Never say die and the best comebacks in Linfield football history
“The harder you work, the harder it is to give up.” – Coach Joe Smith a about Linfield fourth quarter comebacks.
Linfield
Football : Remembrance of Games Past
By
Rusty Rae, McMinnville N-R/News-Register, 10/2/2020
If you’ve watched a Linfield football game, you know the
Wildcat tradition of raising four fingers at the start of the fourth quarter.
It wasn’t always the case. This custom dates back to a stunning national
championship come-from-behind, 30-22 victory over Northwestern (of Iowa) in
1984, called by many the greatest comeback in NAIA playoff history.
More to the point, the development of a never-say-die DNA of
the program truly originated with Paul Durham. You see it writ large over the
doors of Memorial Stadium leading to the locker room. Players see it every day
they pass through the portal on their way to their lockers:
“Am I better football player today than I was yesterday?”
Linfield head coach Joseph Smith put it this way, “The
harder you work, the harder it is to give up.”
The contest featured Linfield, the national champion in
1982, and Northwestern, the defending national champion, a team Ad Rutschman,
Linfield head coach, termed the finest team they’d see, featuring six players
who he believed could have started on a DI team.
When the first half ended, the Wildcats found themselves at
the bottom of a 16-0 hole. “The thing is, we had an awful lot to do with that.
“I basically told the team at halftime, ‘We put a lot of
points on the scoreboard — just for the wrong team,’” he said.
David Lindsey, the Linfield QB, gave up an interception on
the first play of the game that gave Northwestern a score and 6-0 lead 42
seconds into the tilt. Northwestern took advantage of another turnover for a
13-0 lead with 5:37 left in the first half and then tacked on a 38-yard field
when the ‘Cats lost a fumble before the break.
In the second half, the Wildcats changed up their defense
with more stunting to apply extra pressure on Northwestern’s QB, Dave Kaemingk.
But on the first possession, the Raiders scored again, pushing their lead to
22-0 in front of a dispirited home crowd.
Rutschman said the offensive game plan focused on throwing
out routes, which Northwestern covered well. For the second half, the ‘Cats
switched to more plays in the center of the field.
Linfield finally lit up the score board at the 3:02 mark of
the third quarter with a 27-yard field goal by John Gray, narrowing the gap to
22-3.
With 35 second left in the third, a Linfield interception on
the Northwestern 21-yard line produced a touchdown. The two-point conversion
brought the Wildcats to within 11, 22-11. At the 9:01 mark of the fourth
period, Linfield scored again and, suddenly, the home crowd became a force.
Linfield running back Tim Nacrelli sealed the comeback for
the ‘Cats, giving Linfield a 26-22 lead with an eight-yard TD dash, and then
placed the cherry on top with a halfback pass for the final score.
Nacrelli, following the game, summed it up best: He said,
“We didn’t give up on ourselves. Champions don’t quit.” In a phone conversation
this week, he added, “We very easily could have given up — but we were just a
stubborn group of guys and coaches and we hung together — we just couldn’t give
up on ourselves and the team,”
Of course, there have many impressive underdog wins by
Linfield, including a 1965 30-27 triumph over Sul Ross State on the road in
Texas, which sent the ‘Cats to the national championship game.
Rutschman recalls two comebacks in particular, one against
PLU at Sparks Field in Puyallup, the Lutes’ home field, and the second against
Willamette in McMinnville. Against the Lutes, Rutschman remembers the announcer
telling the crowd the PLU win that night (the Knights were ahead late in the
game) would destroy the Linfield win streak.
The ‘Cats, however, scored with eight seconds left for the
20-19 win. In 1985, Linfield scored 29 points in the final 16 minutes for a
36-33 win over Willamette in McMinnville.
There are two other comeback stories from a more modern era
worthy of mention, a 30-22 win over a powerful Menlo team in 2001 and the 38-35
playoff conquest against University of Mary-Hardin Baylor in McMinnville in
2015.
To set the stage for the Menlo contest, the ‘Cats entered
with a 1-2 record. They’d been drubbed by a good Southern Oregon team, 29-0,
two weeks previously and dropped a 30-21 decision to PLU the week before.
Whispers abounded this might be the year Linfield lost its 45-year steak of
winning seasons.
In the Menlo team, Linfield faced a program with three
future NFLers and played the game on the road in California. The ‘Cats were
competitive, but trailed 13-9 at the half and relinquished a pair of scores in
the third quarter, going into the fourth down by a 27-9 margin.
To open the fourth, Linfield coaching staff made a change at
QB, inserting the once demoted (after the SOU loss) Tyler Matthews. On his
fourth play, he hit freshman wide receiver Justin Hubbard, a former Amity
Warrior, for a 22-yard score. Less than three minutes later Matthews went
31-yards to Hubbard again for another score, closing the gap to 27-23.
The Matthews performance was far from over; he hooked up
with Marcus Ward for 74 yards on the game-winner, while the Linfield defense
held Menlo scoreless in the fourth. Matthews started every game from then on
until graduation.
Five years ago, in a playoff game against the powerful
University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (UMHB) squad in McMinnville, the ‘Cats rallied
for a 38-35 victory, propelling them into the semifinals of the DIII
championship tournament.
It was a situation in which the deck seemed to be stacked
against the locals. First, UMHB was, as usual, loaded with talent. Smith notes,
“They are always the most physically talented DIII team in the country with a
number of DI level players.”
Additionally, Linfield’s all-conference QB Sam Riddle didn’t
play due to an ankle sprain suffered during the previous playoff win. Back-up
QB Tom Knecht would assume the helm.
The powerful Crusaders wasted little time, jumping to a 21-0
lead at the 7:51 mark of the first quarter. Knecht finally found his rhythm
driving the ‘Cats 90 yards for their first score, a 36-yard arrow to receiver
Johnny Carroll. A fumble recovery on the next UMHB series gave Linfield the
ball at the Cru’ 29. Knecht next cashed in Linfield’s second score, a nine-yard
strike to Zach Kuzens, pulling the locals to 21-14.
A Knecht interception and 40-yard return gave UMHB an easy
score and a 28-14 lead with 11:31 left in the half. As defenses adjusted,
neither team was able to show much offense through the remainder of the first
half.
Knecht engineered a pair of scores in the third quarter as
the ‘Cat defense held the Cru’ offense at bay. A 37-yard rainbow to Brian
Balsiger carried the ball to the UMHB one, and a pass to Carroll for one yard
made the score 28-21.
The wheels began to wobble on the Crusader wagon late in the
third period. When it appeared the Cru’ were readying to score, Linfield’s
defense held fast.
From the Linfield 15-yard line, a UMHB was whistled for a
personal foul and the player was ejected. From the ‘Cat 30-yard line, UMHB was
flagged for a false start. On the next play, the snap went over the QB’s head,
where all-American defensive end Alex Hoff out-hustled the entire Cru’ crew to
recover the ball.
Knecht drove the ‘Cats to the tying score, a 13-yard toss to
Balsiger. The game entered the final period with the game knotted at 28. Knecht
and company seized the day on their next possession, as he connected with
Balsiger for 27-yards. At the 6:58 mark, Linfield had its first lead of the
game, 35-28
But the Cru located some mojo of their own as Thomas
DeNeriam went 85 yards with a pass from Zach Anderson to tie the score at 35.
The Cru’ had seemingly succeeded in turning the tables on Linfield and were
poised to head for home with the win when they intercepted Knecht deep in
Linfield territory.
On a third-and-four at the Linfield 17, another snap went
zooming over the head of the UMHB QB. Again it was Hoff who zipped past the
entire Cru’ team to capture the errant ball. Linfield started the final drive
from the UMHB 49 with 3:53 left.
Knecht pushed the ‘Cats to the Cru’ 21 as the clock ticked
away. Spencer Payne, the former McMinnville Grizzly, dashed six yards to the
15-yard line. Linfield called time out to prepare for the field goal with three
seconds left. The Crusaders called for a stoppage to try and ice Linfield
kicker Michael Metter with two consecutive timeouts, but Metter split the
uprights for the 38-35 victory.
No, Linfield doesn’t win every close game. Yet, regardless
of the score, they believe they own the fourth quarter.
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