Pacific University Football Weekly Notebook - 10/11/10

QUICK LINKS: Roster | Schedule & Results | NWC Schedule | NWC Standings | NWC Statistics | D3Football.com | NCAA Division III Stats

THIS WEEK IN PACIFIC FOOTBALL
PACIFIC AT LINFIELD
Game No. 5/Away Game No. 3
Sat., Oct. 16, 1:30 p.m., Maxwell Field, McMinnville, Ore.
Live Audio Webcast: client.stretchinternet.com/client/pacific.portal#
Live Video (Fee): client.stretchinternet.com/client/linfield.portal#
Audio replay Monday night, 7 p.m., on KUIK-AM (1360)

PACIFIC RENEWS LONG STANDING RIVALRY WITH LINFIELD
The road does not get any easier for the Pacific football program after taking a a 69-7 loss to perennial Northwest Conference power Willamette on Saturday.  Pacific packs up and head south down Hwy. 47 as the Boxers renew their rivalry with another perennial NWC rival, Linfield.  The Wildcats enter the week ranked No. 14 in D3Football.com Top 25 Poll.

BOXER BYTES
• Willamette piled up 579 yards of total offense and limited Pacific to 171 yards, including 97 yards passing, as the Bearcats knocked off the Boxers 69-7 on Saturday.  A total of 24 Willamette players received credit for rushing, while Pacific played a total of 103 players in the contest.

• Turnovers continue to plague the Boxers' chances to score.  The Boxers fumbled twice against Willamette, both of which resulted in Bearcats' touchdowns.  In four games, the Boxers have lost nine fumbles and have been intercepted twice.

• Kelson Kawai led the Boxers in total offense with 87 yards, all of which came on five kickoff returns.  London Amorin enters the week ranked third in the NWC in kickoff return yardage, averaging 19.3 yards per return.


• Davis Jacobs broke out for the Boxers' longest run of the season, beginning a third quarter drive with a 48-yard-run.  Jacobs had the bulk of Pacific's 74 yards of net rushing yardage.

• Will Marchbanks scored Pacific's third touchdown of the season and the Boxers' first since Sept. 18 on Saturday, scoring off a 5-yard pass from P.J. Minaya with 12:10 left in the fourth quarter.

• Both Pacific kickers continue to be ranked nationally among NCAA Division III players.  Jon Lee enters the week ranked No. 14 in field goals while Spencer Bell ranks 54th in punting.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

LINFIELD WILDCATS
QUICK FACTS
Location: McMinnville, Ore.
Enrollment: 2,142
Colors: Purple & Cardinal Red
Nickname: Wildcats
Conference: Northwest
Stadium: Maxwell Field (3,000, covered, FieldTurf)
President: Dr. Thomas Hellie
Athletic Director: Scott Carnahan
Head Coach: Joseph Smith (Linfield 1993)
Smith's Record At Linfield: 30-10/4 Years
Smith's Record Overall: 30-10/4 Years
2009 Record: 12-1   NWC Record: 6-0 (1st)
All-Time Series: Linfield leads 37-25-4
Last Meeting: Linfield won 23-0 at Forest Grove on Oct. 13, 1990

ABOUT THE COACH: Joseph Smith is in his fifth year as Linfield head coach, taking over from now Oregon State assistant head coach Jay Locey after 13 years as an assistant coach.  Entering the 2010 season, Smith has amassed a 30-10 record and led the Wildcats to ther 2009 NWC championship and an appearance in the 2009 NCAA Division III semifinals, where they lost to eventual national champion Wis.-Whitewater.  Before taking over as head coach, Smith spent seven years as Linfield's defensive coordinator.  During that time, the Wildcats finished No. 1 in the NWC in total defense ans scoring defense four times.  

THE SERIES: Linfield leads the storied series 37-25-4, with the Wildcats having won the last two meetings.  Linfield won the last meeting of the two teams, breaking open a close contest by scoring three touchdowns in the final 11 minutes to beat the Boxers 23-0 in Forest Grove on Oct. 13, 1990.

LAST GAME: LINFIELD 55, PUGET SOUND 14
Linfield finished with a season high 591 yards of offense, including 330 yards on the ground, to roll past Puget Sound 55-14 in Tacoma.  Quarterback Aaron Boheme passed for two touchdowns while throwing for 220 yards and rushing for 91 in two-and-a-half quarters of action.  The Wildcats padded the win early, going up 35-0 at halftime while outgaining the Loggers 369-94 in the stanza.  Simon Lamson led Linfield on the ground, gaining 100 yards with a pair of touchdowns and a career-high 60-yard touchdown run.

LINFIELD NOTES
• Linfield enters the week ranked No. 14 in the D3Football.com Top 25 and No. 18 in the AFCA Division III Top-25 Poll.  The Wildcats entered the preseason ranked No. 4 on the D3Football.com poll.

• The Wildcats enter the week ranked first in the NWC in scoring offense (40.5 points per game), scoring defense (17.8 points allowed per game), passing offense (300.8 yards per game), total offense (488.2 yards per game), pass defense (147.8 yards allowed per game) and total defense (263.5 yards allowed per game).

• Defending NWC Offensive Player of the Year Aaron Boheme enters the week ranked No. 1 in the NWC in passing, averaging 274.8 yards per game and first in total offense with 312.8 yards per game.

• Linfield owns the all-divisions record for conseuctive winning season, currently at 54 years and counting.  "The Streak," as it is affectionately called, began in 1956.  The Wildcats need two more wins to secure their 55th straight winning season.

• Linfield was the early favorite to win the NWC, leading the NWC Preseason Coach's Poll with 56 points.  The Wildcats have the inside track on the league title and the conference's automatic berth to the NCAA Division III playoffs by virtue of their 35-7 victory Willamette on Oct. 2.

PACIFIC NEWS & NOTES
BACK ON THE BOARD: After being shut out in their Oct. 2 game against Lewis & Clark, tight end Will Marchbanks (Fr., Brownsville, Ore.) made sure that the Boxers would not be blanked again.  Marchbanks took a 5-yard pass from P.J. Minaya (Fr., Wahiawa, Hawaii) into the end zone with 12:10 remaining in the fourth quarter for what accounted for the team's only scoring.  Jon Lee (Sr., Kahalu'u, Hawaii) added the extra point.  The touchdown proved to be a bright spot in a game that saw Willamette dominate offensively.  The Bearcats limited the Boxers to 171 yards of total offense, their second lowest total of the season.

QUARTERBACK BATTLE CONTINUES: The Pacific coaching staff appears to have narrowed the quarterback battle down to two individuals.  P.J. Minaya and T.C. Campbell (Fr., Kaimuki, Hawaii) saw the bulk of playing time at the position against Willamette on Saturday.  Campbell started for the fourth consecutive game, completing 6 of 15 for 25 yards.  Minaya completed three of six passes and finished with a total of 50 yards.  Matt Altieri (Jr., Dixon, Calif.) saw time late in the game, completing 1 of 4 passes.  Minaya enters the week ranked eighth in the NWC in passing with 76.5 yards per game and is sixth in passing efficiency at 131.7.  Campbell enters the week ranked ninth in the NWC in passing efficiency at 60.2.

KEEPING THE DEFENSE GOING: With the season-ending injury to linebacker Marc Moody (Jr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii), the Boxers are looking to others to help lead the team on defense.  Bryan Mills (Fr., Imbler, Ore.) has stepped up to fill some of that hole.  Mills was one three players to rack up four tackles against Willamette on Saturday, joining Bryce Baldwin (Fr., Brownsville, Ore.) and Josh Beck (Sr., Prosser, Wash.).  Mills had one of two sacks for the Boxers, account for seven yards of lost yardage.  Mills enters the week leading Pacific's active player with 13 tackles (9 solo, 6 assists).  He has performed well after making the adjustment to full 11-man football after playing 8-man football in high school.  Mills was a three-time Oregon 1A All-State selection for Imbler High School and played at quarterback, defensive back and running back.

STILL AMONG THE NATION'S BEST: Jon Lee still ranks among the nation's best place kickers.  Lee enters the week ranked 14th among NCAA Division III kickers with 1.67 made per game.  Lee missed his first field goal of the season on Saturday, seeing a 42-yarder sail left of the upright against Willamette on Saturday.  Lee is now 5 for 6 on field goal attempts this season.  Despite the miss, Lee conitnues to be tied for first in the league in field goal kicking.  He also ranks fourth in the NWC in kick scoring with 17 points, an average of 3.4 points per game.  His longest field goal of the season was a 42-yarder that Lee hit against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Sept. 18.  Lee, a converted soccer player, is in his first year playing organized football.  He was named the NWC Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week after going 4 for 4 in the opener against Puget Sound on Sept. 4.

ADD NATIONALLY RANKED SPECIAL TEAMERS: Spencer Bell (Fr., Gresham, Ore.), meanwhile, had a chance to keep up his statistics to continue to rank among the nation's top kickers.  Bell enters the week as the top punter in the NWC and the 54th best punter in NCAA Division III, averaging 37.7 yards per punt.  Bell was kept busy once again on Saturday, kicking four times against Willamette for a total of 146 yards and 36.5 yard per punt average.  Bell was the NWC Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week after his five punts against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Sept. 18.

RETURN MAN:  After spending the first three games seeing most of his duty on offense, Kelson Kawai (Fr., North Kohala, Hawaii) did some decent damage for the Boxers on special teams.  Kawai made five kick returns for the Boxers against Willamette for a total of 87 yards.  That included a long return of 26 yards in the second quarter.  While Kawai got the majority of the yardage on returns against the Bearcats, London Amorin (Fr., Waipahu, Hawaii) continues to be the team's top return specialist.  Amorin enters the week ranked third in the NWC in kick return average at 19.3 yards per return.  Amorin had just one return against Willamette for 25 yards.

MEDICAL REPORT: Marc Moody was lost for the year after suffering an ankle injury against Lewis & Clark on Oct. 2.  Wide receiver Darin Kamealoha (Fr., Waipahu, Hawaii) was lost for the year after breaking his leg in the Sept. 18 game against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.  Kamealoha started each of the first two games of the season and had averaged 19.5 yards receiving per game.  Defensive lineman Courtland Thompson (Fr., Hollister, Calif.) is out with a shoulder injury. Frank Howard (Jr., Orland, Calif.) and Scott Imanaka (Fr., Kaneohe, Hawaii) are also gone for the year with an unspecified injuries.

RETURNING TO CONFERENCE PLAY: With the Oct. 2 game against Lewis & Clark, the Boxers played their first Northwest Conference game in nearly three decades.  Prior to that date, Pacific played their last Northwest Conference contest to end the 1984 season, dropping a 34-19 decision to those same Pioneers.  Pacific's last NWC win came earlier that season when the Boxers beat Willamette 35-13.  The Boxers played seven more years after that season, competing as part of the Columbia Football Association.  The NWC reinistated football as a conference sport in 1996 in preparation for the league's transition from NAIA membership to NCAA Division III.

ON CAMPUS RECRUITS: A handful of players have come out for the Pacific program after being on campus for the majority of their college careers.  Two of those are out for football are competing for the Boxers in other sports.  Jon Lee is scheduled to be the starting place kicker on Saturday.  Lee competed as a freshman for the Pacific men's soccer program.  C.J. Aalona (Sr., Hauula, Hawaii) is also out for football after three seasons competing for the Pacific men's wrestling team and one season as a student assistant coach.  Aalona will play on the defensive line after returning from injuries incurred during training camp.

ISLAND PRESENCE: In what should be no surprise to those familiar with Pacific University, the Boxers have a number of Hawaii students on the roster.  A total of 30 of Pacific's 124 players hail from the Islands, well in line with 1:4 ratio of Hawaii students in Pacific's undergraduate College of Arts & Sciences.  The list includes five players who played Kamehameha's 2009 state championship team, including Landon Aano (Fr., Ewa Beach, Hawaii), Chaz Bajet (Fr., Waipahu, Hawaii), Cameron Baron (Fr., Waianae, Hawaii), T.C. Campbell and Kamu Morita (Fr., Honolulu, Hawaii).

MAINLAND PRESENCE: Hawaii is not the only state well represented on the Pacific roster.  The Boxers feature 31 players from Oregon, 27 from California and 12 from Washington.  Pacific boasts players on the roster from literally every corner of the nation, including Arizona, North Dakota and Georgia.

SNAPPING THE SKID: Pacific will be looking to snap a 13-game losing streak on Saturday that stretches back to the end of the old program.  The Boxers enter the game having lost 13 straight, dropping all of their games during the 1991 campaign.  Pacific's last win came on Nov. 10, 1990, at the old McCready Field on the Pacific campus.  The Boxers came back from a 14-0 deficit in the first half, tying it with a Joe Spanish four-yard run and taking the lead on Carlos Valdivia's extra point as the Boxers beat Oregon Tech 15-14.

PACIFIC TO BROADCAST ALL NINE GAMES: All nine Pacific football games will be broadcast online via Pacific's Boxer Sports Network.  Audio webcasts of all nine games will be available live, with the pregame show beginning 15 minutes prior to kickoff.  Audio webcasts will be available free of charge and will also be replayed Monday nights at 7 p.m. in the Portland area on KUIK-AM (1360).  In addition, a video webcast will be available for all four home Pacific games.  The video webcast will be available for $10 per game.  The webcasts are available a link at www.goboxers.com.

Matt Richert will provide the play-by-play voice for Pacific football.  A 20-year broadcast veteran, Richert most recently worked as one of the prep play-by-play voices for KUIK-AM in Hillsboro.  He has also lent his voice to a number of OSAA Radio Network state championship broadcasts.  Scott Hermo will provide the color analysis.  Hermo has worked as a color commentator and sports host for KUIK since 1994.

BOXERS PICKED LAST IN NWC...BUT NOT BY MUCH: Pacific is picked to finish seventh out of seventh team in the Northwest Conference preseason coach's poll, but the margin between fifth and seventh is not much.  The Boxers received 11 of a possible 56 votes, finsihing just one behind sixth place Lewis & Clark.  Puget Sound is picked fifth with 19 points.  Defending champion Linfield received all seven first place votes and a total of 56 points after advancing to the 2009 NCAA Division III semifinals.  Willamette was picked second with 42 points, with Pacific Lutheran picked third and Whitworth picked fourth.