CLAREMONT, Calif. (Nov. 20, 2007) - One
hundred and ten times the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens and Occidental
College Tigers have faced off, marking one of the longest rivalries
on the West Coast. Dating back to 1941 the game has been
commemorated with the battle of “The Drum.” Today on
Merritt Field Oxy rallied back from a 15-7 halftime deficit to walk
away with a 31-15 victory and rights to retain the coveted
“Drum” for the 59th time in history and the
fourth consecutive year.
As the game went on the Tigers got better.
A number of halftime adjustments by Coach Erik
Johnson and Coach Jim Fenwick on the defensive and offensive sides
of the ball respectively led to a 24-0 second half rally. Oxy
dominated in the second half, scoring twice in each quarter, not
allowing any additional Sagehen points.
The early goings were a different story as the
Tigers, ranked 14 by d3football.com, found themselves in unfamiliar
territory at halftime, trailing 15-7.
After a pair of Pomona-Pitzer touchdowns for
12 points and a 20 yard field goal by Bobby Montalvo the Sagehens
offense was silenced. The first score of the game came on a 47 yard
touchdown pass from Jacob Caron to senior wide receiver Matt
Martini while the second was a one yard run by Caron with just a
second to play in the first half.
Occidental got on the board at the start of
the second quarter when senior running back Jason
Haller leapt over his offensive linemen into the end zone
for a two yard gain. To start the third quarter he added another
two yard rush for his second TD of the game, pulling the Tigers
within one at 15-14.
Two possessions later Occidental took the lead
for good when a nine play drive ended with a 24-yard field goal by
Neil Martin.
A missed Pomona-Pitzer field goal attempt at
the 11:31 mark from 32 yards left the Tigers on their own 20 yard
line. Five first down's later junior quarterback
Justin Goltz connected with senior wide receiver
Rocky Ciasulli for a seven yard pass to end the
drive, increasing the lead to 24-15. Goltz found Ciasulli for a
seven yard gain to start the drive as well.
With 2:07 to play in regulation the Tigers put
the ball in the hands of freshman running back Ryan
Nastor who scrambled past opponents for a 45 yard
touchdown run.
Pomona-Pitzer made an attempt to get on the
board once more on the ensuing possession gaining 48 yards before
the Oxy defensive duo of Albert
Ramos and Patrick Sarkissian combined for
a sack that pushed the Sagehens back10 yards. Two plays later
senior defensive back Daniel Tromello intercepted
the ball at the Oxy seven yard line with four seconds remaining.
Sarkissian had a game leading 9.0 tackles,
including seven solo. He also added 1.5 tackles for a loss of eight
yards. Aaron Stanton and Adam
Dunbar finished with 8.0 and 7.0 tackles respectively,
each notching seven unassisted.
Offensively the Tigers finished with 442 yards
including 171 rushing.
Goltz finished the game 25-38 passing for 271
yards and added 31 rushing yards for 302 total
yards. He was picked off twice and sacked twice. For Pomona-Pitzer
Caron was 20-45-1 for 279 yards and one TD pass. He was sacked
twice and threw one interception.
On the ground Nastor tallied 87 yards on 11
carries and Haller finished with 14 touches for 53 yards. Through
the air Ciasulli caught seven passes for 137 yards and Joey
Coverson had six catches for 70 yards.
Coverson also averaged 56.3 yards on six
kickoffs. Punting, Alex Groh averaged 45.5 yards
on four attempts. Martin was responsible for seven Tigers points
with a 4-4 PAT performance.
Oxy picked up 23 first downs while their
counterparts tallied 26. Again the Tigers capitalized on red zone
scoring opportunities, finding the end zone in four of five
situations. The Sagehens only scored twice in five red zone
chances.
Pomona-Pitzer had control of the ball for
nearly 33 minutes, including almost 10 during the second quarter.
With the win the Tigers overall record
improves to 6-0, 4-0 in SCIAC play. Occidental now holds a 59-48-3
advantage over Pomona-Pitzer after the 110th meeting of
the two teams.
Next week Oxy returns to the cozy confines of
D.W. Patterson Field to face off with Cal Lutheran who also
currently hold an undefeated SCIAC record at 3-0. The Kingsmen are
3-3 overall and are coming off a 44-30 loss to Chapman University.
Kickoff will be at 7:00 p.m.