Linfield Lassoed by Cowboys, 21-6

Linfield next plays Willamette at home on September 30th.

Photo: Linfield COllege

ABILENE, TEXAS - Quarterback Jordan Neal passed for two touchdowns and ran for another to lead seventh-ranked Hardin-Simmons to a 21-6 non-conference victory over No. 11 Linfield Saturday night at Shelton Stadium.

Neal passed for 281 yards, completing 19 of 27 attempts. The Cowboys (2-0) dealt Linfield (0-2) its second straight defeat to begin the 2006 season and third overall, including a season-ending loss in last year's NCAA Division III quarterfinals.

Though they outgained the Cowboys 229-161 in the first half, the Wildcats had only six points to show for it. Linfield then went scoreless over the final two periods.

The first half was a cat and mouse game. Both teams drove deep into the other's territory on their opening drives, trading interceptions in the end zone.

The Cowboys scored first when Neal hooked up with Matt Fields for a 25-yard touchdown pass with 13:57 left in the second quarter. Linfield appeared to have HSU stopped on a third down play, but the officials granted the Cowboys to replay the down due to an inadvertant whistle. Fields scored on the next play and Scott Bryant's kick gave the hosts a 7-0 lead.

Linfield threatened to score with just over six minutes left in the half, but Jared Thomas was stopped on a fourth-and-3 run from the Cowboys' 12. Hardin-Simmons moved to the Linfield 40, but the Wildcats defense held once more. With 61 seconds to work with, Benzel methodically moved the 'Cats downfield with four completions. Benzel found Thomas at the goal line with three seconds to go, pulling Linfield to within one, 7-6. A bad snap on the extra point prevented Linfield from tying the game.

HSU took control of the game early in the third, scoring on the first offensive play of the third quarter. Mychal Carrillo raced 66 yards with a Neal pass, putting the Cowboys in front 14-6.

Neal scrambled two yards for another HSU touchdown with 5:07 remaining in the third and appeared ready to salt the game way moments later. But Neal fumbled at the Linfield 7 and the Wildcats marched to the HSU 33, but Benzel was pressured on fourth down and threw incomplete.

HSU again marched to the Wildcats' 1, but Quinton Jones fumbled and Bubba Lemon recovered to give Linfield life with just under two minutes to play. Backup quarterback Trevor Scharer had his fourth-down pass batted down, sealing the victory over the Cowboys.

Benzel completed 20 of 34 attempts for 221 yards. Thomas finished with a game-high 10 catches for 120 yards.

Jones rushed 16 times for a game-high 71 yards to pace the Cowboys' ground game.

Cam Rogers finished with 10 tackles and Brian Mehl had nine to lead Linfield defensively. Ryan Caffall was credited with two sacks among his seven tackles.

'CAT SCRATCH: Linfield is now 2-2 all-time against teams from the state of Texas. . . the Wildcats hold victories over Mary Hardin-Baylor (2004) and Sul Ross State (1965), plus a loss against Texas Lutheran (1974) . . . the Wildcats must win five of their remaining seven games in order to extend their national record of consecutive winning seasons to 51. . . a vocal contingent of 75 Wildcat fans and parents made the trek to Abilene to root on Linfield at Shelton Stadium . . . the last time the Wildcats lost their first two games to begin the season was 1989. . . Linfield went on to finish 6-3 that season, winning the next six contests...the Wildcats have thrown at least one touchdown pass in each of their last 49 games.

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports