Riding a 36-point offensive explosion in the second quarter, the University of Redlands Bulldog football team ran away with a solid 53-27 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges on Saturday afternoon. Aided by four defensive takeaways, the Maroon and Gray overcame a slow start and quickly returned to its powerful style of play en route to this important Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) win.

After trading field goals in the teams’ opening drives, the Stag defense took control and recovered a blocked punt for its first touchdown of the day. On Redlands’ next possession, senior quarterback Dan Selway (Villa Park, CA) threw his first of two interceptions of the game, resulting in another quick score by CMS.

Facing their largest deficit of the 2009 season at 3-17, the Bulldogs rallied to pour on 36 unanswered points during the second quarter. After the Stags were forced to punt, Selway and junior running back Daylan Swedlow (Lake Arrowhead, CA) combined for 24 rushing yards to move the ball to the Claremont 16-yard line. An offside penalty by the Stags set up an 11-yard pass to senior wide receiver Evan Reuter (Cameron Park, CA) into the end zone for the touchdown.

CMS’ next drive ended after only two plays as junior defensive back Richard Dye II (Sacramento, CA) nabbed an interception and returned it to the Stag 47-yard line. Despite the quick turnaround, the Redlands offense took advantage of opportunity with short yet effective plays. At fourth-and-one, Swedlow pushed past the Stag defense for a critical four-yard gain and the first down. Two plays later, Selway connected with Reuter on a 25-yard strike to tie the game at 17 all.

Once again, the Redlands defense forced a Stag turnover on the ensuing possession, giving the Maroon and Gray excellent field position at the Claremont 18. This time, Selway ran the ball into the end zone himself, earning the touchdown just 21 seconds after the Bulldogs gained possession. Redlands opted for the two-point conversion as freshman kicker Connor Cook (Kamuela, HI) rushed the ball past the goal line on the point-after try.

Following the trend of the night, CMS fumbled the ball on the ensuing kickoff return with Bulldog freshman defensive back Michael Polvere (Novato, CA) recovering at the Stag 18-yard line. After short gains by Swedlow and Selway, the veteran play-caller found his favorite target of the season, senior wide receiver Brian Putman (Bakersfield, CA), for receptions of eight and four yards, with the final catch leading to a Bulldog touchdown.

Up 32-17, the Maroon and Gray appeared to be in control of the game and back to their big-play style of football.

Redlands set up its fifth touchdown of the second quarter when sophomore defensive back Josh Herrera (Vista, CA) recovered a Stag fumble at the CMS 25. After suffering a five-yard sack, Selway found freshman wide receiver Josh Hill (Portland, OR) on back-to-back receptions of 25 and five yards for the quick score.

The Bulldogs’ difficult first quarter appeared to be a faint memory as they pushed on to a dominating win.

Midway through the third quarter, the Bulldogs extended their lead to 29 points by engineering an eight-play drive that culminated in an eight-yard scoring pass to junior wide receiver Nick Brucculeri (Garden Grove, CA).

After giving up a 45-yard field goal, the Maroon and Gray effectively moved the ball downfield from its own 20. Swedlow accounted for most of the yardage, including a 23-yard burst on first and 10 from the CMS 27, which led to a four-yard scoring strike to freshman tight end Bobby Coburn (Lake Bluff, IL). This was Selway’s sixth passing touchdown of the game, providing a repeat performance of last week while gaining his 23rd airborne score of the season.

CMS fought back with a 16-yard pass into the end zone to cut the lead to 26 points, but that was all it could muster in the final minutes of the game.

The Bulldog offense gained 215 passing yards from Selway as he connected with seven different receivers.  Reuter served as his top target with four catches for 78 yards and two touchdowns.  Swedlow carried the ball 19 times for 86 yards as seven other players contributed to the ground game.

Defensively, Herrera enjoyed a career-game with 12 total tackles, including seven solo hits. Sophomore linebacker Ian Sluss (Vista, CA) supplied eight tackles with 2.5 coming for a loss of nine yards. Junior defensive back Mike Nicolini (Novato, CA) added six tackles, which was highlighted by two for a loss of 15 yards.

Cook took over kicking duties and provided a solid showing in his first start. He nailed a 28-yard field goal to put the Bulldogs on the board in the first quarter and then followed that up with seven PATs, including a rush conversion for two points.

The Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1 SCIAC) return home on Saturday, October 31, for a 7 p.m. game against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges (4-2, 2-1 SCIAC).