Football beats La Verne to secure winning season

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Author: Tim O’Donnell

Though the Occidental football team celebrated Senior Day for its final game of the season, it was a first-year that led the Tigers (5-4 overall, 4-3 SCIAC) to victory over La Verne (3-6 overall, 2-5 SCIAC) Saturday at Jack Kemp Stadium.

Quarterback Bryan Scott (first-year) threw for 473 yards and six touchdown passes — both career-highs — as the black and orange sent its dozen seniors off Patterson Field for the last time with a 49-21 rout of the Leopards. The win put the squad above .500 at season’s end for the first time in two years.

Scott spread the ball around all afternoon, hitting eight different receivers in the process. Four of them — juniors Sam Stekol and Sam Crizer and sophomores Devin Bullock and Kaleb Mitchell — caught touchdown passes.

“It’s great to send the seniors out on a win, and most importantly a winning season for our team,” Scott said. “[The seniors] really helped us get this program where it needs to be, and I look forward to the future. Props to everyone around me, helping me out. It was a great game.”

Meanwhile, running back Kwame Do (sophomore), though shy of his SCIAC-leading 151.6 yards per game average, rounded out the black and orange’s balanced offensive attack with 112 yards and a 17-yard touchdown run off 26 carries.

Linebacker Ross Fiegener (junior) played hero on the defensive side of the ball, registering two interceptions, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery to go along with nine tackles. The Tigers capitalized on five La Verne turnovers, halted several Leopard drives and kept Occidental’s commanding lead in tact.

Tiger head coach Doug Semones was pleased with the team’s efforts all season that culminated with Saturday’s blowout victory.

“I think the program is headed in the right direction,” he said. “We had some big wins; the play was much improved.”

The season’s culminating event was emotional from the outset for Occidental, who honored its 12 graduating seniors prior to the contest, highlighting team captains Dalton Spinas, Matt Matualaitis and Tommy Edwards. Each senior walked onto the field accompanied by his parents and loved-ones to the roars of the Tiger faithful.

After kickoff, the Leopards quickly moved the ball down the field and nearly entered the red zone when Fiegener picked off La Verne quarterback Michael Lauck (first-year) for the first time less than three minutes into the first quarter.

The opening segment remained a stalemate, as turnovers plagued both squads. In one two-minute stretch, the ball changed hands three separate times.

Occidental safety Teran Mawhinney (junior) forced a fumble and Fiegener recovered the ball, but Scott threw an interception on the very next play. Just as La Verne threatened to get on the scoreboard first, cornerback Matthew Malos (junior) delivered a hard hit that knocked the ball to the turf, and defensive lineman Michael Gilliam (senior) came up with another turnover.

After a scoreless opening period, the Tiger offense settled down in the second quarter.

Less than two minutes in, Scott found an open Stekol, who finished the play with a strong run after the catch, resulting in a 63-yard touchdown. Stekol finished the afternoon with a career-best 146 yards and two scores off three receptions.

From then on, the aerial attack was in full-swing for the black and orange. Scott and his receiving corps were in command, moving the ball down the field with speed and efficiency.

Scott connected with Crizer for a 35-yard score with 7:50 minutes left in the half, and Bullock joined the party with a 21-yard touchdown catch of his own on the ensuing Tiger drive five minutes later.

On the other side of the ball, Occidental’s defense continued to force La Verne to send its punt team onto the field.

But La Verne got on the board with just 90 seconds left before halftime on an 11-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Justin Gomez (senior) to wide receiver John Lilly (junior).

However, Scott and Stekol answered quickly, hooking up on a 76-yard bomb that sent the Tigers into the locker room with a 28-7 lead.

The second half brought more of the same Tiger dominance.

Scott found his fourth touchdown partner, Mitchell, in the back of the end zone on a 10-yard pass to open the period.

Less than 10 minutes later, Crizer scored his second touchdown of the afternoon off a 55-yard pass from Scott to put the Tigers up by the largest differential of the game, 42-7. Crizer, who has predominantly seen time under center in the wildcat formation, had a career day in the receiving department, reeling in five catches for 141 yards and two trips to the end zone.

La Verne began to inch back into the game, cutting the deficit to 42-14 when Gomez found Chad Lucas (senior) for a touchdown with 26 seconds left in the third.

But on the next Leopard drive, with Lauck back in as signal caller, the La Verne squad squandered another opportunity.

With the ball spotted at Occidental’s 2-yard line, Lauck dropped back to pass and released into the end zone. But Fiegener leaped in the air at the end line and came down with his second interception for a touchback.

“The turnovers are a complete team effort,” Fiegener said. “It’s all about people doing their jobs and being in the right spots.”

Once the black and orange took back over on offense, Do iced the game with a 17-yard run to find pay dirt for his lone score of the day. Though the successful Tiger air attack limited Do’s touches Saturday, he concluded the season with 1,325 rushing yards, a mark that shattered Gene Moore’s ‘69 previous single-season record by 241.

When the final whistle sounded, the Tigers gathered around midfield with their families and friends, the seniors celebrating a home win for the final time.

“Winning at home [in] your last game ever as a Tiger; nothing beats it,” Spinas said. “Especially with how bad the program has been in the past. This year, I couldn’t have asked for a better year to go out on.”

It was a challenging four years for the senior class, who experienced just two winning seasons in its time donning the black and orange. But an above. 500 record and a third-place conference finish was a step in the right direction after last season’s 2-7 record.

Semones expressed his gratitude to the graduating class for adapting to his run-heavy offense and multiple defense in their final season and serving as exemplary leaders for the youthful and up-and-coming Tiger unit. Semones has plenty to build upon for the future with a roster that includes returning starters Scott, Do, Stekol and Fiegener.

“I just appreciate [the seniors] for buying into the changes we made; the way I wanted to do things,” he said. “The seniors will be the group that got this thing started. They got things turned around after a pretty low point, and got things headed in the right direction. We will miss those guys.”

 

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