Benjamin Warden '05 (#44) turns beyond the bloodthirsty CMS pack and looks for the short pass.

Football Falls in Homecoming Game at CMS
By Ezekiel Pfeifer
Sports Associate

The Pomona-Pitzer football team closed the 2003 season with a disappointing 28-21 loss to rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Sagehens came back from a 21-0 third quarter deficit to score 21 points and came close to tying the game. The consistency of CMS, however, prevented a P-P comeback.

“The bottom line is we didn’t execute at all in the first half, on either side of the ball,” commented head coach Roger Caron following the loss. “We left guys open on offense and our defensive tackling was way off. But from there, we started executing and dominated the game in the second half.”

The game was hard-fought on both sides of the ball and the Sagehen seniors, playing in their last game, had impressive performances, including running back Jon Samples ’04 who rushed for 70 yards on 24 carries and one touchdown.

The game, played at the CMS Stags’ home stadium, began slowly for both teams offensively. P-P received the ball to start the game, but was soon forced to punt; CMS did the same. Near the middle of the first quarter, however, CMS gained a crucial first down on fourth down with one yard to go. This play led on the Stags to an eventual three yard touchdown run to put them on top, 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Pomona-Pitzer’s trouble did not end with defense. The Sagehen offense faltered in the first half as well, as quarterback Justin Fenchel ’05 threw an interception that led to another scoring drive for CMS, making the score 14-0 with about 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Both teams struggled to get scoring opportunities for the remainder of the half, keeping the score 14-0 going into the second half.

CMS took immediate advantage of their first possession of the ball in the second half. In less than two minutes, the Stags drove to mid-field and quarterback Mitch Browne CMC ’06 threw a 51 yard touchdown pass to give the home team a 21-0 lead over the Hens. From this point, however, P-P took control of the game, scoring twice in the third quarter with a touchdown run by Samples and a TD reception by Matthew Hermsen’ 04 to make the score 21-14.

The beginning of the fourth quarter ended the potential Sagehen comeback, however, as a second Fenchel pass was intercepted. This led to another CMS scoring drive and the Stags lead went back to 14. The Hens scored on a touchdown run by Alan Mouritsen ’07 late in the fourth quarter to make the score 28-21, but this turned out to be too little, too late. P-P got another opportunity to score on offense, but could not come up with the needed touchdown to tie the game.

The Sagehen-Stag rivalry was in full swing on Saturday, with frequent disturbances in both crowds concerning a CMS flag being waved by Stag fans and determined play from both teams throughout the game. Pomona president David Oxtoby, who was away in Boston over the weekend, felt so strongly about what he heard of the incidents on Saturday that he issued an email message to all Pomona students expressing his concerns.

“A healthy rivalry between Pomona-Pitzer and CMS is a good thing; it contributes to school spirit and brings students out to cheer on their fellow students,” said Oxtoby.† “I am concerned that this rivalry not turn into negative name-calling and fighting.† I ask that Pomona students play a lead role in keeping this rivalry focused in positive directions.”

Quarterback Cody Peterson ’07 could feel the power of the 5C rivalry saying, “Honestly, before the game, I don’t think a lot of the freshmen knew how passionate and spirited the rivalry was, but when fights broke out and the game got competitive, we all knew how big of a game we were playing in.”

The loss to CMS brings P-P’s final record for the season to 5-4, one win above .500.

“It was a great season,” said Caron. “It’s always disappointing to lose that last game, but we’ll only get better from here. [It was a] super season. For us to be competitive in eight out of nine games and to win five of those is just fantastic. It’s a good young group and as good of young scholar-athletes as I’ve ever been around.”

The season was full of unexpected results for the Sagehens, such as the enormous upset over Trinity College and the great defensive performance against SCIAC powerhouse Redlands. Overall, the team seemed satisfied with the season’s results and looking forward to future success.

“It was a lot more fun and a lot less intense than I thought it would be,” said defensive lineman Clay Leonard ’07, “Next year, we should be better in the SCIAC too, because we’re only losing six or seven seniors, whereas a lot of the other teams in the Conference are losing a lot more.”

Look for the Hens to be back in action next fall with more experience and a continued fighting drive to be successful in Division III and SCIAC football.