Redlands at Occidental Game

University of Redlands Bulldogs

3-0 SCIAC, 4-1 Overall

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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:

http://www.oxyathletics.com/sports/fball/2011-12/releases/20111023dp4ytm

Oxnard at Rio Mesa Game

Oxnard Yellowjackets (1-0 PVL, 3-3)

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Rio Mesa Spartans (1-0 PVL, 5-1)

Friday night's game promised to be a key match-up in the very competitive Pacific View League. If you are a fan of high school football, you got your money's worth.

One of three rushing TDs by

Jordan Nunnery

Jordan had another outstanding game for the Spartans. He rushed 19 times for 103 yards and 3 TDs. On defense, he was in on 4 tackles, broke up 2 passes and blocked a crucial Oxnard field goal attempt at the end of regulation.

Jordan would score the first points of the game as the first quarter came to a close with the Spartans leading 6-0.

TD Catch by Davonte Nunnery

He had 2 catches on the night, good for 19 yards including this 10 yard TD catch from Trent Thornton.

At the half, it was Oxnard 14 - Rio Mesa 12.

Christian McNair for Two Points

Nice body position. At this point his catch gave the Spartans the lead at 20-14.

SWARM!!!

We needed this, but with better discipline against the option and naked bootleg.

Our basic concept vs. option teams is simple really. If you are going to run the option then you must have a good running threat at QB. If you don't have that quality in your QB then don't run the option.

Thus, we must account for the QB on every snap. We worked hard on this all week, but come Friday night our boys did not even come close to attaining this most necessary team goal.

We were not disciplined.

It cost us dearly.

After three quarters, the Spartans were in the lead 27-20.

Davonte Nunnery, Free Safety

Davonte had another solid night at Free Safety where for the second straight game he was in on 16 tackles.

This was very good for Davonte but a very bad sign for our defense.

At the end of four periods, the score was tied 27-27.

Overtime.

Oxnard QB Oscar Sandoval

The Difference Maker

We use the NCAA overtime system in high school. The ball is placed on the 25 yard line with teams having equal, alternating possessions until you have a winner.

We had the ball first and had to settle for a Tim Dominguez 30 yard field goal to take a 30-27 lead.

Now it was the Yellowjackets' turn.

The key play was a 3rd and 6 play from the 10 yard line. During an Oxnard timeout, I was intently listening on my headset from the pressbox as our Defensive Coordinator on the field stressed continually to the defense that the QB would be the one making the play. He exhorted our players to be disciplined and take care of their responsibilities.

Not a chance.

Iso to our left, QB naked boot to our right. All of our players on the right side bit on the Iso.

Thier QB was finally tackled on the 1 yard line and they scored the winning TD on the next play.

The final score was Oxnard 33 - Rio Mesa 30.

Frustrating.

For more on the game, click on this link to the Ventura County Star's article:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/oct/22/bootleg-boosts-oxnard-to-ot-win-over-rio-mesa/?vcspreps=1

Week #7 Results: BOLD = RM Opponents

Pacific View League Games:

Oxnard 33 - Rio Mesa 30 O.T.

Channel Islands 42 - Pacifica 35 O.T.

Camarillo 58 - Hueneme 14

Channel League Games:

Ventura 20 - Buena 6

Santa Barbara 35 - San Marcos 21

BYE: Dos Pueblos

Week #8 Games: BOLD - RM Opponents

Pacific View League Games:

Hueneme (0-2 PVL, 2-5 overall) at Rio Mesa (1-1, 5-2)

Oxnard (2-0, 4-3) at Channel Islands (1-1, 5-2)

Camarillo (2-0, 4-3) at Pacifica (0-2, 2-5)

Channel League Games:

Santa Barbara (1-0 CL, 4-3 overall) at Ventura (2-0, 8-0)

Dos Pueblos (0-1, 0-7) at Buena (1-1, 2-6)

BYE: San Marcos (0-2, 1-7)

Pacific View League Standings

Camarillo 2-0 PVL, 4-3 overall

Oxnard 2-0, 4-3

Channel Islands 1-1, 5-2

Rio Mesa 1-1, 5-2

Hueneme 0-2, 2-5

Pacifica 0-2, 2-5

Reading is FUNdamental

After reading a series of dark, depressing Scandinavian noir mysteries in recent weeks, I opted for The Amber Room, a mystery/adventure novel given to me by our son Andy on our last visit to Las Vegas.

I found it to be a fun, bright read as it mixed the Nazis, Stalinist Russia, priceless stolen art treasures, World War II and the murders of the two protagonists' parents, along with dozens of innocent commericial airline's passengers and another 15 to 20 "bad guys" to boot.

The Scandinavian mysteries are really dark afterall.

Tanner Wrout, Media Darling

#11 Tanner Wrout

6'0" - 205 lbs.

OR

183 cm. - 93.2 kg

(just in case any EuroBall teams are interested)

Tanner Wrout, the Rio Mesa Spartan's outstanding Fullback and Middle Linebacker who appears to be heading to an Ivy League school next Fall, had a nice article written about him in the Ventura County Star today.

Click on this link to see today's write-up: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/oct/16/prep-notebook/

Big game this Friday as the Spartans (1-0 Pacific View League, 5-1 overall) host the hard charging Oxnard Yellowjackets (1-0 PVL, 3-3). The 'Jackets have won three of their last four games.

Oxnard has won the last four meetings between the two teams, a rivalry that started in 1969. This will be the 34th time the two schools have played each other in a Varsity football game.

Oxnard Loves to Run the Ball!!!

Here against Ventura, Oxnard QB #12 Oscar Sandoval (321 yards rushing, 6.4 ave., 4 TDs) is seen handing the ball off to the Yellowjackets' RB #14 Grant Weiss (798 yards rushing, 7.5 ave., 10 TDs).

Another tough, physical game for the Spartans this week to say the very least!!!

Pacifica at Rio Mesa Game

SWARM!!!

Pacifica Tritons (2-3)

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Rio Mesa Spartans (4-1)

After a solid 4-1 non-league season, the Spartans opened up the 2011 Pacific View League campaign against a very dangerous Pacifica Triton squad. Again, on paper, the Spartans were favored but after watching the Triton game films you had to worry.

Pacifica's outstanding RB #1 Dennis Taylor

Taylor is the leader of a potent Pacifica offense that came into the contest averaging a whopping 40.6 points per game despite their 2-3 record. Taylor entered the game with 740 yards rushing, an 8.8 yards per carry average, with 11 TDs.

The Triton offense is balanced as well with QB Nick Davis having completed 58% of his passes good for 886 yards and 10 TDs.

The good news for us was that the Pacifica defense was giving up 40.6 points per game.

An Italian Football League game worthy of Catania vs. Parma was about to break out.

Enough pre-game hype, it was time to stand up for the...

KICKOFF!!!

Tim Dominguez booting the ball with Mitchell Haerterich covering. Tim had another great game kicking the ball, placing Pacifica in poor field position and scoring 9 points by virtue of a perfect 6 for 6 PAT night and a 28 yard Field Goal.

Mitchell would have a key interception in the 1st quarter that he returned 64 yards to the 11 yard line to set up our second TD of the game. Mitch, an outside LB, was in on 16 tackles on the night.

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES!!!

The Spartans opening drive was a good one, culminating with 14 yard TD pass from Trent Thornton to #14 Davonte Nunnery celebrating here with Tanner Wrout. The Spartans led 7-0. Davonte was also a part of 16 tackles from his Free Safety position.

Solid First Half Defense

The Spartan derfense did a good job in the opening 24 minutes containing Taylor on the ground. Pacifica's QB Nick Davis was very effective though as the Spartans appeared to be in control at the half leading 30-14.

The Rio Mesa offense has been struggling most of the season but on this night scored on all five of our first half possesions with 4 TDs and a Field Goal.

During the extended 20 minute halftime to honor the 40 year reunion of the 1971 Rio Mesa football team that won the C.I.F. "A" Championship, the team was reminded not to relax, that Pacifica's offensive weapons could get them back into the game quickly if we were not focused.

Those would be prophetic words.

Welcoming Home the Tradition Makers

"Celebrate Good Times"

1971 C.I.F. "A" Champions

1971 Frontier League Co-Champions

10-2-0

Jordan Nunnery on the loose!!!

Jordan battled the flu all week but had a great night that included a 78 yard TD run and a 78 yard TD Kickoff Return, both in the second half. For the evening, Jordan had only four carries for 99 yards.

The Trenches

While we controlled this area in the first half, the Tritons would dominate it in the second stanza. In a very frustrating turn of events, we only had 12 offensive plays in the second half!

On a positive note, we did rush the ball 25 times for 294 yards.

Entering the 4th quarter, the Spartans still appeared to be in control, leading 37-21.

Martel Tyler

Martel ran the ball well, as he had to take on a bigger share of the offensive load due to Jordan Nunnery's flu issues. Martel had ten carries for 84 yards. He would participate in 12 tackles and also make a key interception on the Tritons' last possesion to seal the win.

Pacifica's QB Nick Davis

He was outstanding in leading the Tritons furious 4th quarter comeback attempt as Pacifica would score 21 points in the final 12 minutes!

Davis would complete 12 of his 21 pass attempts for 169 yards and 2 TDs and ran the ball effectively for another 65 yards.

Add in RB Dennis Taylor's 186 yards rushing and 3 TDs and we had the makings of a long evening.

"Easily intimidated by a forearm to the throat"

Me too.

That is Spartan center Orion Awa-DuBose bringing the hammer.

Tanner Wrout

On offense, Tanner rushed eight times for 119 yards and three first half TDs of 41, 30 and 1 yard. His biggest play though was on defense when he blitzed on a Pacifica two-point conversion attempt to try to tie the game at 44-44 with 4:12 left in the 4th quarter. He tackled the Triton ball carrier for a two yard loss as the Spartans hung on to an ever so slim 44-42 lead with way too much time left in the game.

The Rio Mesa "Hands" kickoff return team did their job and recovered Pacifica's onside kick at midfield.

All that was needed now was two first downs and the game would be ours.

Three and out.

Could we finally stop them?

#6 Darion Zimmerman for SIX!!!

Yes! CB Darion Zimmerman intercepted a pass and ran it back 24 yards for the insurance TD and the final points of the game, Rio Mesa 51 - Pacifica 42.

The Tritons had time for one more drive but as I said earlier, Martel Tyler intercepted a desperation Pacifica pass and returned it 69 yards before running out of gas thus insuring the victory at last!

For the night, the Spartan defense had three interceptions that were returned for a total of 157 yards and a TD -- a mini-offense in itself!

Our #1 goal had been achieved, 1-0 in the Pacific View League and 5-1 on the season.

For more on the game, go to the Ventura County Star's game report at:

http://www.vcstar.com/news/2011/oct/15/stopping-point-defensive-play-secures-spartans/?vcspreps=1

Week #6 Results: BOLD = RM Opponents

Pacific View League Games:

Rio Mesa 51 - Pacifica 42

Oxnard 42 - Hueneme 20

Camarillo 36 - Channel Islands 29

Channel League Games:

Ventura 13 - Dos Pueblos 6

Buena 49 - San Marcos 21

BYE: Santa Barbara

Week #7 Games: BOLD = RM Opponents

Pacific View League Games:

Oxnard (1-0 PVL, 3-3 overall) at Rio Mesa (1-0, 5-1)

Camarillo (1-0, 3-3) at Hueneme (0-1, 1-5)

Channel Islands (0-1, 4-2) at Pacifica (0-1, 2-4)

Channel League Games:

Santa Barbara (0-0 CL, 3-3 overall) at San Marcos (0-1, 1-6)

Buena (1-0, 2-5) at Ventura (1-0, 7-0)

BYE: Dos Pueblos (0-1, 0-7)

Pacific View League Standings

Camarillo 1-0 PVL, 3-3 overall

Oxnard 1-0, 3-3

Rio Mesa 1-0, 5-1

Channel Islands 0-1, 4-2

Hueneme 0-1, 1-5

Pacifica 0-1, 2-4

Reading,

It's FUNdamental!!!

This week's read was Jo Nesbø's best to date in my opinion. It was the fourth of the nine Inspector Harry Hole of the Oslo Crime Squad novels that I have read and the fifth Nesbø novel overall.

OUTSTANDING!!!

If you like mystery novel's, this Norwegian writer is for you!

"The Way" a Movie by Emilio Estevez and Martin Sheen

On Friday, October 7th the 2010 movie The Way was finally released in the United States. On Saturday, Laurie and I were joined by Brian and Koreen FitzGerald for the one hour drive down to Burbank to view it in one of only three theaters in Southern California showing the film on its opening weekend.

The plot centers around Martin Sheen's character Tom, an opthamologist from Ventura, California, who comes to St. Jean Pied de Port, France to collect the remains of his adult son Daniel, played by director Emilio Estevez, killed in the Pyrenees in a storm while walking the Camino de Santiago, also known as The Way of Saint James.

Rather than return home, Tom decides to embark on the historical pilgrimage to honor his son's desire to finish the journey.

What Tom doesn't plan on is the profound impact the journey will have on him and his way of viewing the world around him

Though ill prepared for the 500 mile trek, Tom soon discovers that he will not be alone on this journey. On "The Way," Tom meets other pilgrims, each with their own issues and looking for greater meaning in their lives: a Dutchman trying to lose weight, a Canadian woman purportedly trying to quit smoking but really trying to shake lose from her life's demons and an Irish writer who is suffering from a bout of writer's block.

From the unexpected and, oftentimes, amusing experiences along "The Way," this unlikely quartet of misfits creates an everlasting bond -- a Camino Family if you will.

By the end of the film, Tom learns what it means to be a citizen of the world again as the Camino helps Tom to bring closure to his unresolved relationship with his son Daniel. Tom discovers the difference between "the life we live and the life we choose."

As most of you know who follow this blog, our friends Jason and Christie Johnson walked a large part this Camino de Santiago in 2009. I walked the entire French Route seen in the movie in 2010 and, as I write, Matthew Epperson is in Burgos, Spain about 165 miles into his 500 mile Camino this Fall.

The Camino was a life changing experience for me and the memories of the shared joy, sorrows and dynamics of our Camino Family (Hans from The Netherlands, Trine from Denmark, Julie from Canada, Michelle from Germany and the San Diego girls Jillian, Jamie and Ruth) are with me daily.

The movie for me was tough to judge because although it tried to capture the spirit of the Camino, it could not do it for me in only 1 hour and 55 minutes. I must admit getting emotional during the opening credits and marveling again at the incredible scenery that Northern Spain provides on the Camino. Still, it was hard for me to distill a 33 day trek into 2 hours.

All in all though, I was glad that a movie about the experinces that all peregrinos share, regardless of when you strolled the Camino, was brought to the screen.

If you get the chance, see it. You'll feel good in the end -- promise.