Cal Lutheran Rushes to Big Lead, Then Holds Off Occidental, 21-14

In its first three games this season, Cal Lutheran relied on its passing attack for the bulk of its offense.

But the Kingsmen took to the ground behind Fredrik Nanhed in their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opener, and the move paid off.

Nanhed, a freshman tailback from Sweden playing in only his fourth game, rushed for 156 yards and two touchdowns in 22 carries to lead Cal Lutheran to a 21-14 victory Saturday night over Occidental at Eagle Rock.

It was Nanhed’s second touchdown, a 72-yard run early in the fourth quarter, that made it 21-0 and provided the Kingsmen (1-2-1) with their winning margin.

“It was a cutback and I just broke it,” Nanhed said. “It was a sweet feeling. Hopefully, I have all of the cobwebs out now.”

As it turned out, Cal Lutheran needed nearly every one of its points. Occidental (1-3-0, 0-2) responded with two fourth-quarter touchdowns and recovered an onside kick in the closing minutes.

Reserve quarterback Ben Morie completed scoring passes of 29 yards to Jarrett Pitteroff and six yards to Sterling Chaffins. Kiki Casillas then recovered an onside kick on the Cal Lutheran 40 with 1 minute 27 seconds remaining.

But cornerback Chad Valousky came through with his third interception of the game with less than a minute left to seal the victory.

It was defense, led by Valousky, that sparked the Kingsmen in the early going.

Valousky blocked a 43-yard field-goal attempt by Occidental’s George Hernandez in the second quarter and added an interception late in the period.

Cal Lutheran scored the only points of the first half on a three-yard run by Nanhed in the first quarter.

Cal Lutheran quarterback Ryan Huisenga, who started the game with a conference-leading 1,171 yards passing, completed 12 of 26 for 148 yards.