THE GIFT OF A LIFETIME: ‘One Goal’ Wildcats claim 2004 national football championship
“It was poetic that our defense, after all of our offensive
firepower during the season, won the game for us.” – Brett Elliott, Starting
quarterback for the 2004 National Champions Linfield Wildcats
By Rusty Rae McMinnville N-R/News-Register Dec. 18, 2020
(Photo on page 10A by Rusty Rae. Photo on page 9A by Linfield Sports Information.)
Four years of demoralizing playoff losses — games in which supremely talented Linfield football teams lost rather than being beaten. From their frustration, in the spring of 2004, a group of senior teammates decided on a team slogan.
Kiki Sagosian, a fifth-year senior and starting guard in 2003 and 2004 teams, recalled, “Our catch phrase — our motivation was ‘One Goal,’ one goal— win the national championship.”
In the fifth week of the NCAA division III championship tournament, Linfield defeated University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, 28-21, and finally brought the title home to Linfield. What follows describes that glorious year.
Linfield head coach Joseph Smith respectfully agrees about those stellar teams not really being beaten.
“We had such a good team in 2002 — we were a physically dominating team — and 2003, many of those guys got a taste of the playoffs. But for them, there were only bittersweet memories of what could have been,” Smith said.
Around the same time those seniors created the team slogan, entered Brett Elliot, a transfer from Utah. Elliott had been the starter through the first two games for then-head coach Urban Meyer, but fractured his wrist in the second game of the season. Alex Smith, future first-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers, replaced him.
Elliott could read the handwriting between the yard lines and transferred to Linfield.
While there may have been other schools Elliott could have signed with, he chose Linfield.
“They needed a quarterback (Tyler Matthews had graduated). I came by at Thanksgiving, had some conversations with coach Locey (Jay, the head coach at the time) and I wanted to win a national championship,” Elliott said.
“Coach Elliott is the best quarterback ever to play football in the DIII division,” Smith added.
Another key factor, as you’ll see, running back Riley Jenkins transferred in from Oregon State University.
“We knew they were both DI athletes. We had gone through all those painful losses together — had forged a bond — but they both quickly became part of us,” Sagoian recalled.
Added Smith, “I don’t care how good you are — you have to do things the Linfield way, and Brett and Riley were both Linfield guys.”
For Smith, the defensive coordinator at the time, the issue involved breaking in an almost completely new secondary.
The opening contest of the season was a 58-17 blowout over Western Oregon. The following weekend, the Wildcats traveled to the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point – one of the bullies of the midway.
Sagoian remembers Stevens Point played on a grass field. The hosts had allowed the grass to grow tall; they watered the field on game day to slow down the ‘Cat offense.
It nearly worked.
“Steven’s Point was a very physical team and, honestly, we just weren’t good on defense at this early point in the season. We really had a difficult time stopping their offense,” Smith said.
While the Wildcats trailed 21-18 at halftime, Elliott rallied the team with a halftime speech –“I didn’t come here to lose and I’ll be damned if we are leaving here with a loss.”
Smith believes at that point Elliott became the leader. However, as the clock started for the fourth quarter, the Wildcats faced a 35-25 deficit.
Smith told the offensive coaches, “I don’t know how many stops we have — you’re going to have to score for us to win. It’s the only time I’ve ever said that.”
The defense recovered from its panic produced by the first three quarters to record a fourth-quarter shutout. Stevens Point had to punt within the first minute of final period; Elliott took over on offense as well.
He drove the ‘Cats 76 yards in eight plays, scoring on a 10-yard pass to Tyler Kaluza, narrowing the gap to 35-32. Again, the Linfield defense held; UWSP punted from its 18-yard line — poorly. The kick wobbled 27 yards and Brian Hazenberg returned it 35 yards into the red zone.
Elliott and the offense sensed blood in the water.
It took the offense one play to grab the lead on a 10-yarder from Elliott to Casey Allen. Finally, the ‘Cats secured the lead, 39-35, along with some momentum.
On the next series, the Pointers drove into Linfield territory, but a stiff pass rush resulted in an excellent interception by Andrew Woods.
With running back Thomas Ford doing work in the trenches, the ‘Cats scored again. Elliott hit Ford on a short screen pass, and Ford turned into a Ferrari, accelerating 59 yards for the final score of the game, and a 46-35 lead.
The defense penned down the Pointers for the rest of the contest. Phil Rombach, now also on the Linfield coaching staff, caused a fumble on UWSP’s next series, covered by Zach Fleming.
The Pointers attempted one final drive, but the defense, playing with verve if not confidence, shut them down, taking over on downs with 25 seconds left.
The win and a historic run to the title were sealed.
“It was the turning point of the season and set us up for the rest of the season — we got caught up in the moment,” Elliott recalled.
For the most part, the Wildcats sailed through the rest of the season, though Smith notes the game with Whitworth, a 48-37 win in McMinnville, wasn’t as close as the score indicated.
Still, it was another milepost in the development of the
defense.
The Pirates had seemingly found
the antidote for the
Linfield defense. Smith said, “The defense was getting beat all day — we
couldn’t seem to find a way to stop them. I could have changed our approach and
solved it, but somewhat stubbornly stayed with it.”
Smith, confident Linfield’s offense couldn’t be stopped by Whitworth, added, “We had the best three receivers on the West Coast (George Carter, Brandon Hazenberg, and Casey Allen) — our defense saw those guys every day in practice.
“So, basically, I used the Whitworth
game as a practice
session and stayed in our base defense until we fixed it. By the end of the game,
we were solid, and it’s the base defense we used for the rest of the season,” he said.
“It’s difficult to realize how
special that offensive
unit was in 2004. We (the defense) really didn’t have
much pressure on us — we could play a “C” game and
we knew we would win. We put our guys in situations
that would challenge them and, ultimately, that made
the difference,” he added.
Thanks to their number two
national ranking, Linfield
earned a first-round bye. Smith noted, “The bye
was a big deal. It was, in the day, a huge advantage.
We had few injuries on this team,
but it gave us a chance
to catch our breath and really prepare for the run to
the championship game,” he said.
One injury, sustained in the
University of Puget
Sound contest, was a broken wrist to ace-running back
Thomas Ford, essentially eliminating him for the rest
of the season. Fortunately, Linfield lost very little at
running back with Jenkins stepping into that slot.
A first-round contest against
University of Wisconsin-
LaCrosse was just a routine day at the office for the Wildcats, a 52-14 blowout
win in McMinnville.
“We were attacking in all three phases of the game,” Smith recalled.
Linfield led 24-0 at the half. They scored 28 points in the second half, including O.J. Gulley’s 100-yard interception return with slightly over two minutes left.
Next on Maxell Field was Occidental from Southern California. Smith called the Tigers a formidable squad, but one that ran up against a Linfield side firing on all cylinders, particularly on offense.
The Tigers weren’t intimidated by the ‘Cat offense and went toe-to-toe with Linfield, leading 17-14 after the first quarter.
Linfield’s offense shifted into high gear during the second quarter. Elliott released the hounds, scoring four TDs through the air for a 42-20 lead at the break.
Linfield finished with a 56-17 win.
Rowan followed, a team that,
on paper, looked fantastic
— and during warm-ups every player appeared ready
for the NFL.
“When they walked on the
field and you saw them
you just went ‘Oh goodness.’ They just looked like a good football team,” Smith
said.
Rowan reminded Smith of Minot State, which he had played against in 1992 on the way to Linfield’s last national championship game.
“They were a big, bruising team, too, but we had our way with them,” Smith remembered of the 47-12 shellacking Linfield doled out that day.
Similarly, the ‘Cats were even more dominating in the 2004 semifinal contest.
The Profs simply had no answer
for Linfield’s speed
on offense, while the defense overwhelmed Rowan.
Smith noted, “It was the battle of the Little Bighorn all over again.”
With its 52-0 victory, Linfield was en route to Salem, Virginia, the national championship game against University of Mary-Hardin Baylor.
The Crusaders had knocked off the defending national champs, Mount Union, a frequent DIII national winner, 38-35.
UMHB, not even a league champion, atoned for an earlier loss to Hardin-Simmons in a second-round game with a 42-28 win.
Against Mount Union, however, amid the snow in Ohio, the Cru’ resorted to a Hail Mary pass to their top receiver, P.J. Williams. A former minor league baseball player, Smith said he was very athletic and a major target at 6’3”.
Linfield quickly started the championship game, scoring on its first possession. In less than a minute, Elliott hit Hazenberg for 39 yards and the opening touchdown.
While Smith vowed never to let the Crusaders’ Williams beat the ‘Cats, he tied the game midway through the first quarter with 14-yard TD catch.
Noted Smith, “We gave up two scores as a result of losing containment — something that still haunts me a bit even today.”
After the rocket start on the first possession, UMHB’s defense made adjustments. Elliott said they pressured him with their stunts, which also confused the offensive line, explaining, “We didn’t play well offensively. I was frustrated the whole game — I missed a couple of throws that probably would have been scores.”
Midway through the second quarter, the Wildcats drove 68 yards for their second score. Jenkins, the OSU transfer who had taken over for Ford, sliced 14 yards, giving Linfield a 14-7 lead at the 7:24 mark.
One of two Elliott interceptions transpired on the next series, setting up UMHB at the ‘Cat 30-yard line. Immediately, the Crusaders went to Williams for a one-play score. However, the PAT was blocked by Ryan Caffall.
The ‘Cats held a 14-13 lead.
Linfield’s offense revved up in the next series as Elliott and Jenkins found success with the passing game. Elliott hit Carter for 24 yards, followed by a pair of passes to Jenkins for 36 and 21 yards, respectively.
On a first-and-goal from the one, Elliott scored. Linfield entered halftime with a 21-13 lead.
Although the two squads played
a scoreless third
quarter, the Crusaders tied the game at 9:01 of the fourth.
It began with a Williams 39-yard punt return.
From the ‘Cat 18-yard line, Freddie Rollins sprinted in for the score. He also rushed for the two-point conversion, tying the game.
At this point, the script flipped for the Wildcats and the defense rose to the occasion, essentially nullifying every Crusader offensive effort and setting up the‘Cats for the win.
On the next series, Linfield was forced to punt, downing the ball on the UMHB 10-yard line.
The ‘Cats’ defense held UMHB to a short, ensuing drive. Then, Zach Fleming blocked the Crusaders’ punt.
“Zach had been battling this UMHB player all game. He was a very smart player and kind of set him up — he sprinted free and got the block,” Smith said.
That handed Linfield the opportunity
needed for the
go-ahead TD.
Elliott again threw to Jenkins, hitting the running back-turned-receiver with a short swing pass. It was not Elliott’s best. Yet, Jenkins one-handed it, dancing into the end zone for the 28-21 lead.
But with 5:51 remaining, there was still more than enough time for the Crusaders to tie or win the game.
However, Linfield’s defense snuffed out the next offensive series by UMHB, as the Cru’ turned the ball over on downs at the ‘Cat 42.
Linfield needed one first down to be able to run out the clock, but the UMHB defense was able to blunt Linfield’s three rushes. A punt gave the Crusaders a hint at final life at their 20-yard line.
Once again, Williams came through for the Cru, taking in a 55-yard pass before being stopped at the Linfield 25-yard line.
A pair of incomplete passes and a false start on the Cru’, followed by an 11-yard completion to the Linfield 19, brought the game to its showdown play. UMHB lined up with a fourth-and four at the ‘Cat 19.
This time, however, Kelley Bertrand, playing with a torn ACL, broke through for the sack and, finally, Linfield took over and ran out the clock for the national title.
Smith said, “We weren’t going to give up a Hail Mary — so we brought the house on that play and Kelly got the sack.
“Throughout the year, the defense was kind of Robin to the offense’s Batman, so it was gratifying for the defense to come through like that,” he concluded.
Recalls Sagosian, “After it was over, I was crying. I went up to this UMHB player who I had been blocking against all game. He said he was a senior and I said, ‘You played a helluva game’ and we were both crying.”
Elliott said, “It was poetic that our defense, after all of our offensive firepower during the season, won the game for us.”
Jenkins was named outstanding player of the game.
One Goal — the national championship
— the dream
that begun 10 months earlier — was accomplished a week before Christmas.
It was the gift of a lifetime.
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