THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. — The Cal Lutheran football team put up an astounding 413 rush yards and the Kingsmen torched the Occidental Tigers 55-17 Saturday night in Rolland Stadium.
The game was the SCIAC opener for both Cal Lutheran and Occidental. The Kingsmen got back to .500 at 2-2 and are 1-0 in SCIAC play. Occidental is 0-2 and 0-1.
Cal Lutheran's 413 rushing yards in the game were 87 yards short of the school record that was set back in 1967. The Kingsmen rushed for 500 yards against Caltech that year. CLU was impressive on the ground and put up 9.3 yards per rush.
The offensive line controlled the trenches with Daniel Avila, Cole Edwards, Frank Molina, David Pardini, Tavita Sagapolu and Rachaun Wagstaff making big play after big play. They helped the run game tally six rushing touchdowns.
Chris Anderson led the ground game with 181 yards and two touchdowns. He ran the ball 20 times and averaged 9.1 yards per carry. He had a long of 43.
Jabar Byrd ran the ball twice for 103 total yards. He recorded a 50-yard touchdown run. He averaged 51.5 yards a carry and had a long of 52.
Eli Peters was next with 70 yards and Kayden Clements tallied 52. Both recorded a rushing touchdown.
Peters also threw the ball for 49 yards. He completed four-of-six passes, with one for a touchdown. Ty Riley caught the touchdown pass for 11 yards. It was his lone catch of the game.
Ty Lozano led the defense with 14 total tackles including a tackle for loss. Ethan Pulley and Izayah Mora were next with nine tackles each. Mora also had one interception and two pass break ups.
Anthony Rios-Carlsen and JW Windsor plugged up the middle of the field as both recorded eight tackles. Tecoy Porter was there for six stops and Zion Brown made five more.
The Kingsmen defense held Occidental to 283 total yards and only allowed 3.8 yards per play.
Christian Antezana and Morgan Salzwedel did the kicking for CLU. Antezana made two field goals and all five of his extra points. Salzwedel remained perfect in her career for PATs and made two.
The special teams also made big plays. Cameron James was electric and had two punt returns for 83 yards. He averaged 41.5 yards and had a long of 46.
The Kingsmen scored on their first two scoring drives and set the tone for the game very early. Riley scored the first touchdown as he caught an 11-yard pass from Peters. The running game really got going on the second drive. The big play came from Anderson as he hurdled a Tigers' defender during an 18-yard scamper. The very next play, Anderson scored from a yard out.
Antezana made it 17-0 at the end of the first quarter as he kicked a 27-yard field goal. OXY answered with a field goal in the second quarter, and Antezana fired right back with a 25-yard make.
Anderson scored his second touchdown of the first half as he broke multiples tackles during his 43-yard run. The Kingsmen had a commanding 27-3 lead at the half.
Cal Lutheran's ground game took over in the second half. Peters rushed for his touchdown on the first drive of the second half.
After a huge run by Byrd, with a fumble right at the goal line, Joc Smith recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Clements kept the touchdowns coming in the fourth as he rushed in from 13 yards out.
Byrd got his redemption from the fumble earlier. With the ball at the 50-yard line, Byrd took it to the house on the very first play of the drive. It was the final touchdown of the night for the Kingsmen as Cal Lutheran took down Occidental 55-17.
Cal Lutheran gets back on the road for its next game. The Kingsmen travel to Claremont, Calif., and take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Saturday, Oct. 6, at 1 p.m.
Interview with Ty Lozano and Chris Anderson:
Box Score: CLU 55, OXY 17
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Release byRyan Jorgenson, Sports Information Director
