NEWBERG, Ore. – Slogging through heavy rain for most of the day, the Linfield Wildcats put together an understated 24-0 shutout of their Yamhill County rivals, the George Fox Bruins, in Northwest Conference football action Saturday at Stoffer Family Stadium.
Ranked second in the latest D3football.com Top 25 poll, Linfield (7-0, 5-0 NWC) moved within one victory of securing at least a share of its seventh straight NWC championship.
Linfield tailback Spencer Payne rushed for 113 yards and one touchdown and Alex Hoff sacked Bruins quarterback Grant Schroeder three times as Linfield outgained George Fox 444-134.
George Fox (3-5, 1-4 NWC) suffered its third consecutive NWC defeat. But after falling 59-0 to Linfield last season, the Bruins could at least take solace in holding the Wildcats without a point in the third quarter. Linfield had outscored its opponents 114-7 in the third quarter entering Saturday's contest.
With four fumbles, two missed field goals and a handful of lost opportunities, Saturday's win was far from the Wildcats' best performance of the season. Linfield battled wave after wave of heavy rain, making ball security an adventure for both clubs.
Riddle completed 9 of 13 throws through the first two quarters but was limited to just three completions for 17 yards after halftime. The Wildcats opened up a 21-0 lead at intermission, piling up 307 yards to the Bruins' 103.
Linfield scored on its opening possession, marching 75 yards in 10 plays and capping the drive with Riddle's 3-yard run. George Fox countered with a lengthy drive of its own, moving nine plays to the Linfield 13 before Keanu Yamamoto intercepted Schroeder at the 9.
The Wildcats quickly made it 14-0, racing to the end zone in five plays with Payne crossing the goal line on a 2-yard dive. The drive was aided by a 33-yard catch-and-run from Riddle to Brian Balsiger that moved the 'Cats inside the red zone.
The Bruins advanced into Wildcats territory at the end of the first quarter but Shroeder's deep ball down the right sideline was picked off by Kyle Belcher at the Linfield 6.
Payne gained 74 of his 113 yards in the first half, helping Linfield rush for 255 yards on the day.
Linfield had an excellent opportunity to add to its lead early in the third period. A botched punt by the Bruins gave Linfield the ball at the GFU 1, but an errant snap, a dropped handoff and a missed field goal held the score at 21-0.
The only points produced by either team in the second half came on a 47-yard field goal by Linfield's Michael Metter. In the second quarter, Metter had missed from 46 yards and Cayman Conley was unable to convert a short 25-yarder in the third quarter.
Schroeder was sacked five times, completing just 7 of 21 attempts for 53 yards. Hoff's nine tackles, three sacks and two other tackles for loss led the defensive charge. Mikey Arkans and Mitchell Kekel each had five tackles.
John Schaffer gained 108 yards on 16 carries but could not find the end zone.
Sutter Choisser ran 10 times for 72 yards off the bench.
'CAT SCRATCH: Saturday's attendance was 3,327…Linfield's series vs. George Fox was the beginning of Linfield's football history, and it was also played on Halloween in Newberg: Oct. 31, 1896, with George Fox winning 54-0. Linfield was then known as McMinnville College and George Fox as Pacific College ... Linfield leads the all-time series 9-4; the Wildcats are 5-3 against the Bruins in McMinnville and 4-1 in Newberg … Linfield has won the last eight games in the series, including last season's 59-0 win in McMinnville. Prior to that, the teams hadn't met since 1942, a 50-0 Linfield win in Newberg; before that game, the last meeting had been in 1926 … in games played on an October 31, Linfield has a record of 9-6. Early on, Halloween wasn't kind to the Wildcats, as they lost their first five games on that date by a combined score of 179-0…the most recent Linfield game on Halloween was in 2009, a win over Puget Sound by a 54-36 score in McMinnville.
Payne, Hoff carry Linfield to 24-0 road win over George Fox
/seasons/2015/boxscores/20151031_4x9b.xml
2015
Linfield
24
George Fox
0
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 2 Linfield (7-0) | 14 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 24 |
| George Fox (3-5) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Oct 31, 2015