University of Redlands Bulldogs
3-0 SCIAC, 4-1 Overall
at
Occidental College Tigers
2-1 SCIAC, 3-2 Overall
Redlands, in white, on offense
On Saturday evening, I was joined by our son Michael for the one hour drive to the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles to watch a 7:00 p.m. Southern Califorinia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC), NCAA Division III football game.
After a long day of looking at our Oxnard game video plus videos of our next opponent, the Hueneme Vikings, it was time for a break.
Truthfully I was still very depressed by our effort Friday night but also was starting to realize that the Oxnard players just wanted that game a bit more than we did.
Disappointing, I really like this group of kids but our continued bouts with focus issues is really starting wear on all of our coaches.
Pre-Game Meal
Sort of.
Any trip to to the Occidental campus brings with it a mandatory trip to the The Bucket, seating capacity about 40 people.
We arrived there about one hour before kickoff and ordered two Cardiac Burgers, an order of onion rings and two beverages.
Fifty minutes later we still had not been served any part of our order. We cancelled our order before leaving for the game.
At least our arteries were still intact.
Damn!
Jack Kemp was a QB at Occidental in the 1950's and was a star QB for the Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers and the Buffalo Bills in the old AFL during the 1960's.
After retiring from pro football, he became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the Buffalo, N.Y. area.
In 1996, Kemp was even the Republican Party's and Bob Dole's pick for the Vice-Presidential spot on their ticket.
The Oxy Tiger praying for a win over
Redlands, ranked #15 in the Nation
As noted on this blog before, I love Division III football! Besides this funky mascot, Oxy has a student announcer that was hilarious in his pro-Tiger bias and unbridled enthusiam.
He is definitely from the Tom FitzGerald school of broadcasting.
While the atmosphere and facilities at Occidental were great, the lighting wasn't.
Tiger Hits Bulldog
Film at 11:00
Due to the lighting issues and my being in the stands, it was hard to get clear action shots of the game, but I did get some surrealistic ones.
Bulldogs about to score first
Occidental Kicking Off
The Tigers quickly answered the Bulldog TD to make it 7-7 after one period.
Redlands QB #12 Chad Hurst
6'-2", 210 lbs., Junior
Hurst is a very talented signal caller. While only 9 for 20 passing for 145 yards and a TD, he would also rush 11 times for 137 yards and 2 TDs.
His two untouched TD scampers covered 62 and 28 yards and were both on Zone Read Option Keeps.
Occidental didn't account for the QB on the option either.
It did not make me feel any better about Friday night.
Bulldog Kick Off Unit
Oxy's Spread Attack
Trust me, this was a BIG hit!!!
When the entire crowd groans in unison, it is a good hit.
Trips Left
Tigers QB #3 Luke Collis
6'-3", 230 lbs., Senior
He was a tired man by the end of the evening. Collis was 41 for 71 passing, good for 393 yards and 3 TDs! He also chipped in 2 carries for 15 yards.
If you are looking for a QB in EuroBall, he might be someone to contact.
Action on Special Teams
In the middle of this is #8 a WR for Redlands, David Metcalf on a 45 yard Kick Off return
At halftime, it was a 14-14 tie.
One of Occidental's Signature Buildings
The main Oxy quad has been featured in dozens of Hollywood movies where a college campus environment is needed.
Second Half Warm-up
1 on 1 Match-ups
This is the core essence of American football.
Another one of Oxy's 71 pass attempts
The Pivotal Play of the Game
The Tigers were punting with 5:44 left in the third quarter and the score still tied at 14 all.
The Bulldogs #10, Justin Butler would knife through on the right side of the Tigers' line, block the punt and . . .
. . . SCORE A TD!!!
Speaking of the kicking game, Division III also allows for some creativity in this area.
Oxy's Traditional PAT Alignment
Nothing wrong with it, I like it, it was effective.
On the other hand . . .
One of Redlands Pre-PAT looks
And Another
Every time the Redlands scored, they lined up in a different pre-snap PAT look.
I am sure that it caused Oxy to spend a lot of extra time on their PAT block schemes in practice this week.
The Tigers made solid defensive adjustments to all of these looks so the Bulldogs just shifted back to . . .
. . . A Traditional PAT look
Occidental in the Red Zone again
Oxy WR,#10 Ryan Rodriguez
Pressing the Goal Line
Wedge Blocking for Six Points
At the end of three periods it was 28-21 in Redlands favor.
Because of all of the passing, it was getting late and we still had an hour drive back to Ventura County so we decided to leave having seen some good, hard hitting action.
We should have stayed a little longer.
The fourth quarter was a wild one as a total of 33 points would be tallied.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, they found themselves behind 42-28 after Redlands scored with 6:22 left in the game.
No problem, a 14 play, 68 yard drive led to a 3 yard TD pass from Collis to Mathew Tuckness and a score of 42-34 in favor of the Bulldogs.
Problem, Oxy missed the PAT kick, still 42-34 Redlands.
There was still 3:43 left in the game.
After a 9 play drive that covered another 71 yards, Collis found Tuckness again, this time for a 21 yard TD strike. Redlands led 42-40 with 10 seconds left.
The two point PAT pass attempt fell incomplete and the Bulldogs had won a wild one by the same 42-40 score.
Occidental had 537 yards of Total Offense while Redlands countered with 389 yards of their own.
The blocked punt for a Redlands TD was huge.
For more on the game, click on:
2 comments:
No Cardiac Burger for me:(
Next time come to The Capri!
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