Linfield might have escaped with a 54-36 win on Saturday, but Puget Sound put on quite the costume for fans at Maxwell Field on Halloween.

No one would have guessed the Loggers are the Northwest Conference's bottom feeders, instead showing up in McMinnville dressed like league contenders. And they sure spooked Linfield.

But the Wildcats emerged from Saturday's game with at least a share of NWC's regular-season title, giving them their first playoff berth since 2005.

A winless Puget Sound was licking its lips, looking for a win on Saturday. And after the first half, it looked like a major upset might be in the works.

The Loggers kept possession twice as long as Linfield, nipping at Linfield's heels the whole half on the way to a tight 28-24 Wildcat lead at half.

“UPS did just a wonderful job on offense,” said Linfield coach Joseph Smith. “They came out, had a different quarterback playing and he was more of a thrower and very different than what we prepared for. They did a nice job of getting us on our heels.”

The two teams traded scores for most of the first half. Puget Sound took the initiative, scoring first on their first possession of the half at the 11:58 mark.

Then it was Linfield's turn. The Wildcats marched their next possession down the field, getting their first touchdown from a quarterback keeper by junior Aaron Boehme from a yard out.

The Wildcats took the lead on a 37-yard strike from Boehme to a tightly defended Trevor Patterson.

The Loggers and Wildcats would proceed to be tied at 14 apiece, then 21. It was after a Patterson touchdown with less than five minutes left in the first half that put the Wildcats up for good. The Loggers answered with a field goal to go into the break down 28-24.

The third quarter proved to be more score trading. Linfield was first to put points on the board in the third quarter, again off the feet of Boehme who had his second 1-yard QB keeper of the afternoon. Puget Sound answered back five minutes later. But Linfield rallied out two more touchdowns in the fourth to roll to their eighth win in 2009.

Puget Sound quarterback Spencer Crace completed 35-of-44 passes for 328 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. The Loggers’ leading receiver was Ross Zuhl who had 18 catches for 185 yards and two touchdowns. The Loggers finished with 377 total yards on the day.

“It took us a while to adjust to this more passing scheme,” Smith said. “Some of that was on us, but some of that was on them. They threw some great balls ... They were making plays and we weren’t.”

All in all, the Wildcats racked up 505 yards of total offense. Boehme threw for a career-high 409 yards on 26-of-35 passing. The junior threw five touchdowns and one interception. Patterson was Boehme’s top receiver, catching 11 passes for 141 yards and three touchdowns. Buddy Saxon had four catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. Gunna Cederberg also had a score in the win.

Boehme was also Linfield’s leading rusher with 36 yards and three touchdowns.

On the defensive end, Paul Partlow again led the Wildcats, this time with 13 tackles. Jaymin Jackson tacked on eight tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and a sack. And Bryce Comfort chipped in an interception of his own.

The win pushed the Wildcats to a perfect 8-0 record, 5-0 in Northwest Conference play. If Linfield wins their final game of the season, they will claim sole possession of the NWC regular-season title.

The Wildcats will now have a week to rest with a bye next Saturday before they return to Maxwell Field on Nov. 14 against Pacific Lutheran.