McMINNVILLE, Ore. – A close defensive battle got out of hand fast in the final 15 minutes of play as second-ranked Linfield scored 22 points in the fourth quarter to pull away to a 29-0 victory over 11th-ranked Pacific Lutheran Saturday afternoon at Maxwell Field.

Linfield improves to a perfect 4-0 overall and 1-0 in Northwest Conference play, while Pacific Lutheran's first loss drops the Lutes to 3-1 overall and 0-1 in the NWC. The Lutes will host Lewis & Clark next Saturday in the 2013 Homecoming game. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.

Through three quarters the teams were averaging an identical 4.6 yards per play, with Linfield -out-gaining the Lutes 267-to-195 on 16 more plays. But the Wildcats out-gained PLU 127-to-21 in the final 15 minutes of play and intercepted three passes during that stretch to turn a close contest into a four-score victory for the second-ranked team in NCAA Div. III.

Dalton Ritchey finished a tough day with 176 passing yards and four touchdowns, completing 14 of 33 attempts and taking four sacks to total negative-5 rushing yards on 11 carries. The rushing yards and turnover margin marked the two biggest differences between the two teams in the game, as Linfield out-rushed PLU 194-to-40 and forced five turnovers while committing none.

Kellen Westering and Kyle Warner each caught three passes to lead the Lutes. Charlie Poppen's five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown led both teams, while Linfield quarterback Josh Yoder finished 17-of-27 for 200 yards and a score to go with a game-high 67 rushing yards. The Lute defense limited Josh Hill to a 3.3 yard-per-carry average, but the Wildcat running back found the end zone three times among his 20 rush attempts.

Jordan Patterson and Dalton Darmody tied for the game-high tackle total with eight apiece, and each added a tackle for-loss. Kyle Wright led Linfield with six tackles and grabbed an interception.

The defensive battle carried through to the middle of the third quarter, as each defense forced three punts and a pair of turnovers-on-downs. Linfield's longest drive of the game came at the end of the first quarter, as the Wildcats moved 77 yards down the field to take a 7-0 lead on a six-yard run by Hill.

Pacific Lutheran followed Linfield's score with its longest drive of the game, marching 51 yards on 12 plays before a fourth-and-15 pass attempt from the Linfield 24-yard line to Warner fell incomplete. The Lutes had another chance to tie it up in the third quarter, advancing all the way to the Wildcats 8-yard line before a fourth-down sack gave the ball back to Linfield.

Linfield's win extended the Wildcats' winning streak against PLU to 13 games, the longest streak for either team in the 64-game history of the rivalry between the two teams.