Linfield Holds Off Southern Oregon, 30-22

Aided by five first-half Southern Oregon turnovers, Linfield took a 24-3 lead at the intermission.

Photo courtesy: Linfield Athletics

ASHLAND, Ore. - Jordan Boustead raced untouched 44 yards into the end zone with less than five minutes to play, sealing a taut 30-22 victory for the Linfield Wildcats over the Southern Oregon Raiders Saturday night at Raider Stadium.

The Wildcats (3-2) won their second straight game by building a double-digit lead, then fending off a furious second-half rally by the Raiders.

Playing just its second home game this season, NAIA independent Southern Oregon (3-3) outgained and outscored Linfield in the second half, but it was not enough to earn the win.

Aided by five first-half SOU turnovers, Linfield took a 24-3 lead at the intermission.

SOU kicker Corey O’Neill connected on a 39-yard field goal to put the hosts in front 3-0, cashing in an interception at the Linfield 35 by Ben Banker.

Linfield got its first points in much the same way, taking advantage of an interception by safety Brian Mehl at the SOU 40.

Four plays later, quarterback Trevor Scharer passed 12 yards to tight end Brett Smedley for the go-ahead score.

Scott Birkhofer booted the extra point and the Wildcats led 7-3 with 3:39 left in the opening quarter.

Not long after, Wildcats linebacker Paul Partlow recovered a fumble by SOU quarterback Bryan Lee-Lauduski at the Raiders’ 2.

An SOU offsides penalty spotted the ball at the 1, where Scharer snuck over behind the block of center John Kemper.

Birkhofer’s extra point split the uprights and the Wildcats led 14-3.

Linfield stretched its lead to 24-3 in the final two minutes of the first half. Tackle Nate Arnold intercepted Lee-Lauduski at the Raiders 1 and two plays later, Dan Lever bowled over for the TD.

An Andrew Bean interception on the Raiders’ next drive set up Birkhofer’s 31-yard field goal with 47 seconds left before intermission.

Linfield wasn’t immune from the turnover bug. This time it was the Raiders converting a miscue into points.

On the Wildcats’ first possession of the third quarter, Scharer fumbled at the Linfield 20 and moments later, Lee-Lauduski passed 10 yards to Darryl Price for six points.

The extra point, attempted from the 18-yard line due to an unsportsmanlike penalty for excessive celebration, was no good.

After Stan Fisher pinned the Raiders at their own 9 with a 33-yard punt, SOU halfback Derrell Hutsona broke away from the pack and bolted 91 yards around left end. The extra point failed, leaving the Wildcats clinging to a 24-15 lead.

Southern was on the doorstep of making it a one-possession game late in the third, but the Wildcats staged a goal-line stand, holding the Raiders on downs at the Linfield 3.

The Raiders remained patient and eventually pulled to within two, 24-22, on Kevin Holtzman’s 10-yard TD catch from Lee-Lauduski with 7:48 left to play.

Following a short kickoff, the ‘Cats gave themselves the breathing room they needed when Scharer hit Boustead over the middle and the junior wideout saw nothing but open field ahead. The PAT failed and Linfield led 30-22 with less than five minutes on the clock.

With the game on the line, the Linfield defense held the Raiders on downs once more. Then on third-and-11 with a little more than two minutes left, Scharer spotted Smedley for an 11-yard gain, giving the Wildcats a fresh set of downs to work with. Without any timeouts remaining, Southern Oregon could no longer stop the clock.

Scharer completed 17 of 35 passes for 195 yards. Masters caught five passes for 39 yards and also gained 16 yards rushing on 11 carries.

Hutsona rushed for a game-high 116 yards on 10 carries. Lee-Lauduski passed for 194 yards, completing 16 of 36 attempts. But he was intercepted four times, all in the first half.

The Raiders outgained the Wildcats in total yards, 359-220, including a 274-100 disparity in the second half.

Defensively, the Wildcats were led by the 13 tackles of Mehl. Linebacker Alex Tkachuk returned from an injury that sidelined for the Puget Sound game to record 10 tackles, including a sack. End Taylor Summers had seven tackles, including 3 ½ stops behind the line of scrimmage.

NEXT:

Linfield returns home to battle Northwest Conference rival Pacific Lutheran in the annual Homecoming game, Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. Southern Oregon is on the road to face Western Oregon Saturday at 2 p.m.

Source: Linfield Athletics

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