LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Nov. 6, 2010) - With 4:15 left to play, Occidental quarterback Luke Collis fired a pass that bounced off his receiver's shoulder pads and into the arms of a Claremont-Mudd-Scripps defender.

It was that kind of day for the Tigers, who just couldn't seem to take control of the ball and gain momentum when they needed it most.

In front of a packed house of 2000 at Patterson Field, Oxy saw the visiting Stags sack quarterback Luke Collis five times and rush for 310 yards on 53 carries en route to a 33-17 victory over the Tigers on homecoming weekend.

For Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, it was their first win against Occidental in eight years.

The scoring began early for the Stags, who found the end zone just 8:29 into the game on a one-yard run by quarterback Peter Kimmey. It was the first of two rushing touchdowns for the sophomore, who finished the game with 105 yards on the ground and 114 through the air.

Occidental responded in the second quarter, though, posting an eight-play, 71-yard drive that ended in a 27-yard field goal by kicker Joshua Mun. Less than four minutes later, the Tigers took the lead.

Starting from his own 14-yard line, senior quarterback Luke Collis led Oxy down the field in a brisk 2:16, completing three passes on the drive, including an 18-yard hook-up with sophomore wideout Matthew Tuckness, who finished with seven receptions and 95 yards on the day. The drive was helped by a 15-yard CMS penalty that moved the Tigers across midfield, and capped by a 25-yard run by running back Wes McDaniel. Mun converted the point-after-attempt successfully, and with 7:28 left to play in the half, Oxy led the Stags 10-6.

But it would not last long, as two possessions later the Stags marched downfield to score their second touchdown of the half, this time on a 6-yard run by Kimmey. From there, CMS never looked back, outscoring Occidental 21-7 the rest of the way while using its pass rush to overwhelm the Tigers' offense and its running game to wear down the clock.

In total, the Stags posted 424 yards on offense, including 87 rushing yards from running back Alex Wheatley and 56 receiving yards from senior Jacob Tobis. Defensively, Adam Morris and Ben Salzmen led the way with 12 tackles each for CMS: Morris had four solo-tackles and eight assists for the Stags, while Salzman added a sack and an interception to his five solo-tackles and seven assists. Ed Mills, Eric Janicki, Dylan Marcoot, Peter Schock, and Matthew Laredo also recorded sacks for the visitors.

For the home team, senior running back Ryan Nastor gained 113 of total offense, rushing for 74 on 14 carries and scoring a touchdown. Wide receiver Bobby Phillips caught six passes for 57 yards, while quarterback Luke Collis finished with 289 yards passing.

On defense, Nate Proulx continued to rack up tackles for Oxy, recording 10 total. However, it was senior linebacker Kyle Spaulding who led the Tigers with 13 tackles on the day, posting 4 solo and 9 assists. He also recorded a sack and a fumble recovery in his last game on Patterson Field.

Before the game, Occidental honored the 13 seniors who donned Black and Orange on the Patterson Field for the last time at home.  The loss dropped the Tigers to 4-4 overall and 3-2 in SCIAC play. Next week Oxy travels to Thousand Oaks, Calif. to conclude their season with a conference matchup against Cal Lutheran. Kick-off is set for 1:00 p.m.

Article by Joshua Throckmorton