Cal Lutheran Opens Throttle in 2nd Quarter of 41-7 Victory

After being bedeviled by turnovers and missed kicks in losing three games by a total of eight points, Cal Lutheran responded with an almost flawless first half Saturday in a 41-7 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over host Claremont-Mudd.

It was the Kingsmen’s most one-sided triumph since a 51-9 rout of Cal Poly Pomona in 1982.

“All of the hard work finally paid off,” wide receiver Len Bradley said. “After the previous games, we felt, ‘What else could we do?’ (Saturday), we just took the frustration out.”

Cal Lutheran (1-3, 1-1 in conference play) scored 34 points in the second quarter en route to a 41-0 halftime lead and was opportunistic from the outset. Steve Roussell returned the opening kickoff 51 yards to the Claremont 29-yard line, but the drive soon stalled and freshman Ben Schuldheisz came in for a 39-yard field-goal attempt.

Holder David Harris fielded a snap he described as, “a tad low,” and tossed it back to Schuldheisz, who hit Craig Undlin with a 22-yard touchdown pass. Schuldheisz said he had never thrown a pass in a game.

“That’s the first time we’ve caught a break all year,” said Schuldheisz, who missed two extra points and a potential game-winning 34-yard field-goal in last week’s 21-20 loss to San Diego.

The Kingsmen recovered four Stag fumbles and were able to convert the first into a touchdown, marching 69 yards in seven plays after Chris Peltonen’s recovery. Cassidy O’Sullivan went the final eight yards 1 minute 17 seconds into the second quarter.

After the Kingsmen stopped two Claremont possessions, quarterback Adam Hacker hit Bradley with a 57-yard touchdown pass.

Another fumble ended the Stags’ next possession, giving Cal Lutheran the ball on its own 34. O’Sullivan ran for 37 yards on the ensuing drive, including the final three to give the Kingsmen a 26-0 lead.

Freshman Ivan Moreno scored the second touchdown of his brief collegiate football career the next time the Kingsmen had the ball, running 18 yards.

Roussell, a sophomore, scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 25-yard run with 25 seconds left in the half, capping Cal Lutheran’s scoring.

Claremont (0-4, 0-1) has lost 14 games in a row.