When two football teams combine to score 100 points, accrue nearly 1000 total yards of offense, and gain 55 first downs, it is easily inferred that the defenses did not have much to do with the outcome the game. Such was the case last Saturday, when the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens hosted the Puget Sound Loggers in what turned out to be a full-fledged shootout between two very capable squads. Although the Loggers had 526 yards of total offense to the Sagehens 439, the Hens managed to come out on top, winning their Homecoming competition 57-43 and controlling the tempo of the game with their dynamic, big-play offense.

Joseph Koch In a brilliant defensive play, Shawn Hochuli ’00 prevents a Logger receiver from scoring a touchdown early in the first half of last weekend’s Homecoming competition. In a game characterized by offense, the Sagehens and Loggers combined for 100 points on nearly 1,000 yards of total offense.

It was the perfect day for a spectator at Merrit field, with a temperature of 85 degrees and two offenses eager to prove themselves in the waning weeks of the Division III football season. The Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens looked to improve to 6-1, while the Puget Sound Loggers were hoping for a break from a very difficult Northwest Conference (NWC) schedule, where they were a paltry 1-5 going into Saturday’s game.

The game started off sloppy. The Sagehens scored their first two points on a Loggers punt snap that went through the back of their own endzone. The Loggers bounced back quickly though, and on their third possession of the first quarter, they marched the ball 44 yards for a touchdown to take a 7-2 lead after one quarter. The Sagehen defense was in shock, but their offense responded in the second quarter. Jake Howard ’00 made a diving touchdown catch on a gutsy fourth-down call, which gave the Hens an 8-7 lead and ignited their offense.

But every time the Sagehens put the ball in the endzone, the Loggers would counter. Puget Sound quickly regained the lead, returning the kickoff 50 yards and subsequently scoring on a 25-yard pass to go up 15-8.

Down seven points, Howard made another stunning catch to shift the momentum into the Sagehens’ favor once again and set them up for a 35-yard touchdown run from tailback Ryan Hattersley ’01. But the missed extra point left the Hens down 15-14 with 47 seconds left in the half.

Key Interception

The key play of the first half came with under a minute to go as the Loggers looked to advance the ball. It was one of the few defensive high points for the Sagehens. Linebacker Khary Espy ’01 intercepted the ball on the Logger’s 24-yard line, setting up Brian Ferrette’s ’01 second touchdown pass with only 17 seconds left to put the Hens up 22-15. The Sagehens left the half with the lead and the momentum, and although their defense remained suspect for the rest of the outing, they never again lost the lead.

In his first game back from a wrist injury, Jake Howard had 120 first-half receiving yards and one touchdown. He finished the game with ten receptions and 146 yards. Hattersley had 89 yards on the ground in the first half alone and finished with 134 yards and three touchdowns. Howard was awarded player of the game for what Coach Roger Caron called, "a terrific game by Jake." He went on to say: "In terms of effort and big plays, I can’t remember a better performance in his four years on the team."

Joseph Koch Jake Howard ’00 sprints to gain some yardage. Howard finished with 10 receptions for 146 yards and was awarded player of the game.

The second half saw more of the same offensive productivity form both teams. It was fast-paced, and once again each defense was manhandled by the opposing attack. Touchdowns came at a fanatical rate.

Surprisingly, one of the key plays for Pomona-Pitzer in the second half also came on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive tackle Dan Wire ’01 intercepted a Loggers pass at the line of scrimmage and ran it 45 yards into the endzone to stifle a Puget Sound drive that would have given them a late-game tie. The touchdown put the Sagehens safely on top by two touchdowns, 43-29.

Despite his efforts, and his first touchdown in a Sagehen uniform, Wire remained disgusted by the Hens’ defensive performance. As he left the field, Wire said, "Our defense was really weak today." And that it was. Defensive back Matt Lacoss ’01, who broke his hand in the game but will probably play in a cast next week, agreed: "We need to come out with a lot more intensity on defense."

Running back Hattersley realized this as well. In reference to the defense’s lackluster performance, he said, "We gave up so many points that our offense had to perform the way we did in order for us to win."

Offensive Success

Quarterback Ferrette was a big reason for the offense’s success. Ferrette challenged school records for yardage and touchdowns, throwing for 317 yards (Tenth in school history) and 4 touchdowns (tied for fifth in school history).

Notable performances also came from receiver James Nachtwey ’02, who played inspired football, catching a number of difficult and important passes; and Lacoss, who had two touchdown receptions and 90 yards of total offense in a game where he was on the field nearly all the time at both defensive back and wide receiver. Shawn Hochuli ’00, Josh Meyer ’02, and Wire were others who played effectively on both sides of the ball.

As stirring as the offensive statistics are for the Sagehens, the defensive stats are correspondingly perturbing. The rush defense gave up 262 yards, 206 yards to one Logger back, Josh Yaeter. The gauge of the defensive breakdown is easily discerned by one loathsome statistic. In their previous six games, the Sagehens’ nationally-ranked defensive unit gave up less than 45 points. In the match against Puget Sound, the Hens gave up 43 points.

This uncharacteristic lapse in team defense could be attributed to a number of factors. Loss of safety Ronnie Tamale ’00 was indubitably part of the problem. Without Tamale, the team is limited in its defensive formations. But Tamale’s loss was not the heart of the problem. It looked as though the Hens underestimated the Loggers as well. Coming into a game against a Puget Sound team that had only won one game, the Sagehens were geared up for an easier game that they got. Coach Caron speculated on the deceptive nature of the Logger’s record: "Puget Sound plays in a very tough conference. They could go 1-8 and still have a good football team. They were good against us. They executed. They have one or two games a year that they really think they can win, and this was one of them." Not only did the effort seem weaker than usual, but the strategy looked askew. One Sagehen player said, "We ran all the wrong defensive plays. We’ve shut down much better running backs than that."

The Anticipation

Coming off such an overly-offensive game the Sagehens will look to slow things down in their most anticipated game of the season. This Saturday, the Hens travel to Claremont McKenna to take on the formidable cross-campus rival Stags in what should be a highly-competitive match up. The Stags are also coming off a weak defensive performance, giving up 63 points to University of Redlands in a game where the Redlands quarterback threw for over 600 yards. But the Stags have their best team in years, with a 5-3 record, and their defense should bounce back and have a solid performance for their homecoming game, especially with the added motivation of the rivalry.

This game is particularly important to the CMS senior football players, for whom this will be their last chance in four years to beat the Hens; they have failed in their previous three tries. Of the match up, Caron said, "CMS is like us in a lot of ways. If you switched the uniforms it would be hard to tell the difference. They do have twice as many seniors as us — that should give them a little more motivation." As far as strategy, Caron is ready for any type of game: "We will be ready to execute anything. Whatever works. We’ll get things cleaned up defensively and try to keep the score down."

The Sagehens have some motivation of their own. Not only would the win finish the four year sweep of the Stags for the Pomona-Pitzer seniors, but, with a win, the Sagehens would have their best record since 1955, before the team was switched from a Claremont Colleges squad to a Pomona-Pitzer team. Although both teams will be focusing hard on their defenses after last week’s lapses, expect another high-scoring game. The Stags have averaged over 25 points per game this season, to the Sagehens 38 point average, and although both teams have solid defenses, both teams have also been able to score against solid defenses (CMS had 28 points against La Verne). Neither offense will let up this Saturday, so expect another barn-burner. Dr. G’s prediction: Pomona-Pitzer over CMS, 38-31.