With a total-team effort, the University of Redlands football team capped off the regular season with a resounding 41-14 victory over Occidental College in Eagle Rock on Saturday afternoon. After senior defensive back Colin Spencer (Olivet, MI) set the tone with a 75-yard punt return for a touchdown, the Bulldogs relied on a stellar run game that produced 5.8 yards per carry en route to five Bulldog touchdowns for an outstanding win.
The Bulldogs halted the home team's opening drive, thanks in part to a big-time sack by sophomore defensive lineman Trevor Raras (Novato, CA).
Spencer's impressive punt return came on Oxy's second drive of the game, once the Redlands defense forced the Tigers into a fourth-and-three scenario.
After a 65-yard kickoff by senior kicker Sean Murray (Phoenix, AZ), Redlands quickly regained possession when freshman defensive back DJ Hollingshead (Citrus Heights, CA) stripped Oxy's Cordell Harris of the ball to set up a short field for the Bulldogs.
This drive proved lucrative, as freshman running back Jacob Guglielmana (Lake Elsinore, CA) made his way into the end zone for the Bulldogs' 14-0 lead with just over a minute to go in the first period.
Although Oxy got on the board early in the second stanza, Redlands answered right back when senior quarterback Kevin Russell (Seattle, WA) found sophomore running back Bryce Broadwell (Henderson, NV) on a nine-yard completion to the house for a 21-7 lead. Freshman running back Josiah Alvira's (Danville, CA) 25-yard carry set up the score for the Maroon and Gray.
Midway through the third frame, Raras stepped up with another big sack that forced the Oxy quarterback to fumble, allowing senior defensive lineman Mike Khoury (Moreno Valley, CA) to recover the ball for the Bulldogs. Guglielmana took full advantage of this opportunity, as he found space behind Redlands' outstanding blocking to carry the ball 58 yards to the Tigers' four-yard line. Alvira finished the drive for the score on the ensuing play from scrimmage.
Redlands continued to successfully move the ball on the ground, earning two more rushing touchdowns in the 41-14 win. Guglielmana capped off an outstanding performance with a 15-yard carry to the promise land, while freshman running back Nathaniel Nguyen-Barkus (Novato, CA) joined the scoring fun late in the game with a seven-yard touchdown jaunt. Nguyen-Barkus' trip to the end zone was set up by junior defensive back Aaron Mandell's (Seattle, WA) 56-yard interception return that thwarted Oxy's previous drive.
Overall, Guglielmana enjoyed a breakout day with 108 yards on only eight carries for two scores.
Russell tallied 120 yards through the air, connecting with junior wide receiver Yoshio Hasegawa (Seattle, WA) for 82 yards on just three strikes.
Defensively, senior linebacker Griffin Lord (Upland, CA) provided 12 tackles, including six solo hits, while sophomore linebacker Mitch Shepherd (Seattle, WA) registered nine tackles, including one for a loss of two yards.
Redlands (4-5, 4-3 SCIAC) finishes out the campaign in a three-way tie for third place among the parity-full SCIAC standings.
