Occidental Lowers Sights After Loss to Azusa Pacific

Azusa Pacific shut out Occidental in more ways than one Saturday.

The 14-0 nonconference victory at home was the Cougars’ first shutout against Occidental since a 3-0 victory in 1974.

The outcome, coupled with last week’s defeat against Menlo, kept Occidental winless and effectively precluded the Tigers from consideration for the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. Division III playoffs.

Yogi Berra obviously did not have Division III in mind when he philosophized that “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

Because the way Occidental Coach Dale Widolff sees it, his team’s chances of being invited to the playoffs are about the same as receiving a bid to the Rose Bowl.

“I’ve never heard of a 7-2 team from the West Coast going to the playoffs,” said Widolff, whose team will play Pomona-Pitzer next week in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener.

“We’ve given away one of our major team goals--to go to the playoffs--so now our other team goal is to win the league.

“But shoot, we have to think about winning just one football game, not winning a bunch.”

As it was against Menlo, Occidental was victimized by big plays Saturday.

Azusa Pacific quarterback Fitz Wilson threw two touchdown passes to supply the Cougars with all the offense they would need.

Wilson, a mobile senior from Lompoc, had wrested the starting job from Brian Hunt after the Cougars’ loss to UC San Diego last week.

With 7:10 left in the first half, Wilson took the snap on third and five from the Occidental 36-yard line and rolled out to his right as though he was going to turn upfield in front of the Tiger bench.

Wilson, however, spotted tight end Craig Pannell in the middle of the end zone and fired him the ball for the score.

“I guess they didn’t think I was fast enough to get behind them,” Pannell said of the Occidental defensive backs. Pannell is a 6-foot-3 senior who transferred to Azusa Pacific after two seasons at Moorpark College.

Wilson secured the victory in the fourth quarter with a 26-yard strike to wide receiver Joey Kowalczyk on third and 15 with 13:52 left.

“They figured I was going back to Craig (Pannell) again,” said Wilson, who completed six of 13 passes for 122 yards. “They all went off to the side with him and Kowalczyk ran a perfect route over the middle.”

Other than the two scoring plays, Occidental’s defense played well. The Tiger offense, however, sputtered throughout.

Occidental was outgained, 282-183, converted just three of 17 third-down plays and never penetrated past the Azusa Pacific 28.

“Their defensive backs knew what we were doing,” said Occidental quarterback Tony Werbelow, who completed 15 of 30 passes for 111 yards. “They were breaking underneath and taking everything away.”

Azusa Pacific fullback Tommy Daniel rushed for a game-high 81 yards in 14 carries and former Burbank High standout Frank Valdivia added 51 yards in 12 carries.

Occidental running back Steve McClaskey, who gained 103 yards against Menlo, suffered a groin injury in the first half and finished with 11 yards in six carries. Teammate Kevin Vegas gained 40 yards in 15 carries.