Author: Ryan Graff
In a game where SCIAC touchdowns (10) and rushing yards per game (145.1) leader Kwame Do (sophomore) didn’t find pay dirt for the first time in nearly a month, it was the leg of Tiger kicker Marc Kuzbari (senior) that came through for the Occidental football team (4-3 overall, 3-2 SCIAC) in a tightly-contested 13-7 victory over Pomona-Pitzer (2-5 overall, 2-3 SCIAC) on Saturday afternoon at Merritt Field.
The win ensures that “The Drum” trophy, which marks the 115-year-old rivalry between the Tigers and Sagehens, will stay on Occidental’s campus for the tenth straight year. The Tigers’ decade-long run extends their significant 64-48-3 all-time advantage over Pomona-Pitzer in Southern California’s oldest collegiate gridiron clash.
Kuzbari hit a 38-yard field goal to break a 7-7 tie with 3:25 minutes left in the third quarter and iced the contest with a 32-yarder in the first five minutes of the final period.
The rock of the Tigers’ special teams units all season long — as he handles both the kicking and punting duties for the black and orange — Kuzbari has knocked home six field goals and 23 of 25 extra points on the campaign and is averaging 42.4 yards per punt while pinning seven inside the 20-yard line.
Occidental established its ground game early.
Junior wide receiver Samuel Crizer capped a nine-play, 73-yard drive halfway through the opening segment with a 9-yard touchdown run out of the wildcat formation to put the Tigers up 7-0.
Though he didn’t see the end zone, SCIAC Male Athlete of the Week Do put on another clinic in the rushing department, cruising for 155 yards on 29 touches. The star-studded running back broke the 1,000-yard mark on the season in the second half, making him the first Tiger rusher to reach the milestone since Gene Moore ’69 in 1968. Do currently sits at 1,016 yards on the year with two more games to pass Moore’s single-season feat of 1,084 from the same 1968 season.
First-year quarterback Bryan Scott and company struggled slightly through the air.
Scott, who dropped back under 20 times on the afternoon, completed just 8 of 17 passes for 122 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Sophomore wideout Devin Bullock led the Tiger receiving corps with 83 yards on five catches, while Sam Stekol (junior) — Occidental’s most popular target — registered just one reception for six yards.
The Tiger defense, which entered the day averaging nearly 40 points per game allowed, held the Sagehens to just one score on an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Bresler (first-year) to receiver Guy Scherzer (junior) with 14 seconds left on the clock before halftime.
The defense preserved the black and orange’s six-point advantage throughout the contest’s final ten minutes.
Sophomore linebacker Adam Goltche recorded a seven-yard sack on the ensuing drive after Kuzbari’s second field goal, and the unit forced two Bresler incomplete passes that eventually led to a Pomona-Pitzer punt.
Though the Sagehens got another chance on the offensive side of the ball with 5:30 minutes remaining and converted on 3rd and 12, 3rd and 9 and 4th and 4, defensive back Devin Chapman (sophomore) played hero for Occidental on the game’s final fourth-down play.
With the spot on Occidental’s 15-yard line, Chapman broke up a Bresler pass to turn the ball over on downs and seal the Tiger victory.
Junior linebacker Ross Fiegener recorded a team-high 10 tackles, which he complemented with a sack and a fumble recovery.
Occidental currently owns sole possession of the third-place spot in the SCIAC standings. Even if four-seed Cal Lutheran wins tonight over last-place Whittier, Occidental still holds the tiebreaker against the Kingsmen and would occupy the three-seed in the conference.
The Tigers travel to Whittier next Saturday at 7 p.m. and return to Jack Kemp Stadium on Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. for Senior Day and their final contest of the 2013 campaign.
This article has been archived, for more requests please contact us via the support system.
