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Pirates Find Nowhere To Hide Linfield’s 28-3 Ncic Win Halts Whits’ Streak At Two

Joe Everson Correspondent

It didn’t particularly seem that Linfield was overpowering Whitworth on Saturday afternoon at the Pine Bowl until, after 60 minutes of football, the scoreboard showed that the Wildcats had handed the Bucs a 28-3 beating.

The loss ended Whitworth’s modest two-game winning streak, dropping the Pirates to 2-3. Linfield, which has enjoyed 41 straight winning seasons, evened its record at 2-2 and won its Northwest Conference of Independent Colleges opener. Whitworth is 1-1 in the NCIC.

Most of the damage was done to the Pirates in the second period, when the Wildcats scored three touchdowns for a 21-0 lead at halftime. By that time, Linfield had recorded 15 first downs to Whitworth’s three, with nearly 300 yards of offense to Whitworth’s 69.

Whitworth coach John Tully’s postgame analysis was short and to the point. “They played well, we played poorly,” he said, disappointment in the Bucs’ performance etched on his face.

“We played so badly, it’s hard for me to judge anything from this,” he continued. “Let’s see, our punt team played pretty well.”

To Linfield coach Jay Locey, Tully said, “I’m happy for you, sad for us; I just wish we could have played you a little better.”

Linfield quarterback Brian Higgens, with a 45 percent completion mark coming in, connected on his first 12 passes, and his first incompletion was followed immediately by Carl Haberberger’s 37-yard touchdown run.

That dash to the end zone, with 3:13 left in the half, made it 21-0 after the conversion. Higgens’ 31-yard completion to fullback Tramaine Payne was the key play in a 72-yard Wildcat drive to open the second half. Paul Dawson’s second TD, a 5-yard run, finished Linfield’s scoring for the afternoon just 2:30 into the second half.

The Pirates averted a shutout with 4:11 remaining in the game, although they crossed midfield five times in the second half. Matt Stueckle’s 34-yard field goal finally got Whitworth on the board.

Higgens completed 14 of 17 passes for 195 yards, and the Wildcats gained 483. They held Whitworth to 178 yards and eight first downs. The Pirates punted nine times and had three turnovers.

Locey was understandably upbeat after Linfield’s victory, although he didn’t realize just how sensational Higgens’ early performance had been until he was informed afterward.

“Hey, I’m just the defensive coordinator,” he said. “That’s pretty good. We must have called the right plays.

“We really needed to play well today,” he continued on a more serious note. “This was a big game for us, because we haven’t been playing that well. This is the first time we’ve executed like this - the bye last week really helped us to get well and to regroup a little. We’ll be smiling on the bus all the way back.”

W. Washington 45, Humboldt St. 5

In Arcata, Calif., Darren Erath threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead the Vikings over the Lumberjacks in a Columbia Football Association game.

The Vikings, ranked No. 13 in this week’s NAIA poll, improved to 3-2 and 1-1 in conference. Humboldt slipped to 1-5 and 0-1.

PLU 30, E. Oregon 26

In LaGrande, Ore., Dak Jordan threw for 241 yards and two touchdowns to lead Pacific Lutheran over the Mountaineers.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Linfield 28, Whitworth 3 Linfield 0 21 7 0 28 Whitworth 0 0 0 3 3 LCForsey 38 run (Ward kick) LCDawson 2 run (Ward kick) LCHaberberger 37 run (Ward kick) LCDawson 5 run (Ward kick) WCStueckle 34 field goal A1,800. LC WC First downs 21 8 Rushes-yards 48-241 32-85 Passing 242 93 Comp-Att-Int 17-20-1 7-18-2 Return Yards 8 26 Punts-Avg. 6-32.2 9-35.0 Fumbles-Lost 4-1 1-1 Penalties-Yards 6-42 6-38 Time of Possessio 34:05 25:55 RUSHING-Linfield, Flood 16-68, Haberberger 6-56, Forsey 3-47, Dawson 6-27. Whitworth, Putney 11-41, Vaday 13-32, Mitrovich 5-11, Doyle 3-1. PASSING-Linfield, Higgens 14-17-1-195, Musser 3-3-0-47. Whitworth, Doyle 4-10-1-38, Mitrovich 3-8-1-55. RECEIVING-Linfield, Linn 3-66, Johnson 3-37, Forsey 2-42, Payne 2-30. Whitworth, Glenn 4-43, Stueckle 2-22, Gustafson 1-28.

This sidebar appeared with the story: Linfield 28, Whitworth 3 Linfield 0 21 7 0 28 Whitworth 0 0 0 3 3 LCForsey 38 run (Ward kick) LCDawson 2 run (Ward kick) LCHaberberger 37 run (Ward kick) LCDawson 5 run (Ward kick) WCStueckle 34 field goal A1,800. LC WC First downs 21 8 Rushes-yards 48-241 32-85 Passing 242 93 Comp-Att-Int 17-20-1 7-18-2 Return Yards 8 26 Punts-Avg. 6-32.2 9-35.0 Fumbles-Lost 4-1 1-1 Penalties-Yards 6-42 6-38 Time of Possessio 34:05 25:55 RUSHING-Linfield, Flood 16-68, Haberberger 6-56, Forsey 3-47, Dawson 6-27. Whitworth, Putney 11-41, Vaday 13-32, Mitrovich 5-11, Doyle 3-1. PASSING-Linfield, Higgens 14-17-1-195, Musser 3-3-0-47. Whitworth, Doyle 4-10-1-38, Mitrovich 3-8-1-55. RECEIVING-Linfield, Linn 3-66, Johnson 3-37, Forsey 2-42, Payne 2-30. Whitworth, Glenn 4-43, Stueckle 2-22, Gustafson 1-28.