Fuhgeddaboudit!!! ‘Cats roll 35-14 in season opener at Rowan.

Team. Excellence. Attitude. Class.

Yup, that was a good start to the season.  I’m not at practice every day but the times I attended fall camp, I liked what I saw from this group on a number of levels.  Yes, there’s still a list of areas and items where this Linfield team needs to improve, and the ‘Cats were far from a finished product against Rowan, but we have a chance to be a damn good football team.  (On a side note, it took me about 45 minutes to come up with a headline to this game review because everything I had would have landed me in hot water.  The 16-year-old in me couldn’t get past playing at Richard Wacker stadium.)

That wasn’t an easy game on multiple fronts.  The travel alone was grueling. In talking to some players on the way out, this was easily the furthest East of the United Sates they’ve been in their lives. On top of that, this is a younger core as well with the largest class on the trip being sophomores. There was a lot of ‘new’ going on for this Linfield program. That said, confidence in their potential is high and we had a peek of this against the Profs.

Rowan for their part is a solid team.  They certainly look the part in terms of size and skill.  Hell, if you were going to use the eyeball test to judge who was going to win on Saturday, most unknowing people would have dumped buckets of money on Rowan’s chances.  This isn’t a new story when playing teams from outside the West Region for Linfield, but time after time, when the ball is kicked off the ‘Cats have them singing a different tune.

This Saturday was no different as the ‘Cats showcased a swarming ball-hawking defense and an offense that struck quickly with the deep ball as the ‘Cats pushed the lead to 14-0 late in the first half.  But Rowan mounted a heck of a drive that saw the Profs crack the scoreboard with no time left in the half to get the score to 14-7 Linfield.  It was a big drive for Rowan and gave them life going into the break.

The second half started slow for the Linfield offense in two fruitless drives to start the 2nd and that’s when Rowan scored their 2nd and last touchdown on the day in a 30 yard rushing gash to tie the game up at 14.  It was a critical moment for Linfield and the offense answered with a quick TD of their own to push out into a lead and the Wildcats never looked back in the 35-14 victory for Linfield.

While the win felt great to start the season, Linfield cannot afford to put their feet up on the dash.  Up next for Linfield is a huge challenge down in Southern California when Linfield once again plays Redlands. The ‘Cats have owned the series against the Bulldogs since they first played in 1998 but this 2019 version is easily the best Redlands football team I’ve seen and the ‘Cats better be ready to roll.

We’ll talk more about the Dawgs on Wednesday but let’s get to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from this past weekend’s win over the Profs.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good

Handling the travel:  Awesome job by the staff and players in dealing with the commercial travel to get to Rowan. Linfield didn’t come out on Thursday but rather on Friday.  The team was split into two groups and didn’t get into the hotel until about 8pm Friday night (no Friday practice). But every step of the way, food and hydration was waiting, the players were well organized by the staff, and I didn’t see a single leg cramp on the field during the game. (Rowan had at least 3 different guys go down with cramps.)  An outstanding job by the staff and players with their attention to detail, staying focused on the trip, but making the most of it along the way.  This is great group of guys.

Passing Attack:  Awesome effort by the offense in throwing the ball. O-line/RB’s protected, Wyatt Smith delivered, and we have a number of ‘Cats that can get behind a defense.  Smith was great in going 24 of 35 for 283 yards 4 TD’s. Smith spread the ball around to Keegan Weiss (5 for 104 yds and 2 tds), Keaton Wood (3 for 63 yards and 1 td), Tyler Torgerson (7 for 41 yds), and Jacob Calo (4 for 40 and 1 TD).  Outstanding job by these guys and once Colton Smith starts growing into the offense, you’re going to have 4 guys on the outside that can run right past you. Scary.

The Wildcats opened up the scoring this past Saturday vs Rowan with this @Gators15Smith 55-yard TD pass to @k10swai in @LinfieldFB's 35-14 road victory. #Catdome pic.twitter.com/Huyj24VGPx

— Catdomealumni Football (@Catdome_alumni) September 15, 2019

Creating turnovers: Outstanding job by our defense in this phase of the game.  Both of our starting Corners (Tyler Sitton, and Chris Adamo) had interceptions as well as starting safety Dustin Ramsayer-Burdett.  Then you throw in Brian Pullman’s outstanding strip forced fumble that Keyell Davis scooped up and the ‘Cats racked up a 4-pack turnover day.  Those turnovers were all big as Adamo and Ramsayer-Burdett’s picks halted Prof drives and the Linfield offense punched in TD’s off of Sitton and Davis/Pullman’s work.  We have play makers on this defense.

Corner @Sitton02 came up with Linfield's first pick of the season during the 2nd quarter of @LinfieldFB's 35-14 victory over Rowan. #Catdome pic.twitter.com/JIdu5wERlS

— Catdomealumni Football (@Catdome_alumni) September 16, 2019

Overall pass pro:  If you go back and look at the two long TD strikes from Wyatt Smith you would see Smith in a clean pocket and Smith stepping into his throws.  That comes from great pass protection.  This is a young offensive line and they did a nice job against a defensive line with a returning D3 All-American on it.  I though the RB’s did a good job picking up the blitz and overall it was a solid effort. No time to be content as I think next week’s pass rush will be a notch up in terms of challenge.

Limiting Prof big plays: Rowan’s offense popped two big plays today (long 1st quarter pass and 30-yard TD run) but beyond that the ‘Cats held the big play in check.  That’s pretty good considering the Profs ran 83 offensive plays on the day.

Pass Coverage:  Linfield limited the profs to 151 passing yards on the day (17 of 30) with one TD against the 3 picks we talked about above.  Our DB’s competed hard for the ball once it was in the air and made a number of big plays, breakups, and a highlight reel collision as well.

Having an answer:  Holy smokes, when Rowan tied it up at 14 in that 3rd quarter you could feel their sideline swell up with excitement. The Profs had new life and it was a big moment for this Linfield offense.  The first two possessions of the half were not great.  I specifically said in my mind “Well, we’re gonna learn a little bit about our offense.”  3 plays and 57 seconds later the ‘Cats answered back with a Smith to Calo TD pass and took the wind out of Rowan’s sails.  That Wildcat response was a decisive body blow on the outcome of the game.

Bonus Awesome

The trip to Manhattan:  That was just something else.  Coach Smith works hard on making these long flight trip special as the ‘Cats have gone to Dodger or Angels games when visiting SoCal in the past, or the trip to Philly when Linfield ran the “Rocky Steps” and toured Independence Square during the 2014 Semi-Finals at Widener. This time around Coach Smith and the staff arranged a trip on the Staten Island Ferry to drop off the ‘Cats in the heart of Manhattan to visit the Ground Zero memorial.  As usual, the players had no idea where we were going until we showed up at the St. George Ferry terminal.  It was both exciting to be in New York and incredibly humbling to visit Ground Zero. It was an unforgettable experience.  Thank you Coach Smith for always making each year about more than just football.
The Bad

4th down defense:  Letting an offense go 5 for 5 on 4th down is never going to be ok or acceptable for any defense, let alone one like Linfield’s.  The ‘Cats defense was rock solid on 3rd down (allowed 6 conversions on 17 attempts) but struggled in turning the Profs away on 4th down.
Need to rush the ball better:  Look, the Wildcats offense put up 35 points in their debut game with a revamped offensive line.  I’m proud of that group. However, you and I both know that in order for Linfield to reach another level we have to have balance in this offense and 2.1 yards per carry is not going to get it done.

Jumping offsides:  I’m going to chalk this up to first game excitement by the defensive line but the defensive line has to be much better going forward on holding their water. I believe we jumped offsides four times and all that did was turn 2nd/3rd and long into much more manageable downs for the Rowan offense.

Putting the ball at risk too much:  Linfield only had two turnovers on the day but was in danger of having a 3rd pick and nearly turned it over on 2 fumbles deep on our town territory.  Those balls go the other way and maybe we’re having a different conversation today.

The Ugly

Nothing.  A victory, no major injuries, an incredible bonus trip on top of the game made for a weekend to remember. We all know and understand that one game doesn’t make for a season (in victory or defeat) but this weekend was a blast to take part in. There are a lot of little signs that this can be an excellent football team, however, there is a laundry list of items to address and shore up to get there. This Saturday is going to be a big test for Linfield so now’s the time to put the Rowan game in the past and turn all focus on the Bulldogs.