Author: Chris Nelson
All streaks come to an end. The Atlanta Braves’ streak of NL East titles ended in 2005 at 11. Tiger Woods’s consecutive cuts made streak ended at 142 at the Byron Nelson Championship. Joe DiMaggio’s consecutive game hitting streak ended at 56. Unfortunately, the Occidental Football team was not exempt from the fundamental principle of streaks. Last Saturday, the Tigers’ 32 consecutive game SCIAC win streak ended in a 43-25 loss to California Lutheran Kingsmen.
Both offensives started slowly, but Cal Lutheran got on the board first when placekicker Connor Pearce hit a 46-yard field goal. The Kingsmen added to their lead on their next possession when running back Louis Montano broke a 61-yard touchdown run. The first quarter ended with Kingsmen leading the Tigers 10-0.
Oxy got on the board on their first drive in the second quarter when placekicker Neil Martin (sophomore) made a 22-yard field goal. Cal Lutheran’s next drive ended when linebacker JD Ciasulli (junior) picked off a tipped Benedict pass, but the Tigers were unable to convert the turnover into points.
After a Tiger fumble, Cal Lutheran added to their lead on their seventh possession. Montano scored on a 33-yard run giving the Kingsmen a 16-3 lead. After Montano’s second long touchdown run of the half, both offensives remained relatively quiet, until another Oxy fumble gave Cal Lutheran a chance to score at the end of the half. With five seconds left in the second half, Kingsmen quarterback RJ Benedict connected with Jesse Matlock on a 26-yard pass, resulting in a touchdown. After a successful extra point, Cal Lutheran took a 23-3 lead into halftime.
The Tigers came out of halftime firing on all offensive cylinders. On their first possession, quarterback Justin Goltz (junior) hit Joey Coverson (senior) on a 14-yard touchdown pass, capping a 70-yard drive.
After the Tiger defense forced a Cal Lutheran punt, the Tigers offense once again marched down the field. Once again, Goltz connected with Coverson for a touchdown, this time capping a 87-yard drive. Halfway through the third quarter, the Kingsmen’s lead was down to six points.
The Tiger defense came up big again, stopping Cal Lutheran on their next possession, but momentum back to the Kingsmen after the Tigers’ fumbled the punt. The Tigers’ defense remained strong after the turnover, but an untimely personal foul gave Cal Lutheran a fresh set of downs which resulted in a touchdown. Benedict connected with Chris Hammond for the score, putting the Kingsmen up 30-17 while simultaneously ending the Tiger’s momentum.
The Occidental offense failed to get back on track in the second half. The Kingsmen defense began to play with the same enthusiasm they showed in the first half, forcing turnovers and pressuring Tiger quarterback Goltz.
Turnovers were the real killer for Oxy. Including turnovers on downs, the Tigers gave the ball away nine times against the Kingsmen, a daunting figure that makes winning next to impossible against the high powered Cal Lutheran offense.
The Tigers knew this game was going to be difficult. “They are a very good football team,” Tiger Coach Dale Widolff said of the Kingsmen. “As good as any team in the SCIAC.”
For the Tigers, their streak goes back to zero, but they know how to handle it. “We never really focused on the streak,” Widolff said. “We look at each week as its own season. One of the keys to our success is our ability to focus.”
The Tigers will look to start their next winning streak in their homecoming game against Chapman University this Saturday. The game starts at 1 p.m. at Patterson Field.
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