Linfield's Millenbach wins award

Another lineman was hurt.

And Doug Hire, who coaches lineman at Linfield College, knew who he could always count on as a replacement in a game or in practice – Scott Millenbach.

Millenbach, a two-way starter while at Capital, was always the logical solution.

In one series during a game this season, Millenbach played guard, tackle and center. He started at all five positions on the line – from tackle to tackle – in his four years at the McMinnville, Ore., school.

“I’m a team-oriented guy,” Millenbach said. “Coach says he needs you, all right I’m ready. I do it for the team.”

During Linfield’s 12-1 season and run to the NCAA Division III semifinals, Millenbach started the opener at left tackle. After injuring his left shoulder, he started at right tackle the next game, a 31-27 win at Occidental.

He then started the next 11 games at right guard.

And that’s where Millenbach was named to the Division III first-team All-America team by three different groups – The Associated Press, the Coaches Association and D3football.com.

Last year, Millenbach didn’t even make the All-Northwest Conference team. That was partially the result of him playing so many different positions.

“I wasn’t surprised Scott was All-American,” Hire said. “But making first-team was.”

Millenbach, at 6-foot-2, 275 pounds, is a little undersized as a lineman. But he offsets his size with technique, speed and determination. He never gave up a sack at Linfield.

For Hire, it became an inconvenient request whenever someone got hurt. But Millenbach never balked when asked to fill in at another position.

“It says a lot about his character,” Hire said. “He accepts the challenge and does whatever he can to help.”

Hire, a four-year football letterman at Linfield in the 1980s and a coach there for the past 10 years, doesn’t remember any other lineman starting at every position at Linfield.

“It’s very hard he isn’t coming back. We only hope we get more Scott Millenbachs,” Hire said. “He’s a very special man in many ways.”

Learning a different technique wasn’t Millenbach’s only challenge in his frequent position swaps. He also had to memorize the team’s 120-page playbook for five positions.

“I’ve always been competitive,” Millenbach said. “I’ve never given up at trying to be the best at whatever I’m trying to do.”

Millenbach, who played center and defensive tackle in high school, played center as a freshman at Linfield, getting in a few games. He switched to guard as a sophomore and also played both center and tackle, giving him the reputation for being a utility lineman.

It’s a reputation he made the most of.

“Scott was always ready to do whatever he could to help the team,” Hire said. “It’s pretty special to have a lineman like him.”

Missing in action

Coach Dee Dee Horton has had to switch from up-tempo to methodical for the South Puget Sound women’s basketball team.

Four of the Clippers top six players are out with injuries, sickness or grade issues.

“We started the season very up-tempo, pressing and running,” Horton said. “Then we started losing players. Now, the challenge for them is to buy into a different style of play. We’re more of a half-court defense and half-court offense.”

Horton is down to seven players.

Kaitlin Nielsen, a 5-10 sophomore forward from Black Hills, leads the Clippers in scoring and rebounding, averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds.

“She’s been a leader at practices and games,” Horton said. “She brings a ton of energy.”

The Clippers, off to a 3-3 start, open conference play at 3 p.m. Saturday at home against Highline.

“We’re hoping for an ugly win,” Horton said.

All-American

Nathan Overbay of Chehalis was named third-team All-American as a tight end at Eastern Washington.

Four EWU players were named to the Sports Network All-America team.

Junior linebacker J.C. Sherritt was first team, senior quarterback Matt Nichols was second team, and sophomore running back Taiwan Jones and Overbay were third team.

Overbay caught 51 passes for 588 yards and 13 touchdowns.

EWU reached the playoffs for the fourth time in six years and finished 8-4.

Gail Wood: 360-754-5432

gwood@theolympian.com