Homecoming Crowd Sees CLU Shine, 33-7

The Cal Lutheran football team found a ray of sunshine on an otherwise dark, rainy day, ending a five-year streak of homecoming losses Saturday with a 33-7 win over Claremont-Mudd before a crowd of 1,725.

Tailback Cassidy O’Sullivan led the way, carrying 20 times for 111 yards and one touchdown in a little more than one half of play. He left the game early in the third quarter with Cal Lutheran leading, 27-7, but not before moving into 10th place on Cal Lutheran’s all-time single-season list with 686 rushing yards.

But O’Sullivan was more pleased with the win than with personal accomplishments.

“We finally won (a homecoming game), so people just get excited about that,” he said.

In addition, Saturday’s win, coupled with last week’s victory over Occidental, gave Cal Lutheran back-to-back victories for the first time since 1988.

Claremont (0-7) came into the game having scored just 39 points in six outings. But the Stags played the Kingsmen even for a quarter.

Cal Lutheran opened the scoring when quarterback Adam Hacker, returning from a two-week absence because of a shoulder injury, hit tight end Scott Wheeler with a 50-yard touchdown pass just 2 minutes 5 seconds into the game.

Claremont tied the score with less than four minutes left in the quarter when Bob Berger blocked Pete Pistone’s punt, then fell on the loose ball in the end zone.

“We made several errors in the kicking game,” Cal Lutheran Coach Joe Harper said. “This is an area of concern for us.”

But Harper had few concerns about an offense that rolled up 419 yards. A pair of quick scores midway through the second quarter gave the Kingsmen a 20-7 halftime lead.

O’Sullivan broke the deadlock with a 19-yard run, and, after an interception by linebacker Cary Caulfield, Hacker connected with Cary’s brother, Robert, for a 35-yard scoring pass.

The defense, which held Claremont to 70 total yards, took over from there.

With the score 27-7 in the fourth quarter, Harper cleared his bench. Reserve running back Alonzo Williams made the most of the opportunity, picking up 56 yards and a touchdown in six carries.

Hacker completed six of 18 passes for 152 yards and three touchdowns, including an 18-yard scoring pass to Wheeler in the third quarter.

Cal Lutheran, which has not had a non-losing season since 1985, improved to 3-5. The Kingsmen have two games left, both at home, against Whittier next week and Redlands on Nov. 16.