Few if any Linfield football fans will forget that the Wildcats
won the 2004 NCAA DIII national football championship.
In Salem, Va., the 'Cats defeated Mary Hardin-Baylor, 28-21,
for the title in the Stagg Bowl on Dec. 18, 2004.
Who was MVP -- hint, it was a Linfield player -- in the
game. Linfield QB Brett Elliott? No, 6-foot, 190-pounds Riley Jenkins (see photo).
Part of the Roanoke (Va.)
Times newspaper Dec. 19, 2004, coverage about the game included,
"A Division I-A transfer was named the Most Outstanding
Player of the Stagg Bowl.
"No, not Linfield quarterback Brett Elliott, a former
starter for Utah. Elliott threw for two touchdowns and ran for another in his
team's 28-21 victory Saturday, but he was outshined by former Oregon State
walk-on Riley Jenkins.
"Jenkins, a fifth-year senior, ran for a team-high 81
yards and one TD on 18 carries and had four catches for 64 yards. He scored the
winning touchdown on Elliott's 10-yard pass with 5:51 to go.
"What's up, MVP?" teammate Mordechai Kotler said
to Jenkins as they hugged on the Salem Stadium field before the award
announcement."
