McMINNVILLE, Ore. -- (From Linfield Sports Information Office) Years of futility and the longest conference winning streak in Northwest Conference history ended Saturday at rainy Maxwell Field.

Clifton had 16 tackles, and scored a TD

No. 10 Whitworth needed only 85 yards of offense to beat six-time defending champion Linfield 17-13. The Wildcats (5-3, 4-1 NWC) lost their first conference game since 2001, ending a 27-game run of dominance. Whitworth also won its first game against Linfield since 1975, snapped a 13 game losing streak to Linfield that dated to a 7-7 tie in 1983, and won for the first time ever in McMinnville.

The Pirates (9-0, 4-0 NWC) took advantage of seven turnovers (five fumbles, two interceptions) and appeared to have the game sewn up in the final minutes. But an errant snap from shotgun formation was recovered by the Wildcats' Taylor Summers at the Whitworth 16 with 2:10 to play, but quarterback Trevor Scharer threw incomplete on fourth down from the 9, ending all hopes of a miracle comeback.

Linfield outgained Whitworth 329-85. The Wildcats held all-star quarterback Joel Clark to 2 for 10 passing and nine yards rushing. Clark entered the game leading the NWC in total offense, averaging 259 yards a game.

Even with Linfield’s five first-half turnovers, the game was tied at 10 at intermission.

Caster recovered two fumbles and forced one

Sharer's first-quarter fumble at the Whitworth six yard line gave the Pirates early momentum. The second fumble, Drew Ragan's on the Linfield 33, led directly to Cameron Collings’ 40-yard field goal with the game 11 minutes old.

Minutes later, Ragan was stripped by linebacker Casey Clifton, who returned the ball 38 yards to the end zone and the Pirates led 10-0 with 1:08 left in the opening quarter.

In the second quarter Linfield drove to the Whitworth 27, where Scott Birkhofer booted a 44-yard field goal to draw the home team within seven. Linfield evened the contest with 2:19 left in the half, after Pete Cruickshank scooted eight yards for a touchdown. Birkhofer’s kick knotted the game at 10.

Linfield, which controlled the ball for 17 minutes of the first half, outgained Whitworth 200-11 through the first two quarters. Clark went 0 for 4 passing and gained nine yards rushing.

Clark completed his first pass of the second half, 38 yards to tight end Michael Allan at the Linfield 40. Facing a third-and-17, Clark’s pass was deflected away by Tyler McCann. Following a short punt, the Pirates got the ball back two plays later when Cruickshank fumbled and Greg Caster recovered at the Linfield 35. Clark scampered 23 yards for a go-ahead touchdown with 10:33 left in the third quarter.

Tully had nine tackles and an interception

Trailing 17-10 in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats marched eight plays down the field to the Pirates’ 14 where Birkhofer booted a 31-yard field goal with a little more than 11 minutes left.

The Linfield defense tightened, forcing the Pirates to punt. The Wildcats marched to the Whitworth 5, but Clifton forced Cruickshank to fumble and linebacker Nick Portrey returned the ball to the 33.

Linfield’s defense held once more and the Wildcats took over with 2:55 left to play. After two incomplete passes, Jay Tully picked off Scharer and returned it to the 50 with 2:24 to play.

Linfield got one more chance to win the game in the final minutes. Summers recovered an errant snap at the Whitworth 16 with 2:10 left. Scharer threw incomplete on two straight plays, then a screen pass to Cruickshank put the ball at the 9. Scharer’s desperation rollout on fourth down was knocked away by Peter Ghilardi in the back of the end zone.

Clark ran 23 yards for the winning touchdown

Josh Vierra caught seven passes for 102 yards to lead the Linfield passing game. Scharer completed 18 of 31 passes for 203 yards and rushed for 57 more.

Defensively, Whitworth was led by the 16 tackles of Clifton. Tully and Caster each added nine stops.

Summers led Linfield with nine tackles, including two sacks. Keone Tawata and Phil Rombach each had seven tackles.

Next Saturday Whitworth can win its first outright conference title in football since 1962 (as a member of the Evergreen Conference) when the Pirates host Puget Sound (7-2) in the Pine Bowl at 12:30. Whitworth has a chance to win a tenth game for the first time in school history. The Pirates have won ten in a row over the Loggers.

Linfield wraps up the regular season next weekend at winless Lewis & Clark at 1 p.m. The ‘Cats have defeated the Pioneers 28 straight times.

The bracket for the NCAA Division III playoffs are expected to be announced Sunday (Nov. 12) at approximately 11 a.m. The announcement will be carried live by ESPNews.