CLAREMONT, Calif. (Nov. 7, 2009) – Hitting the road for the first time in over a month, the Occidental College Tigers had more on the line than returning to their winning ways after a 24-14 loss a week ago. Today at Pomona-Pitzer, the Tigers made big plays at the right times to rally from a 10-point halftime deficit to power past the Sagehens and bring The Drum back to Eagle Rock where it has called home for the last five years.

Although the Sagehens scored the second most points Occidental has allowed this season, the defense came up big in the Tigers 44-30 win. A pair of interceptions and a blocked kick returned for a safety coupled with a pair of sacks and 13 tackles for a loss of 40 yards put Occidental in a position to win today.

While the Tigers scored first, on its first possession, when senior quarterback Scott Saunders scurried 34 yards for his longest run of the season that culminated in a touchdown, Occidental trailed 17-7 at the intermission. Pomona-Pitzer kicker Bobby Montalvo sent a 27-yard field goal through the uprights in the first quarter to pull the score to 7-3. The second quarter saw quarterback Jacob Caron score twice on two and one yard rushes.

The second half began on a sour note when Saunders got picked off for the first of two times in the game. Occidental quickly returned the favor, though, when Greg Holsworth intercepted Caron and ran the ball back 85 yards and Neil Martin made one of four PATs in the game to pull Oxy within three at 17-14.

Just over 10 minutes later Jason Haller found his way over a pile at the goal line for a one-yard rushing TD to give the Tigers a 21-17 lead.

Unfortunately for the black and orange, the lead was short lived as PP again intercepted a Saunders pass. This time leading to a touchdown, putting the Hens up 23-21. The point after attempt was blocked by Jim Hildensperger and picked up by Zac Perkins who returned the ball 89 yards for a safety to knot the score at 23-23, giving Oxy the spark they needed.

On the ensuing possession the Tigers' drive started on their own 49 yard line after Chris Washington returned the kick-off for 29 yards. Saunders found Jordan Inabnit for 10 and nine yard completions, before putting the ball in Jordan Washington's hands for a 32- yard TD completion, giving Oxy a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.

Haller, the Tigers' senior running back, finished off a six play, 77 yard touchdown with a one-yard run after scurrying for 44 yards on the second play of the drive. The Sagehens would quickly return the score, but again Saunders found his way into the end zone with an 11 yard rush to give the Tigers 44 points.

Any hope of a Sagehens' comeback was put to rest quickly when Perkins snatched a Caron pass for the second Oxy interception of the game, which he returned 42 yards. While senior Trace Wallace led all players with 11 tackles (nine solo) while Alex Wertheimer had 4.5 tackles for a loss of 16 yards, including a sack for a loss of seven yards, as he finished with nine stops. Perkin was next in line with eight, all solo stops, while he broke up a play. Jesse Fischer also had a sack, pushing back the Sagehens nine yards. Holsworth finished with seven tackles, 1.5 for a loss of eight yards, to go along with his interception and Carter Norfleet finished with six, all solo tackles.

Saunders completed 18-for-25 for 213 yards as C. Washington was his favorite target of the afternoon with seven catches for 80 yards. Inabnit caught four passes and J. Washington caught four for 65 yards. In addition to his quarterbacking duties, Saunders also punted once. On the ground he was also a threat, leading all players with 117 yards on the ground for a pair of TDs. Haller rushed for 66 yards and a pair of touchdowns as well. The duo combined for 183 yards on the ground to total 396 offensive yards.

Overall PP (4-4, 2-3 SCIAC) held possession of the football for 39:10, including more than 12 minutes in the first quarter, and picked up 26 first downs, while Oxy got 20. The Tigers picked up 4-for-7 third down conversions but were unsuccessful in two fourth down opportunities, while the Sagehens were 12-for-23 on third down conversions and 4-for-5 on fourth down conversions. Occidental scored in three of five red zone chances and PP scored five times in the red zone (in six opportunities). Pomona-Pitzer racked up 434 yards of offense with 366 coming through the air as the Tigers' defense limited the Sagehens to 68 rushing yards.

At the end of the game the Tigers circled around the coveted “Drum” [which has been awarded to the winning team since 1941] in celebration of defeating Pomona-Pitzer for the 60^th time in the history of the rivalry during the 113^th meeting between the teams. The rivalry that the Tigers and Sagehens share dates back to 1895, which marks the longest-running rivalry in Southern California.

With the win, Occidental improves to 6-2 overall, 5-1 in SCIAC play entering the final week of the season again Whittier College (3-5, 1-4). The Tigers will be on the road for the final game of the regular season when they clash with the Poets as the teams battle for The Shoes in another rivalry game. Kick-off is slated for 1:00 p.m. at Memorial Stadium.