Linfield College will host its second-round NCAA Division III playoff game with Mary Hardin-Baylor of Belton, TX on Saturday. Game time is noon at Maxwell Field in McMinnville.

The two teams last met in the 2004 Alonzo Stagg Bowl, with Linfield winning that national Division III championship by a 28-21 score.

Linfield earned its spot by dispatching Cal Lutheran 38-17 on Saturday in McMinnville. Mary Hardin-Baylor stopped a 2-point conversion with 28 second left to hold off Central, 42-40.

Here’s the story of Linfield’s win over Cal Lutheran:

It was a play that could have changed the course of the entire game. But instead it turned into tone setting statement by the Linfield defense.

After receiving the opening kickoff of Saturday’s playoff matchup against Cal Lutheran, quarterback Aaron Boehme fumbled a hand off to Aaron Williams. The Kingsmen recovered, giving them the ball on Linfield’s 15-yard line. Cue the defense.

Cal Lutheran was able to eke the ball down to the six. But Linfield’s staunch defense stonewalled the Kingsmen, denying CLU the end zone and forcing them to settle for a field goal.

After that, the Linfield offense bounced back, getting things back on track en route to a 38-17 win over No. 22 Cal Lutheran at Maxwell Field in the opening round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

The win propelled No. 5 Linfield into the second round of the playoffs, which they will host next Saturday when Mary Hardin-Baylor comes to town for a rematch between the 2004 national championship teams. Kickoff for that game is set for noon.

Linfield’s defense had yet another stellar outing on a windy Saturday afternoon. The Wildcats held Cal Lutheran to 220 yards, and only 79 in the first half. They also laid down eight sacks on CLU’s quarterback Jericho Toilolo. And they also added in four interceptions and denied the Kingsmen twice in the red zone.

“This was definitely the best defense we’ve faced all year,” Jericho said after the game.

“They didn’t do anything we weren’t prepared for, they just did it better than we did,” Cal Lutheran coach Ben McEnroe added.
After the flubbed opening drive, Linfield found themselves in a 3-0 deficit. But that was the only time the Cats would trail. On their next drive, Boehme used his feet rather than his arm to light a fire under the offense.

On a fake handoff, Boehme kept the ball and dashed 43 yards to give the Wildcats great field position on the CLU 29.

“That’s when we knew we had it in the bag, so to speak,” said Linfield offensive lineman Scott Millenbach of Boehme’s run.

After Boehme again ran a few more series, Williams took the snap from one yard back and rumbled into the end zone for Linfield’s first points.

The Cats scored 31 unanswered points in the first half before CLU tacked on two more touchdowns in the half to go into the break with Linfield up 33-17.

Linfield wound up tallying one more touchdown in the second half. And its defense blanked the Kingsmen’s offense in the second half, forcing CLU to punt twice, intercepting two passes and stopping two fourth down attempts.

The Wildcat defense was led by both Jaymin Jackson and Alex Tkachuk who tallied eight tackles apiece. Three of Jackson’s tackles were for losses and he also recorded a sack. Safety Drew Fisher, who had seven tackles on the day, caught two of Linfield’s four interceptions. Paul Partlow and Bryce Comfort snagged the other two.

Offensively, Linfield go 99 yards and a touchdown on the ground from quarterback Boehme. He also tossed for 114 yards and two more touchdowns. Aaron Williams ran 22 times for 129 yards and a score.

Passing was limited on the windy afternoon. Gunna Cederberg led Linfield with 32 yards on two catches, one for a touchdown. Simon Lamson had 30 yards on one catch. Buddy Saxon and Ryan Henderson each tallied 22 yards a piece. Henderson snared a touchdown as well.

Cal Lutheran was led offensively by Brian Stuart who ran for 87 yards and scored both their touchdowns. Toilolo tossed for 155 yards.