The University of Redlands football team took to the road to face the also-undefeated Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) clash of quality foes on Saturday night. While taking advantage of great field position and coming up with big-time plays, the Bulldogs captured a hard-fought 23-21 victory to remain at the top of the conference standings with two games to play in the regular season.
After Pomona-Pitzer jumped out to a 14-3 lead through the midway point of the second quarter, Redlands responded with a critical defensive performance that forced the home team to turn the ball over on downs. This allowed the Bulldogs to put together an important scoring drive in the final 70 seconds of the first half. Starting at its own 24-yard line, Redlands successfully moved the chains with key passes from junior quarterback Mitch Kidd (Salinas, CA) to junior wide receivers Christian Guzman (Desert Hot Springs, CA) and Cole Blackburn (Sammamish, WA). On the final play of the half, Kidd found Guzman for a huge, over-the-shoulder pass for 51 yards and a touchdown. This proved to be a critical score, as the teams entered halftime amidst a 14-10 dogfight.
The Bulldogs initiated their opening drive of the second with quality field position at the Pomona-Pitzer 49-yard line. Sophomore running back Conner Kennedy (Olympia, WA) got things started with an 18-yard carry, before tacking on three rushes for 16 additional yards. Redlands moved to the Sagehen 20-yard line, which set up freshman kicker Alex Raya's (Jamul, CA) 37-yarder through the uprights to make it a 13-14 ball game with 10:55 remaining in the third quarter.
Another quality showing by the Bulldog defense halted Pomona-Pitzer in its tracks, as sophomore defensive back Vicente Sarver De Souza (Concord, CA), sophomore defensive lineman Joe Munroe (Costa Mesa, CA), and senior linebacker Justin Lantz (Corona, CA) stepped up with big tackles during this stretch.
On Redlands' ensuing drive, Kidd connected with junior wide receiver Kyle Kabeary (Indio, CA) on third-and-eight for a huge 61-yard catch and the touchdown. After Kabeary ran a great route, he broke clean for the dynamic reception, which resulted in the Maroon and Gray's first lead of the night at 20-14.
A three-and-out response by the Bulldog defense put the offense back on Raya's poised and consistent foot, as he split the uprights on a game-winning 48-yard field goal. This provided just enough cushion for the Redlands victory.
Pomona-Pitzer's final touchdown was not enough, as time ran out and the Bulldogs came home with an important win.
Redlands racked up more than 400 yards of offense while out-rushing the Sagehens by a 169-to-134 margin. Kennedy finished with 18 carries for 61 yards, while senior running back Devin Appleton (San Jose, CA) added 48 yards on 11 rushes. In addition, the Bulldogs threw for 234 yards, as Guzman served as Kidd's top target with 94 yards on just six catches.
Defensively, Latnz led the Maroon and Gray with eight total tackles, while senior defensive back Connor Hoffman (Tustin, CA) recorded seven solo hits.
Redlands (6-1, 5-0 SCIAC) heads to Whittier College on Saturday, November 5, for a 1 p.m. showdown against the Poets.
