The University of Redlands football team kicked off Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) action on Saturday night with a dominating 63-29 win over the visiting Occidental College Tigers in Ted Runner Stadium. While racking up the second-most rushing yards for a single game in Redlands' history, the Bulldogs scored seven of their nine touchdowns on the ground in an impressive display during "Take a Kid to the Game Night."
The Redlands defense forced the Tigers into a four-and-out on their first drive of the game, thanks in part to big stops by junior defensive lineman Trevor Raras (Novato, CA), sophomore defensive back DJ Hollingshead (Citrus Heights, CA), senior defensive lineman Brain Keyser (Medford, NJ), and junior linebacker Mitch Shepherd (Seattle, WA). The Bulldog offense took over on downs and successfully marched 44 yards on a rush-only drive. Junior running back Alex Andrighetto (Portola Valley, CA) carried this one into the end zone on a six-yard scamper, putting Redlands on the board first.
Although Oxy answered back with a75-yard, 12-play scoring drive, the knotted score was short-lived, as the Maroon and Gray's running game continued to click on all cylinders. The subsequent drive began with a gutsy 25-yard keeper play by senior quarterback Tyler Shreve (Highland, CA), before Andrighetto provided an explosive 27-yard run to the house to make it 14-7. Huge blocking throughout the drive created space for Andrighetto to use his vision for the effective carry.
Early in the second quarter, Redlands' ground attack remained relentless, with sophomore wide receiver Daniel Stabile (Rancho Mirage, CA) adding a 61-yard carry to the promise land to the Maroon and Gray's quality showing.
The teams traded scores over the next two possessions, but the Bulldogs 'third touchdown of the game fired up the Redlands faithful, as junior quarterback Mitch Kidd (Salinas, CA) uncorked a 58-yard pass to junior wide receiver Kyle Kabeary (Indio, CA), who hauled in the catch under tight coverage for the score. Kidd and junior wide receiver Cole Blackburn (Sammamish, WA) followed up the spectacular play with a successful two-point conversion to make it 28-15 with just over five minutes remaining in the half.
The Redlands defense stepped up with two drive-halting efforts to keep Oxy from scoring again before the teams retreated into the locker rooms.
However, the Bulldogs mustered one more touchdown, with Andrighetto getting the call on a 29-yard pass into the end zone on 2nd and 10 from Kidd.
Redlands went on to use plenty of its large roster in the second half and gained lucrative drives that included rushing touchdowns from senior running back Devin Appleton (San Jose, CA), Shreve, and sophomore running back Nathaniel Nguyen-Barkus (Novato, CA).
In addition, Kidd found sophomore running back Matt Hayashi (Hacienda Heights, CA) on a three-yard strike to cap off the offensive outpouring. This touchdown was set up by a fourth-and-one fake punt, which senior wide receiver/punter Tobias Dates (Trabuco Hills, CA) blew by the defense for 69 yards to the Oxy eight-yard line.
Overall, Andrighetto finished with 14 carries for 144 yards and two scores for a career night. Kidd was 6-for-7 for 141 yards, while Shreve went 3-for-6 for 44 yards. Defensively, Hollingshead led the Bulldogs with 13 total tackles, while senior linebacker Miguel Betancourt (San Bernardino, CA) and junior defensive back Dustin Nascimento (Aiea, HI) each added nine.
Redlands (2-1, 1-0 SCIAC) heads to the University of La Verne on Saturday, October 8, for a 1 p.m. showdown against the Leopards.
