victory

-Just play 60 minutes of Linfield Football:  There is nothing special that Linfield has to do on Saturday.  The 'Cats don't have to play our of their minds or play a perfect ball game.  All that Linfield needs to do in order to compete in this game and to have an opportunity to win at the end is play Linfield football for a full 60 minutes.  That means each Wildcat executing their assignment to their best of their ability, being emotionally ready for the long haul, and taking the fight to a Saint Thomas team looking for redemption after Linfield put them down in last year's West Region Final.  Don't force anything...just play within the systems, enjoy the moment, and have a blast!

-Have to bottle up the UST rushing attack: The Tommies come into the game with a huge power running game that puts up 224 yards per game (5.4 yards per rush). UST has a great combo of running backs in Ben Wartman (98 yards per game, 13 TDs) and Colin Tobin (73 yards per game, 10 TDs). To make matters more challenging is that the Tommies QB, Dakota Tracy, is also a threat in the option game in rushing for 335 yards on the year and 5 TDs. I can't stress enough how this aspect of the game will be a key player in determining the winner. It's the battle of the 'Cats standout defensive line vs a standout UST offensive line.

-Balanced Linfield attack: I mentioned last week just how far the 'Cats offensive has come in being an aggressive balanced attack and Linfield is going to need that to ring true on Saturday. The 'Cats have to be able to rush the ball effectively and at the same time be able to strike in the air. Linfield's offense can explode for points in chunks but that's because Linfield's offense mixes it up so well that defenses have a tough time covering the 'Cats option.

-Protect, Protect, Protect:  Huge challenge for the 'Cats offensive line again.  I know it seems we keep coming back to this point of the Linfield offensive line (and RB's) allowing time for Boehme to be upright and stand and deliver but it's for a reason.  When Linfield keeps bodies off of Boehme our passing game is tough to handle.  Last season UST was able to get to Boehme multiple times and I'm sure they are going to be aggressive in sending blitzes and extra bodies at our Senior signal caller.  Big day for the 'Cats offensive line.

-Special Teams have to lock down Fritz Waldvogel: The Wildcat special teams coverage groups have a major challenge on their hands in dealing with Fritz Waldvogel. The UST junior is one of the best at the division III level in open space and has been a back breaker on special teams for the Tommies. The field position game is vital for Linfield and it doubles in importance this weekend with a threat like Waldvogel returning kicks.

-Take care of the football and limit mistakes: The Tommies are very solid in taking care of the ball and are a +17 in their turnover ratio on the season. UST has picked off 17 passes and look to make plays on defense and a game like this mistakes will be amplified. I'm not saying Linfield needs to be conservative but just take care of the ball and let's not hurt ourselves with being loose with the ball or making dumb mistakes with drive extending/ending penalties.

-DB's need to make plays: I'm sure that the Linfield defense is going to dedicate a lot of resources towards the UST rushing attack and will pin a lot of pressure on the Wildcat secondary. While UST loves to rush the ball Tracey is very efficient in the air (65% completion rate with 16 TDs) and the Tommies are going to put the ball up in the air. I love our secondary and they're going to have a huge imprint on the outcome of this game.

Overall

'Cats by 7. This is a major challenge but at this point of the playoffs every game is. UST is a very good ball club but so is our Linfield Wildcats. This should be an epic match-up and I'm looking for this game to come down to the wire in the 4th quarter. But to come back to what I wrote before....this Linfield team is going to get it done. I just believe it in my bones and I have a feeling some of the 'Cats unsung heroes are going to make the plays Linfield needs in order to win and advance. Go 'Cats!

Lamson great run a D3football.com Play of The Week Finalist

Simon Lamson's great 21-yard touchdown run at 10:16 in the 2nd quarter was a finalist for this past weekends D3football.com's Play Of The Week. Lamson busted open a draw play to freeze up a CLU Defensive Back before taking the ball to the house. The Linfield Senior running back finished the day with 99 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns.

Linfield O-Line Mustache Match-Up Mix-Up Game

For the second year in a row the Linfield Wildcats are on a power mustache kick in support of another playoff run. This was started late in the 2009 season by then senior linebackers Alex Tkachuk and Paul Partlow where they inspired the team to not shave off their upper lip hair during the 'Cats playoff run and it spread throughout the team like wildfire. The result was a mass array of some decent looking 'staches but mainly most of the guys looked like they should not be allowed within 500 yards of a school zone.

Wildcat11 was discussing this year's growth with the boys on the offensive line before the CLU game and we had a bit of a brainstorm for a game on the blog. The idea here is that we take head shot photos from each guy from the offensive line and just see how good you are in matching up their 'staches with the player himself. It's pretty much the same thing you would see in one of those fashion mags where you match up the lips of some celeb with their name but instead we're just substituting models and top actresses with offensive linemen and their tragic attempts to grow some flavor savers.

So this is how it works: Below we assign each name of the Linfield's offensive line (and Tight Ends) and o-line coaching staff with a number and that will be followed by a photo spread of close ups of the groups 'staches. Each cropped photo with have a letter assigned to it. The 'staches and names of the O-Line are not in the same order so your quiz is to try to match up the 'staches to what offensive lineman they belong to. After the last close up of the 'staches is a "jump break" which once you click on will give you the answers to the match-up along with the full res photo. So you need to break out a piece of paper and a writing utensil and get to it. Best of luck and post up just how many you got right!

Offensive Line Members

1. Jordan Barnes (Offensive Guard, #70)
2. Drew Wert (Offensive Guard, #61)
3. Coach Doug Hire (Offensive Line Coach)
4. Eric Anderson (Offensive Guard, #60)
5. Chris Saunders (Tight End, #87)
6. Zach Hickman (Offensive Tackle, #66)
7. Hayden Mace (Center, #65)
8. Aaron Tanabe (Center, #57)
9. Jacob Priester (Tight End, #84)
10. Cheyne Kaninau (Offensive Guard, #75)
11. Kaston Gleason (Offensive Tackle, #69)
12. Aaron Heston (Offensive Tackle, #73)

'Staches

A.

B.

C.

D.

E.

F.

G.

H.

I.

J.

K.

L.

Your answers are here after the jump!

Catdomealumni.com Special: 2009 Linfield vs CLU

I've been hounded and pestered and figured that today would be as good of time as any to post up Catdomealumni.com's 2009 Linfield vs CLU highlight video. I figured that since CLU took their 2010 September highlight dark within hours of WC11 embedding the clip that I had to give the Wildcat fans something after teasing them. So here you go.

2009 Linfield highlights of 1st round playoff victory over CalLu

'Cats Win!!!! Linfield powers past CalLu in the opening round 42-26.

View and Contact Brad Thompson's photos here.

Cal Lutheran can have September...the Linfield Wildcats will take November every time. It was just a fantastic performance by all three phases of the Wildcat football team. I'm sure the staff and players have items they would have liked to clean up but the bottom line is win and advance and that's just what YOUR Linfield Wildcats did yesterday. Man, it was just the 'Cats day in just about every way....from the weather holding out to be a pretty nice day to the 'Cats busting open a tight game into a beat down. Oh did I mention the fact the 'Cats avenged their only loss to the season when Linfield dropped the opener to CLU? I'm sure you all forgot about that at this point!

Wildcat11 was lurking around the locker room/team during the hours leading up to the game and I wasn't worried but the team had a very serious tone and there were many serious faces during the pregame. Some of the typical jokers were cutting it up but for the most part it was all business. I wasn't concerned that they were too tight because it wasn't a "nervous" quiet but I hadn't seen the team in that type of per-game mood since Willamette.

About the game itself, it was a tight first half as the 'Cats offense was "this close" to finding a good rhythm but was just missing some big gains/sustainted drives by inches and the defense was bottling up CLU pretty well but the Kingsmen were able to strike with 1:36 left in the half to move the score to 14-12 'Cats. However, 1:36 was too much time for the CLU to leave on the clock and that's when the game turned. The 'Cats were able to put together a 60 yard drive in :56 seconds to take a 21-12 lead into halftime and it was all 'Cats from that point on. That drive was just a back breaker to CLU's spirit and momentum and just showed how good Linfield's offense can be when they are humming.

With the win the 'Cats will head out to the Twin Cities to play the West Region #1 seed St. Thomas in a West Region Final rematch from last year. UST is dang good and they returned about 90% of their starters from last year that have to be licking their chops at getting another crack at Linfield on their home turf. However, I'm loving what this Linfield team is doing. A great balanced offense with a tough as nails defense and outstanding coverage special teams. Linfield has the formula and team that can go on the road and win in a very cold and hostile environment.

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good:

Not getting hung up on "revenge": Yeah, "revenge" was part of the motivation and it had to be a factor in the minds of the Wildcat players (It would have been with me as a player). If anything it was a matter of guys not feeling they played their best more than getting back at CLU. However, Coach Smith didn't even mention the word in his pre-game talks and the players mentioned it only in small doses in the hours leading up to the game. I thought it spoke to the maturity of this team. They were focused on what they were doing instead of "getting back" which can lead to sloppy play in the name of "revenge". After the fact, there were a lot of extra wide smiles for correcting that early season loss but the players saved that emotion until they took care of business on the field.

Offense Line was flat fantastic: Big standing ovation to the the Wildcat earth movers. 200 rushing yards (4.9 a carry) and not a single sack on the day. And about those zero sacks; it wasn't like Boehme was chucking and ducking either as he could have made a few turkey sandwiches on multiple occasions. What a turn around from the first game of the season where CLU really created a lot of issue for the 'Cats offensive line. I just can't say enough about how well they were prepared and that they just flat performed. Great job big dudes.

LBs had a day: Coach Smith called these guys out after the game for answering the bell on Saturday. Sam Higgins, Bubba Kukahiko, and Alex Cederberg were tackling machines and performed beautifully. Those guys had a game to forget down in LA back in September but have improved each game during the season and have become a very fine line backing crew for the 'Cats. These guys balled out of their backside yesterday.

Defensive Line stuffed CLU like a Thanksgiving Turkey: Linfield D-Line was the hammer all game long. CLU could only muster up 73 net rushing yards and 30 of those was on one play where a "certain" DT tried to push over a CLU back built like a bowling ball instead of wrapping him up (but we'll forgive him!). The 'Cats defensive line was incredible all game long and just took away any sort of rushing attack from the Kingsman. As a former defensive lineman it warms WC11's heart when you watch our D-Line kick the other guy's rear parts for a full 60 minutes.

485 yards of offense: 197 rushing and 288 of passing with 40 rush play and 35 passing attempts. Just awesome and Linfield fans have to be thrilled with this balance and production. It wasn't too long ago when Linfield was a "passing team" with no run game. Yeah, those passing teams were freaking incredible during the 04-05 run but when that 05 senior class left it became an issue. Coach Smith and his offensive coaching staff (Coach Nagel and Coach Hire) have worked so hard over the past few years in changing the make up of the offense and yesterday was just a watershed mark of just how far the program has come in being an aggressive yet balanced offense. Kudos to the players and staff

Special teams coverage: 40, 20, 22, 20, 18, 30, 29. Those numbers are where CLU started their drives after Linfield kicked off. You just can't ask for better starting field possession than that as a defense (sans the opening kickoff that went out of bounds). I can't begin to tell you what a weapon our coverage teams have become. They will be tested by one of the best in DIII next Saturday but this group was huge yesterday. Great job young bucks!

Eric Hedin and Simon Lamson: As I've mentioned before I'm not big on calling guys out in the game wraps but I need to make another exception here (hope you can understand). Eric Hedin had another monster game (6 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, and just created issues for CLU). With those 3 sacks, Eric is now the program's single season sack record holder with 21. He came into the game tied with old WC11 at 18 but Mr. Hedin put his stamp in the record book with a emphatic butt kicking on the CLU offensive line. The guy is just a beast and he continues to play at just a high level (*cough* better be a 1st team all-american *cough*). Also, have to mention the effort Simon Lamson had yesterday. Probably Simon's best day as a Wildcat with his 4 TD's and 99 rushing yards. Yeah, he's had game with more yards but none of those games matched Simon's effort and the desire he displayed yesterday running the ball. Just a tough and gritty effort. (BTW...Aaron Boehme was also the man but AB is always the man as I could mention him every week. I think we're spoiled by his play at this point.)

Wildcat WR crew: I'm starting to run out of html but 9 different Wildcats caught a pass yesterday and just were way too much for CLU to handle. Linfield's WRs just offer up too many options and choices for defenses to cover them all. We lost a couple of great WR's in 2009 (Patterson and Gunner) but this 2010 group has created their own identity and have emerged as a force to be dealt with.

Linfield DBs put on an island but get it done: OK...I know that I've mentioned every position group at this point and you may give me a hard time here because CLU did pass for 320 yards, however, the passing stats don't tell the whole story. Eric Rogers did get loose but the Wildcat secondary had to patch work again when we lost corner Tyler Skore for the game early. Compounding the fact is that Linfield was 100% committed to the rush and we put a ton of pressure on our secondary to make due with minimal help. Yeah, CLU got some things in the air but at the end of the day our secondary made the plays we needed to salt the game away.

The Bad

Eric Rogers getting loose. Call me a hypocrite but I think the players and coaches would agree this would be a "bad". No defensive guy likes seeing a WR getting 100 yards on the day let alone 200 yards. Rogers is a hell of a DIII WR and made some great plays but I know this had to leave a bit of a sour taste in our secondary's mouth.

Some dumb penalties: The 'Cats were penalized 8 times for 58 yards but the issue was 3 of those were on 4th down plays where Linfield turned CLU away but the drives were extended because of a penalty. Of those 3 drive extending flags, CLU converted two of them for touchdown. Not good at all.

The Ugly

Nada:  Nothing ugly about winning your first round game in big fashion over a team that beat you in the season opener.

SIDENOTE

From the coaching staff: Linfield obtained a full compliment of cold/wet weather capes a few years ago that are very nice. However over the years these capes have thinned out due to guys taking them home or when they graduate, etc. The team REALLY needs those capes back this week for the UST game. It's going to be dang cold so we need to make sure we have the proper gear. It's a "no foul, no harm" policy if you're a former 'Cat and may have one of those in your closet. The team just needs those back ASAP. Please contact Coach Hire or mail, drop off, give to your buddy that's on the team, etc. We need to try to round these up ASAP. Do your job to help the 'Cats!

Linfield (8-1) vs California Lutheran (8-1): 2010 Playoffs Round 1 Preview

And here we are once again my friends.  For the 2nd time in three years and 3rd time in 13 games the Linfield Wildcats will face off against the Kingsmen and defending SCIAC champions from California Lutheran University.  The teams have split the last two meetings during the past 12 months with Linfield hammering CLU in the opening round of the 2009 playoffs by a count of 38-17, while CalLu upset the 'Cats to open up this season down in Thousand Oaks win a wild 47-42 victory.  Needless to say it's been punch/counter-punch by these two squads who are both anxious to get a hold of one another once again.  It should be a heated and physical contest at the 'Catdome (kickoff is Saturday at Noon).

For many Linfield fans they have been talking about revenge but then CLU turns it around and talks about avenging their opening round playoff loss a year ago but let's not be silly;  If you can't get fired up for a playoff game vs a worth opponent at this point then you might need to get your pulse checked.  Yeah, the "revenge" factor might add a little spice to the game but the bottom line the team that will win this Saturday is the team that can execute their game plan better and do the little things right as in tackling, blocking, making good decisions with the ball, etc, etc.   When you strip away all of the bravado and posturing it comes down to who is willing to play at a high level for a full 60 minutes and win the little battles on the field to propel their team to victory when the clock strikes 00:00.

Get To Know A Wildcat

Chris Slezak, #23, Senior - Wide Receiver

Hometown: Salem, Or

High school: West Salem High School

Major: Communications

Favorite Place in Mac to eat: 3rd Street Pizza

Favorite Music: Hip Hop

Favorite TV Show: The Office

Do you have a Friday night before game ritual?: Go out for a WR & QB dinner, even though coach Elliot and Yen stopped coming and we miss them... Then get all my game gear ready that night before bed while watching The Office

Favorite Pro Football Team: Denver Broncos baby... cant believe we passed on Dez Bryant this last year though

Class you look forward to the most at Linfield: Reporting

Mac or PC: Been a Mac for 6 years now, never going back

What's is your CPU homepage set to: Google...probably should be Facebook or ESPN though

Xbox, PS3, or Wii: Xbox... Xbox is like the Nike to PS3's Adidas

Favorite road trip: Willamette. Being from Salem it's always fun to go back home and play there

Least Favorite road trip: Menlo... the only exciting thing about that trip is driving past Stanford on our way to the field

Favorite Movie that Coach Smith has picked for a bus ride home: His son's and daughter's little league baseball and softball highlight tape

Favorite Coach Rombach Saying: Anything that contains the letter "L"... for example - "place the ball in the middo (middle) of the field! No drop balls this week, thats our number one go (goal). Backside of totem is deeso (diesel).

Who has the best BBQ skills on the team: I wanted to say not a chance, but thinking back over the year I wanna say that have had 10 balls thrown to them and caught all 10. So they could be in the discussion. But c'mon, this is what we do for a living. Not true.

Wildcat11's Keys to Victory:

Linfield Football for a full 60 minutes. This is what ultimately killed us in the September game.  CLU played better and stronger as the game went into the deeper stages of the contest and Linfield didn't.  That is a rare thing to happen to Linfield and it cannot happen again if the 'Cats expect to advance.  Let me emphasize...we don't have to play perfect, mistakes happen, but it's how the 'Cats deal with that adversity and how this team is ready both schematically and emotionally for the game.  Don't get caught up in the hooping and hollering but just focus on executing your own assignments to the best of your ability.

Keep CLU's defensive line and LBs off of Boehme and out of the backfield. CLU's defensive line will once again be the best D-line we will have played on the year; better than Willamette's, PLU's, and Whitworth's. The 'Cats offensive line and RBs have a huge challenge in the pass protection game and will be a key factor on Saturday.  We all know if Boehme has time, him and our standout WR core is going to make plays.

Have to take away the Kingsmen rushing attack. While Daniel Mosier is no longer on the CLU roster that doesn't mean CLU can't run the ball.  If Linfield is thinking that then we have another thing coming. Junior Transfer, Deme'Trek Chambers (5'8", 160 lbs) has stepped in as the primary running back for CLU and has been stellar in rushing for 782 yards (84.8 yards a game) and 13 TDs. The real star isn't the running back but the large and athletic offensive line for CLU. That's where the rubber is going to meet the road for the 'Cats defense. Linfield's D-Line has to hold the L.O.S. in order for our LB's and DB's to make plays in the running game.

Special teams needs to get it done. This is where Linfield's special teams can have a HUGE impact. Linfield absolutely has to be the better team in kick coverage, set up the offense with good field position in the return game, and not put the Offense or Defense in bad spots with mistakes. CLU has two stand-out kickers so we have to be sharp in returning the ball and the Kingsmen have a number of guys that can break off big returns. While special teams don't get much play this group can have a huge sway on Saturday.

Take care of the rock. I don't need to get into detail here but it's pretty simple...if we take care of the ball then our opportunity to win is much greater. It's not rocket science. Secure the ball but don't be afraid to make plays.

Linfield Linebackers need to shine. Huge day and opportunity for our LB's to have a major impact on the game. With such a balanced offensive attack the 'Cats linebacker core have a major task on their hands in handling the run and taking care of pass coverage underneath. I'm looking for this group to have a big day.

No big plays for Eric Rogers and the CLU WR core. The CLU Wide Receiver core has some stand out playmakers and Eric Rogers is their #1 go-to guy. If CLU is going to get off in the passing game lets make it underneath and nothing over the top for big plays.

Overall

'Cats by 10.  CLU is no joke but I believe that if Linfield plays to their potential then the 'Cats are winning this game.  All three phases of the Wildcat attack need to perform and lean on each other but I love the way this team has been playing and I believe we have too many weapons for CLU to cover and our defense has made significant improvement in the areas that hurt us during the first go around.  If nothing crazy happens during the course of the game then our Linfield Wildcats will be packing their bags and headed to the Twin Cities for the 2nd round.

Tuesday Video...and it's a stinker

Cal Lutheran Football created a YouTube channel and posted up their CLU/Linfield game highlight in about .2 seconds after the Kingsmen upset the Wildcats 47-42 in the 2010 season opener back on September 11th. As you can tell by the choice of music they felt very good about beating Linfield (can't blame them, beating Linfield IS a big deal) and serves as a reminder about just what Linfield did wrong vs CLU: poor pass protection, some poor decisions throwing the ball, terrible tackling, no run game, not making plays at the point of attack, etc, etc. I just can't believe that the Linfield team in this highlight clip is the same team that crushed Willamette and the rest of the NWC. I'll tell you what...if Linfield's defense gives up running plays this weekend like they did in September I'll eat my
hat for dinner.

**UPDATE** Look like the wienies at CLU disabled the embedded feature to their video. Oh well, Thanks for checking in on the blog CLU!!!!!

'Cats Win!!!! Linfield fixes the Pioneers Wagon in 52-0 beatdown

Now that's how you capture an outright conference championship and cap the regular season!  That was just an undressing, a stomping, a downright smashing as the 'Cats hammer the Lewis & Clark Pioneers 52-0 on a misty wet rainy day up on Palatine Hill. It was exactly what Linfield fans were hoping to see from our Wildcats; an all-business approach.  There was no flat energy from the 'Cats from before the game or during the game and as we've said and seen time and time again when this team is ready to play football and executes this is one of the best teams in the country hands down.

With the victory in hand we all know that the 'Cats have now captured the program's 34th conference title and will make the programs 23rd post season appearance to go along with the 'Cats 55th consecutive winning season.  Just an incredible accomplishment by everyone that has worked with and put in the sweat, blood, and tears for the 'Cats.  This 2010 team finished the season at 8-1 overall, 6-0 in NWC play and with a final regular season ranking by D3football.com of  #8 in the country.  The 'Cats wind up with a scoring avg of 43.9, while only giving up 13.6 points a game (both tops in the NWC).  That is a 30.3 avg margin of victory on the year and if you take away that opening season loss to CLU (47-42) the 'Cats margin of victory moves up to 34.7 ppg on the year  (44.1 ppg and  9.4 allowed per game over the final 8 contests).  Bottom line, this has been a heck of a season for this team and one that we fans should acknowledge.  However, let's talk more about the drubbing the Wildcats laid on L&C in this week's "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good

Being Ready to Finish. There is no doubt that the 'Cats took the lessons of the previous week vs Whitworth to heart as the 'Cats came out fast and furious to put up 22 1st quarter points and not have to look back the rest of the game. It was good to see that a team Linfield should hammer get hammered by a focused group of players.

Defensive Dominance: What can you say? Linfield only allowed 114 yards of total offense, 28 yards rushing (.8 per attempt), and 86 yards passing. It was just a punishment by the 'Cats and especially the defensive line and LBs. I don't care who L&C was missing the 'Cats owned the LOS and with that the game.

1st half passing attack: WC11 was looking for the Linfield passing game to have a good day and they did just what they wanted to do in putting up 212 passing yards and 4 throwing scores in the first two quarters of play.

Shutout on 3rd down:  How do you hold a team to only 114 yards of total offense?  By not allowing a single 3rd down conversion and the 'Cats just did that by blanking the Pios on 14 attempts on 3rd down.  Just a fantastic effort by the 'Cats.

10 different receivers caught a ball and 8 different 'Cats with a carry:  Pretty impressive stat when you consider that Aaron Boehme didn't even have a single attempt on the day.   Really enjoyed the way that we have some of the young WRs starting to make their bones as catching threats and with the effort some of the reserve running backs carried the ball.

The Bad

Keith Welch not playing in the game:  The Pios best football player and quarterback was in street clothes on Saturday as he suffered a concussion last week vs Willamette and honestly I was bummed out.  The reason being is that with Welch being out it gave L&C a little wiggle room in offering up a reason on why they were housed so bad this past Saturday.  Yeah, I guess Welch is a fine player but him playing wasn't going to make that big of difference.  Linfield's defense is just too good to let one guy outgun them especially when Linfield overwhelmed the Pios offense line.  I know the Linfield defense was very disappointed in not being able to have a shot at the Pio QB.  Too bad.

The Ugly

Extremely oversensitive Pioneer Parent.  Wow...just wow.  There was a very small group of vocal Linfield fans in the North End Zone as the game stared up.  In Linfield's first series I was filming the action within 20 feet of these guys and they were very vocal in supporting the 'Cats (as you think fans would be during a COLLEGE football game).  These guys were not using profanity, calling out numbers/names, or denigrating any of the players on the field...they were just cheering hard and giving the Pios a little grief.  Seriously,   the 'Cats busted a big play to set up their first TD and one of the 'Cats fans said "Where was your Safety on that play?!"  That prompted an L&C player to turn around and say some choice words to the fans (mistake one) and that was that.  The 'Cats scored and I walked away.  Next thing I know, the father of that player (that turned around and yelled at the Linfield fans) was in their faces and confronting/screaming at these guys about how he is willing to take an "a$$ whipping for his son" and to "leave the kids alone".  The guy went on for about a solid minute just ranting about leaving his son and players alone.

This just blows my mind.  This is a college football game and if you and your son can't take a little jiving from some fans then maybe you need to find a different sport to play.  First off, if you're a player and you're willing to yell back when fans are ribbing you a little then you're just mentally weak.  The best way to shutdown an aggressive fan is to ignore it and pretend they don't exist.  The worst thing you can do as a player is to yell at other team's fans....it just shows they're in your head.  But the crazy thing is these Linfield fans were not "aggressive" and they were not cursing at the players or being out of line...they were just pulling for the 'Cats and they were jumped for it.  I've never seen that before in my 16 years of following Linfield/NWC football.   This isn't a reflection of any of the other L&C parents, but this one jack-wagon, who can't control his temper.  Buddy, you get the ugly of the year.

OPENING ROUND PLAYOFFS AT THE 'CATDOME!!!!

The 'Catdome isn't done yet!!!!

Your Linfield Wildcats may be the #5 seed in the West Region but due to CLU's stadium facility being unable to host a playoff game the opening round of the 2010 playoffs will be held at the CATDOME!!!!!! Game will be on November 20th (Saturday) and all playoffs games start at noon local time. The winner of the Linfield/CLU game will most likely be headed out to the Twin Cities to play the #1 seed St. Thomas. Of course, we'll have more information during the week about the match-up. Let's ring the alarm and get as many Wildcats to the game as possible

Around The 'Catdome'Osphere

YEAH!!!! It's about that time for the regular season finale and our last regular season trip around the CatdomeO'sphere. As usual we have some great write ups, interviews, player profiles, and lame excuses why players were admitted with a felony drug/weapons wrap. Get cracking and caught up before you hit the games tomorrow and we'll see you on Sunday to see where our 'Cats land in the West Region playoff landscape.

Linfield Review (.pdf): 'Cats sink Pirates (starts on page 16)

News-Register: Linfield/Whitworth Game Blog

Linfield Sports: Coach Smith talks Pios, Playoffs, etc

salem-news.com: Linfield Athletics lead the state of Oregon in Graduation Rate/Academics

Whitworthian: Rats get steamrolled vs Linfield in 2nd half

Portland Tribune: NWC wrap up leads with Linfield clinching piece of NWC title

Statesman Journal: 'Cats clinch playoff birth with extermination of the Rats

Spokesman Review: Linfield pummels Rats in the worst small college wrap up of the year

Oregonlive.com: Small College Round Up leads with Bearcats..why I can't figure out

Statesman Journal: Schottgen opens up with both barrels on Willamette Record Book

Full Access Sports Vimeo Page: Coach Speckman talks about improved L&C ball club

Pacific Boxers YouTube Page: Boxers Highlights vs PLU

D3football.com West Region Article: ATR West writer puts over his Bearcats a few times in his write up

Pio Pack Show: Pioneers head man talks Linfield and reflects on L&C's season and the fact they should have more wins

Thenewstribune: PLU's Ford plays on hurt wickets but still piles up the stats

Pacific Index: Boxers keeps sights on down the road

Menlooak.com: The Oaks are 0-5 vs the NWC this season. Sorry to see them go.

CLUecho.com: Coach McEnroe had not idea Panton Jr. was a convicted fellon due to "volume of recruits that he works with"

Week 11: NWC Pick 'em

All Day, All 'Cats!

Wildcat11 has started out the way he started the season...a winning picking machine!!!!. WC11 was 5 for 5 last week and extended his lead in the 2010 NWC Pick 'Em contest. My overall record is now 53 for 67 (79.1%). My nearest competitor is going the other way on a few games with me this week so there is still a chance that I could lose in the final week but like my Linfield Wildcats, I'm going out in the final week of the pick 'ems on a high note!!!!

Northwest Conference Games:

Menlo (3-7) over Pacific (0-8) (at Menlo):  Pacific has been making some nice progress over the season.  It hasn't resulted into any wins but it looks like they are laying a nice foundation for the 2011 season.  However the Boxers are going to have to repeat that line of thinking as I think a limping Menlo team will end the season on a home victory.  This will be the Boxers longest road trip this season, playing at Menlo is hard (because the place is such a dump), and this will be Pacific's first time in having to take a shortened travel roster.  All of that adds up to a Menlo win.

Whitworth (4-5) over Puget Sound (2-6) (at UPS):  I think this is like the Loggers 15th home game of the season.  This game could be tight if Whitworth comes into the contest without energy after putting up a good first half vs Linfield.  I like the Rats defense and defensive backfield.  If I was Tulley I would put the ball in Eglet's (Rats QB) hands more and adopt a more aggressive passing attack because I think the Soph. is a heady player and throws are pretty accurate ball.  I think the lack of a running attack is going to cause UPS issues again this week as the Logger's Duncan White doesn't have the advantage in throwing against a Boxer or L&C defensive backfield.

#19 Pacific Lutheran (7-1) over Willamette (7-2) (at PLU):  Holy Smokes.  Talk about a massive game for the 'Lutes.  If PLU can win this game they are a huge shot at a Pool C bid but standing in their way is a solid Willamette team with two "good losses" (*ha*).  If this game was at Willamette then I wouldn't hesitate to take the Bearcats in a heartbeat.  I'm sticking to my theory that PLU has a habit of playing down on the road but a much better team up at Sparks.  Since I've been hammering this thought home all year long I would be a wuss if I didn't stick to my guns and call a tight PLU win on the back of some great breaks for the 'Lutes.  This should be a fun game to watch. 

West Region Game of the Week:

UW-Stout (5-4) over UW-Osh Kosh (4-5) (at Stout):  After Whitewater all of these UW system schools all blend together to me.  This could be a coin flip but I'll take the home team and I can't in my right mind pick a school who's name reminds me of children's overalls.  I'll take Stout.

UW-Stevens Point (6-3) over UW-Platteville (5-4) (at UWSP):  Stevens Point was picked to be a playoff team this season and have somewhat disappointed with a 6-3 season.  I think the Pointers are a decently talented team will will finish up the season with a solid win over Platteville.

National Game of the Week:

#21 DePauw (9-0) over Wabash (7-2) (at Wabash):  This is the most celebrated rivalry game in Division III football/athletics.  The game is known as The Monon Bell Classic (The winner plays for the Monon Bell)  The teams hook up for the 117th team is will once again be nationally broadcasted by HDnet.  With that said, I know squat about either team and don't really care to put in the effort too.  I'll take the ranked team to win just because.

Google Map Schedule Game 9: Linfield at Lewis & Clark

View 2010 Linfield Wildcats Football Guide in a larger map

Your Google Map Linfield Schedule is back to take care of you with all of your Linfield needs! Want to read up on the games? We have your preview (L&C doesn't do previews). Need a weather report? (Cloudy at kickoff, rain at 2 pm) Yup, we have it. There will be tailgating being set up in the parking log around 11 A.M.(LOWER LOT) Just click on the number 9 Wildcat Icon above and a pop-up bubble will give you the run down or you can click on the "larger map" hotlink to view in a full window. A quick word that parking up at L&C is VERY tight so be sure to get to the game early and you can get a prime piece of parking. Go 'Cats!

Game 9 Preview: Linfield (7-1) at Lewis and Clark (4-4)

Here we are again...the season finale and the opportunity for YOUR Linfield Wildcats to win the NWC title outright during consecutive years. As you know by now, the 'Cats have already locked up at least a part of the NWC title and the conference's automatic bid but there is nothing like winning the conference title outright. No ties, No sharing, Nada, Nothing. Just standing on top of the conference for the 34th time in program history. I believe that is the only thing on the Wildcats mind right now. Leave No Doubt who is this conference's top cat.

Standing in the way of that outright NWC title is a very improved and hungry Lewis & Clark Pioneer team lead by an explosive offense that can pop the big play on just about every single snap. This is not the L&C team we have all known for the past 15 years but rather a team that is welcoming the game with Linfield to judge just how far they have come and how close they are from being an NWC title contender.

The 'Cats better not sleep on the Pios this Saturday or they are going to get into a battle and could just supply L&C with the springboard they need to launch their program towards that next step in being a consistent threat in the NWC. This game is not only vital for this 2010 Linfield team but also to keep the hammer down on an upstart program.

Get To Know A Wildcat

 

#28 Simon Lamson, Senior, Running Back

Hometown: Gridley, California

High School: Gridley High School

Major: Physical Education( prime to make the big bucks)

Favorite Place in Mac to eat: Gotta be Taco Del Mar

Favorite Music: Tough one, but lately some alternative rock, and the relaxing stuff wit John Mayer and Jack Johnson

Favorite TV Show: easily The Office and Friends

Do you have a Friday night before game ritual:  You know I have always felt so lost on Friday nights cause I feel like I should be doin' somethin', u know? Basically never homework, just whatever is right on tv.

Favorite Pro Football Team: St. Louis Rams baby!!

Class you look forward to the most at Linfield: Gotta be Outdoor Pursuits, we have been out to a challenge course and alli.

Mac or PC: I refuse to buy an apple products (other than my ipod)

What's is your CPU homepage set to: L.A. Lakers Basketball

Xbox, PS3, or Wii:  Xbox!

Favorite NWC road trip: any of them, doesn't matter how far. I love the bus rides For the love of the game!

Least Favorite NWC road trip: See Above

Favorite Movie that Coach Smith has picked for a bus ride home:  For the Love of the Game!

Favorite Coach Smith saying with the Running Backs: "That's some good suga there" he invented sugar for out run fake carry outs

Which offensive player is the most worried about how their uniform looks: Ryan Henderson, prolly cause it helps him stay focused on something! We both kinda ADD bound

Wildcat11's Keys To Victory:

Contain L&C QB Keith Welch: There is not a single doubt that Redshirt-Freshman is the engine that drives the explosive Pioneer offense. Welch is the NWC's leading rusher (as a QB) at 119 yards per game (7.1 yards a rush) and with 14 rush TD's. However, just don't think he's just a RB playing QB as Welch is a solid passer in tossing 12 TDs on 91 of 166 passing attempts for 158 yard a game throwing. The Pioneer staff is smart to put the ball in Welch's hands just about every time the Pioneers need a play. 3rd and long...Welch will have the ball in his hands. 4th and short...Welch will have the ball in his hands. If Linfield can slow him down then they will bog up the L&C offense.

Be ready to play a team looking for the upset: Linfield found out last week that if you're not ready to play the game that any team in the NWC can rise up and punch you in the mouth. Headed into the playoffs, I would love to see this Wildcat team to come into this game with that playoff intensity. This game is huge not only for Linfield but the 'Cats have to know L&C is going to be sky high for the opportunity to compete with Linfield. Linfield needs to come out of the game and take the fight to the Pios.

WR's and Boehme are on point: Lewis and Clark is dead last in the NWC is passing defense and the 'Cats have to be able to expose that weakness from the outset. I'm not saying to forget the running game but our WR crew and Boehme have to be explosive and ready to make plays in the passing department.

Be great tacklers: L&C has some solid offensive players than just besides Welch so it's vital for the 'Cats defense to be great tacklers and not allow the Pioneer offense extra yards after contact.

Solid Special Teams: Let's win this phase of the game and with emphases. The kickoff and kick return teams can be huge this weekend in pinning the Pioneers offense and setting up the 'Cats offense with short porches. WC11 would LOVE to see the 'Cats special teams dominate.

DB's take away Shawn Evans: Evans is Welch's favorite target and a big body (6'3", 235) that is listed as a TE but is more of an H back that plays in the slot. In my opinion if the 'Cats can take way Evans it will create problems when the Pioneers need big plays out of the passing game.

Overall:

'Cats by 28. I want to see this Wildcat team playing at their top gear this weekend. If the 'Cats bring it then I have zero doubt that Linfield is going to win and with a thunderous swing of the hammer. In my bones I think the 'Cats are going to be ready to send a message to the NWC and the NCAA playoff field that Linfield is here and not going anywhere. Go 'Cats!

Whitworth Game Slide Show

Sorry crew! Had a slide show from the stills WC11 was taking while shooting video of the Whitworth game but I forgot to post those up. I'm going to get cracking on the Pio vs Wildcat game preview right now and try to have that up within the next hour or two. Go 'Cats!

'Cats Win!!!! Linfield flushes bad 1st half to sink the Rats ship.

View and contact Brad Thompson for game photos here

Wow...what a difference a half makes.  After trailing 17-14 at half to the Whitworth Pirates the 'Cats snapped out of it and played to the level of this team's ability and completely dominated a motivated Whitworth to turn the game into a run away victory by a count of 42-17.  Needless to say it was a great 2nd half but we're still going to have to address that flat, uninspired, dismal 30 minutes of football that occurred during the 1st half.  Regardless, the end result was a 3rd consecutive win over the Rats and for the 2010 Linfield squad they wrapped up at least a share of the NWC title and the 'Cats clinched the conference's automatic playoff bid to the playoffs (Linfield has the head-to-head over the teams that Linfield could potential tie with).

Another thing I want to touch on was the fact that last Saturday was Senior day and for Linfield there are 23 Wildcat Seniors that played in what could be their final game the 'Catdome (playoff pending) but those Seniors and their families should be saluted for helping the 'Cats go 19-2 over the past two seasons, win back-to-back NWC titles, advance to the NCAA Final Four, and have an opportunity to try to be the last team standing this season.  This is an outstanding group of young men for not only their commitment to their education but for doing things the right way as Linfield Wildcats.  I was talking to Mrs. 11 the other day about this group of  Wildcats and I said that if I was a player today there is no doubt that these 'Cats are the type of guys I would hang out with and no doubt become life long friends with.  They are salt of the earth/Linfield Football guys that this program produces every year.

OK...enough of my fawning lets get to the meat and potatoes of this post...The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The Good

Awesome 2nd Half of Football: As Coach Smith said in his post game wrap with the team "Now that was a great 2nd half of football. As far as the 1st half.......now that was a great 2nd half of football." Linfield outscored the Rats 28-0 in the 2nd half, the offense scored in all 3 possessions in the 3rd quarter (drives of 65, 76, and 68), and the 'Cats defense dropped that hammer as Linfield out gained the Rats by a margin of 267 yards for Linfield to under 70 for Whitworth in the second half.

Rush Defense: 76 total rushing yards on the day at only a 2.5 yards an attempt is a great day in the office as once again the 'Cats held Adam Anderson to a very un-Adam Anderson type day at only 44 rush yards on only 12 attempts.

Red Zone Offense in the black: The 'Cats Red Zone offense was superior on 5 touchdowns in 5 Red Zone trips on the day. The 'Cats did it in a various of manners with a fade TD, slant route pass, and various rushing TDs. Just great balance in the Red Zone.

Guys stepping in and stepping up: Linfield was a banged up team (as is many teams at this point of the season) and again there were a number of Wildcats that received the opportunity to step into bigger roles on Saturday with 'Cats out with injuries coming into the game or during the game. Seeing guys like Eric Koczian step in for Ryan Henderson and play his backside off is an awesome thing to witness and was just one of many examples of guys trying to make the most of their opportunities.

DB ordering up a 2nd half shutdown sandwich: While the total passing stats may not be something the 'Cats DBs want to frame up most of the damage was done in the 1st half by the Rats passing attack.  After the 'Cats had a little time to talk it out the Linfield Defensive Backfield was cash money in that 2nd half of play.  Seriously, they don't get much of the press but you'll be hard press to find a better collection of defensive backs in Division III and when they are feeling it you can forget thrown the ball with any sort of consistency. 

2nd half line play: The game really changed when the Wildcats defense and offense lines started to get loose and started to win their individual battles up front. The O-Line was great all game in pass protection but  started to roll in the run department in the 2nd half.  The 'Cats defense line slowly started imposing their will up front as the game progressed. D-Linemen like Nishizaki, Steel, Sparky, and Ray may not fill up the stat sheet (Sparky is 2nd in the NWC is sacks) but they have been dominate up front all year long.

Boehme and Hedin: I don't like to single out individual guys too much in the game wraps because it's a team sport but I do need to tip my cap to these two Wildcats. Aaron Boehme answered the bell big time in that 2nd half and did it all for Linfield. He punched in three rushing TDs, passed for two more, and just was the difference maker that we've been spoiled by over the past two seasons. Hedin really gutted it out last week. Playing hurt and sore he still came up with huge plays for the 'Cats defense line and if 100% he would have clipped the program's all-time single season sack record (held by WC11 *wink*). He'll get that in the next couple of games easily and by force. It would be a crime if these two are not your NWC offensive and defensive players of the year.

The Bad:

The total lack of student support: I knew I was way too quick to heap praise on the Linfield student body after the first two games when the 'Cat Students came out in mass to back the 'Cats vs Willamette and for homecoming vs Pacific. These past two weeks the student body support has just stunk. During the 3rd quarter I chatted up former players that have long graduated that where standing right in the middle of where the current students should have been packed and going all out.

I just don't get it...when the students come they are great but I can't put my finger on why they are so hit and miss. We have one of the VERY best small college programs in the country and a great venue. Is it the threat of bad weather? Do they think the games won't be competitive? What is the reason behind this lack of support? I'm not going to put the full force of blame on the students as the Linfield administration needs to be pro-active in how to jump start this student body. If anything it seems that the college has become more and more restrictive on the student section and has caused it to be more sterile.

For YEARS the program and college boasted about the fact that the player's fellow friends and fraternity brothers would haul couches in the south end zone and create their own "luxury boxes". The couches are now not allowed in the stadium (at least that's what I've been told). The gates have been pushed further back from the field and the college has banned backpacks from the venue for fear of students and fan bring in booze into the 'Catdome. This probably isn't just a case of the College administration coming down on the students without cause. I'm sure it's a case of a few bad apples spoiling the fun for the rest but there has to be someway the students can step up their game without violating the college's expectations of behavior while at the same time the college rolls back some of their stance on the couches, where the gates are, etc.

These players deserve to have their peers there in full force.  It just adds some much more extra energy that helps create that "home field, Catdome advantage".  Besides, if the students are not interested in coming to games now what makes you think they will want to come back after they are graduates and continue to support the program and Linfield? The core of the Linfield fan base is loyal to the core and the bone but it's not getting any younger.  The college needs to be aware that the students of today will be that support system of tomorrow......Just some food for thought.

The Ugly

The 1st Half. I kind of fizzed out after my rant above but the fans, players, and staff knew that was a stinker of a half. Flat, stupid special teams penalties that gave the Rats prime field position, not sustaining blocks, not tackling well, not winning the individual battles, not making plays for the ball and on the ball, etc, etc. Coach Smith said it best after the game. "When we play like that (in the first half) we're pretty average but when we play like we did in the 2nd half, we're going to be pretty tough to beat" Couldn't have said it better myself.

A New Wildcat is born!

Grace Mae Carlson

As I've mentioned in the past I try my best to keep this blog focused on our Linfield Wildcats and out of the 11's personal business.  I try to do that because you come here to read about the 'Cats and not about what I had for lunch or why I'm getting so old that I don't understand this "Teach me how to Dougie" dance phenomenon.  But sometimes life interrupts and events happen that Wildcat11 just can't keep off this blog.

Yesterday at 5:22 PM a new (future, I hope) Wildcat was born at Willamette Valley Medical Center.  Baby14, a healthy baby girl, was brought into this word at 9lbs and 4oz and at 21 1/2 inches long.  She has a great head of dark hair and incredible blue eyes.  I'd tell you all the whole story about yesterday but it was the scariest 15 minutes of my life followed by a wave of uncontrollable emotion and joy that came crashing down as our doctor said we have a healthy Baby Girl and a healthy Mrs.11.

The past 24 hours have been just a roller-coaster of so many emotions and feelings.  All that I want to do is just watch her take every breath to make sure she is OK and that she is protected.  I hope that I can calm down a little bit on the eagle eye routine because she is healthy and very happy (she is about 2 feet away right now as Mrs11 and her have some cuddle time). I have started early on the Linfield brainwashing and I swear she was trying to sound out "Willamette Stinks" within the first 12 hours out of the womb.

No fear for those that come here for Linfield Football...we'll get caught up tomorrow with our Whitworth Game Review/Pio Preview and more. But today I needed to let you know that what all those fathers and mothers that have been telling me is 100% accurate and true: Your world is never the same when you have your first child and in just less than 24 hours Mrs. and Mr. 11 will testify to that as well.

Go 'Cats and now lets go win the NWC title outright.  Catdome!!!!!!!!

P.S. The reason why we're calling her Baby14 on the blog is that I wore "11" at Linfield and Mrs.11 wore "44" as a hoops player for the Lady 'Cats.  Since she's one 1/2 of each of us we thought Baby14 would be appropriate. 

Today is the day!!!!

No game review today but I think you'll understand. Baby14 has decided to make her way to our family!!!!! Go Mrs11 and go baby14!!!!!!!

Found out.......

That when this team brings it we're dang good. Cats win. 42-17

Cats down at half and flat.

Unexpected half as whitworth's defense has been very effective and the rats offense has hurt an inspired Linfield team. Bottom line we played like crap and we could pay the price. We'll find out in the 2nd half what this team is made of.

WC11 from his cell

Catdome!

Wc11 is at the catdome and so are the rats!

Tailgate crew is getting fired up

Some of the cats most loyal supporters are already getting to welcome the rats! This crew has the best food around so come on out and support the cats!

Wc11 from the cell

Around The 'CatdomeO'sphere

Get to the Game this weekend 'Catdome!

Alright a fun trip around our news link round up in this Friday's Around the 'CatdomeO'sphere. We have some highlights of the 'Cats, video of Will/Whit, and Coach Smith's and Speckman's pressers for the week. However, the cream of the crop is the batch of bonus stories at the end of the roundup. Menlo and SOU look to have found a home in the Frontier Conference (Mont. based) and that should save SOU because they were looking at closing up shop if they didn't find a conference.

However, the good stuff comes from Cal Lu this past week where reserve WR Clinton Panton Jr. was rundown, tased, cuffed and stuff, after things got out of hand at a Ventura nightclub. Panton Jr (who has actually been convicted in August 2008 for felony transportation of a controlled substance and of being armed during that offense.) flicked a lit cig that hit a cop in the face and then took a "fighting stance". I guess the lesson here is to not be a moron. Not a good weekend for CLU football.

Linfield Sports: Menlo vs Linfield video highlights

Linfield Review (pdf): 'Cats stomp a mud hole in Menlo (page 16)

Linfield Sports: The 'Cats Lamson is running with an edge

Newsregister.com: Menlo vs Linfield live blog

Linfield Sports: Coach Smith's presser as he talks Oaks and Rats

Statesmanjournal.com: 'Cats deliver doughnuts to Oaks

Oregonlive.com: Former 'Cats player and coach Gary Thorson has Dayton High back on track.

swxrightnow.com (video): Rats on the road to Linfield and Tully says something but nothing at same time.

krem.com (video): Bearcats swamp rats

espnnorthwest.com (video): Willamette plays keep away with Whitworth

swxrightnow.com (video): Yet another Will/Whit video and the Rats still loses

Spokesman.com: Rats take a dive

Full Access Sports Vimeo Page: Willamette's Mark Speckman talks Rat win and L&C

Oregonlive.com: Small College Round Up leads with L&C's loss to PLU

Statesmanjournal.com: WU's offense boat races the Rats

Thenewstribune.com: Lutes over L&C in just a crap wrap-up article.

The Trail (UPS student paper): UPS wins second game by ducking Menlo and playing Pacific a 2nd time

Bonus!

Harvedailynews: SOU and Menlo looks like they found an NAIA home in the Frontier Conference

vcstar.com: CLU reserve receiver (and convicted felon) Clinton Panton Jr. gets arrested in Ventura for flicking lit cig at cops and "taking a fighting stance"

cityofventura.net: Arrest Report: Panton couldn't outrun the cops...guess that's why he never played

Arrestnation: Panton makes "Arrestnation.com" which tracks all arrests in sports. Congrats.

VCstar: CLU football puts Panton Jr on ice.

cluecho.com: CLU has no social life...at all