It was a Saturday of nonleague football games for Oregon’s Northwest Conference schools, setting the stage for the opening of conference play Oct. 4 after a bye week.

Led by quarterback Luke McNabb, reigning NWC champ Linfield overcame an opening loss to UW-Oshkosh with a solid win against Chapman, 28-13, while Lewis & Clark stayed unbeaten with an impressive 21-3 win at Pomona-Pitzer.

Linfield has enjoyed winning seasons for 68 consecutive years, but when you lose an opener, it’s imperative to start notching wins to extend the streak. Linfield also has 25 Northwest Conference titles.

On Saturday at Maxwell Field, the Panthers from Orange, Calif. led at halftime but the Wildcats (1-1) rallied to outscore them 21-0 in the second half.

McNabb threw three touchdown passes and ran for anot

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