Goliath wins! Linfield falls to Crusaders, 24-0
By Rusty Rae - Sport Editor- McMinnville N-R/News-Register -
Nov 28, 2017 print edition
BELTON, Texas — Sometimes Goliath wins.
Linfield College discovered that Saturday. The Wildcats
fell, 24-0, to number-one ranked and defending national champion University of
Mary Hardin-Baylor in the second round of the NCAA Division III tournament.
Linfield entered the contest as the number eight-ranked
team, following one of their best games of the season, a first-round victory
over fifth-ranked Hardin-Simmons University the previous week in McMinnville.
The Wildcats knew besting the Crusaders required a near-perfect game, and one
or two mega-mistakes by the Cru’ on which the ‘Cats could capitalize.
“We knew that (Linfield would have to play its best game of
the year) – we had to play an exceptionally clean game and we had to get some
fortuitous turnovers here and there – and that didn’t happen,” said Joseph
Smith, Linfield’s head coach.
Linfield’s trip to Texas began badly when the charter plane
taking them to Texas Thursday was a no-show. Linfield would wait until Friday
for its flight to the Lone Star State.
“That was a pretty
big curveball to suddenly have the plane not show up. The NCAA not being
prepared for that – leaving the team stranded with no contingency plan –
loading the bus multiple times – just an unfortunate Thursday,” Smith said.
“The plane scheduling snafu has everything to do with
fatigue, sleep cycles – it has everything to do with the physical preparation
for the game. Those little things make a difference,” he added.
Could the botched airline incident have foreshadowed the
Wildcats’ rocky start?
From the opening series, little worked for the Wildcats.
Stopped on a third-and-one, Colton Ramos’ punt was blocked, and the Crusaders
started their first drive on the 'Cat 15-yard line.
“That was a devastating series of events. We had an errant
snap, not the best protection on it – put that together and you get a blocked
punt. Just a devastating start. We had to not get behind by multiple scores. We
needed to keep it close and if it was close in the fourth quarter I really
liked our chances,” Smith said.
Linfield battled through adversity and, aided by a penalty,
pushed the Crusaders into a second-and-17 scenario at the 17-yard line. But the
home team sprung Bryce Wilkerson on a reverse for the 17 yards and a 7-0
lead at 12:08 in the first quarter.
“That was a great call on their part. They executed it
really well. I thought they had a very, very good offensive gameplan against
us. They’d worked on it – you could tell they’d put a lot of time in on us –
had a really good plan. Hats off to them,” Smith said.
Linfield’s defense, without Jason Farlow, the NWC
Co-Defensive Player of the Year, battled valiantly against the Cru’. Although
the ‘Cats returned two of their starting cornerbacks to playing status, they
played only sparingly.
Even so, Linfield’s defense fought with verve and
effectiveness through the rest of the first quarter, blunting the Crusader
offense. UMHB's John Mowery missed a field goal at 6:12 in the first stanza,
but the 'Cat offense couldn’t do much to help their cause in the first half.
In the second quarter, the Crusaders found creases in
the Wildcat defense to score 10 points. UMHB's freshman quarterback, Carl
Robinson, found daylight, sprinting 36 yards for the second score, and a 14-0
lead at 11:13 in the second quarter.
The 'Cats deflated a late Mary Hardin-Baylor attack, forcing
a 25-yard Mowery field goal at the 4:03 mark of the second quarter. The half
ended with the Crusaders leading 17-0.
While the first half became a horror show rivaling The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre, the Wildcats made adjustments and came out with renewed
energy to start the second.
Linfield stopped the Crusaders' opening drive, forcing UMHB
to punt. Finding an offensive rhythm, the Wildcats appeared to finally adapt to
the early Texas kickoff.
Starting on their 20-yard line, the ‘Cats fed their
all-conference running back, Chidubem Nnoli. He put together runs of nine, six,
and two yards with a pass mixed in to freshman Kyle Kimball they crossed the
50-yard line.
Senior Blake Burnett spelled Nnoli, but on a third-and-one
at the UMHB 40, was dropped for a three-yard loss. The senior Smith then dialed
up pass plays for Wyatt, threading the needle with a perfect pass to Keegan
Weiss for 27 yards.
Wyatt followed up with a seven-yard strike to J.D. Lasswell
and a six-yarder to Kimball, giving the ‘Cats their best chance at a score with
a first and goal at the Cru’ three-yard line.
Wyatt Smith called Nnoli’s number for a pair of carries, and
the UMHB defense grudgingly gave up two yards. On his third try at a score, Nnoli
was thrown for a three-yard loss. Faced with a fourth-and-goal from the
four-yard line, Linfield abandoned the field goal. It would take a touchdown if
they had any thought about winning the game.
Linfield brought in Aiden Wilder, who has been highly effective
running the ball in the red zone. Wilder was able to make three-plus yards, but
came up short of the goal line.
“We needed to score there – that pretty much did us in. It’s
a three score game at that point. If we score we cut the margin to 10 points
and it would have given us a big lift – and we’d have a game.
But we didn’t –
very disappointing,” the head coach said.
Displaying their great talent, the score-saving tackle was
made by the two Crusader safeties. “You rarely can block the safeties, you’ve
got to be able to beat them – and they were able to come down and make the
play. I thought it was a great effort on Aiden’s part,” the senior Smith said.
Part of the strategy in choosing the TD over the field goal
was also the fact, that if the ‘Cats came up short, UMHB would take over on
their one-yard line. Smith said he thought this was an opportunity to flip the
field and gain strong field position, keeping the ball on the Cru’s side until
Linfield scored.
But the Crusaders hadn’t rehearsed that script, assembling
an impressive 99-yard drive culminating in a perfect 32-yard strike from
Richardson to Jonel Reed, pushing the score to its final 24-0 margin with 1:54
left in the third quarter.
Smith said, “(Richardson) is something special. I thought
their QB last year was pretty special – but he is right up there. This kid won
the game for them with his legs – he broke it open.
“The game turned when we didn’t score – and they took it all
the way down and changed the field positions – that was really a backbreaker.
That pivotal series as well as the blocked punt kept the game from being
close,” he added.
Throughout the year, the Wildcats have owned the fourth
quarter and this ‘Cat team certainly didn’t shy away from competing with the
Crusaders. Linfield’s final possession of the third quarter started at the ‘Cat
29, and the Linfield air-game found new life as the Crusaders were playing deep
enough not to give up a big play.
Wyatt Smith was stellar as Linfield moved down the field.
The last play of the third quarter, a 25-yard pass to Lasswell, gave the
Wildcats renewed resolve as the fourth quarter started.
With Wyatt Smith taking what the Crusaders gave the ‘Cats,
he mixed in passes and a couple of runs to move the team to the UMHB 18-yard
line. On a third and seven, however, he was picked off, ending the drive. Coach
Smith said, “It was probably a bad call on my part. Everything was wrong about
it – I’d sure like to have that call back.”
Wyatt Smith drove the ‘Cats to the UMHB 39. He and Lasswell
teamed up for a five-yard gain to the 34-yard line, but then three straight
incompletions turned the ball over on downs.
Linfield found Crusader territory on its next series, but on
a fourth-and-two, Smith was sacked for a 10-yard loss and again Linfield turned
the ball over with 3:26 left.
UMHB efficiently ran out the clock, driving to the Linfield
21-yard line before taking a knee on the final play of the game.
Smith finished the game 20-31-1 for 182 yards. Nnoli
scampered for 37 yard on 19 carries. The 'Cats were held to 220 yards of total
offense. UMHB rolled to 378 yards of total offense.
Saturday's defeat marked the Wildcats' first shutout in 16
years (vs. Southern Oregon in 2001) and Linfield's first playoff game in 26
years (vs. Pacific Lutheran in 1991) in which it failed to generate
points. The Crusaders' last loss was to Linfield in the 2015 NCAA
quarterfinals.
Linfield finishes the season 9-2, losing twice to University
of Mary Hardin-Baylor.
UMHB will host the University of St. Thomas in the
quarterfinals next weekend in Texas.
