Claremont, Calif. - The Pomona-Pitzer Football team will host its 2011 home opener on Saturday afternoon against Lewis & Clark at Merritt Field at 1 p.m. on a special day for the local community.
The village of Claremont (zip code 91711) is celebrating its village heritage on 9-17-11 with special events taking place all day. Pomona College has been a part of Claremont since relocating from the town of Pomona in 1889, while Pitzer College has been part of the Claremont Colleges consortium since its inception in 1963.
Admission to the football game is free, so vistors to the village can check out some exciting college football as part of the day's festivities, while Pomona-Pitzer students and families can also enjoy Claremont Village's myriad of activities before and after the game.
The Sagehens are coming off an opening day defeat at Whitworth College, but received a spectacular performance from junior running back Luke Sweeney (Broken Arrow, Okla.) in a losing cause. Sweeney carried for 176 yards on the day, the second highest total of his career (behind the 220 he had last year at Occidental), and also went over 1,000 yards in his career at the midway point of his career (despite seeing limited action as a freshman).
Claremont Day will feature special events going on from 7 a.m. until midnight in every corner of the town. Before the football game, the Kiwanis club of Claremont will host a pancake breakfast from 7-12. Claremont is considered a European-style village, so it is only appropriate that European "football" will also be taking place on campus on Saturday, as the Pomona-Pitzer Men's Soccer team has an 11 a.m. game against La Verne before football kicks off.
There will also be a pregame tailgate (as is true of all home games), which is open to all friends and family of Pomona-Pitzer Football, beginning at 11 a.m., while the Pomona-Pitzer Men's Water Polo team will be in action at Haldeman Pool behind the East end zone of Merritt Field at 1 p.m. against Cal Baptist.
Right after the football game, the village will host its annual welcoming party for Claremont Colleges students from 4-6 p.m., with check in at City Hall on Harvard Avenue and Second Street (student i.d. is required to receive a sites map and goody bag). The Packing House will have music and refreshments from 4-7 p.m., as well as an art display to celebrate its Prison Library Project.
WCKR will sponsor an 8 p.m. concert at City Hall, while Pomona-Pitzer sports fans can catch the Men's Water Polo team's second match of the day against Navy at 7:30 p.m. Flappers Comedy Club will also have a special Saturday night line-up at the Packing House as well.
To view a link to all of the events taking place in Claremont Village on Zip Code Day, please go to the following link:
http://www.thevillageclaremont.com/91711.html
Hen Scratches:
Sagehens Host Home Opener: This afternoon's game marks the home opener for the 2011 Pomona-Pitzer Football team as it entertains Lewis & Clark at 1 p.m. It will be the only afternoon home game of the season for the Sagehens, as their other four games at Merritt Field will all be at 7 p.m.
Last Weekend: Junior running back Luke Sweeney (Broken Arrow, Okla.) had a huge day rushing the football on Saturday, tallying 176 yards on 41 carries, but Whitworth was able to capture a 34-7 home win over Sagehens at the Whitworth Pine Bowl. Sweeney carried for 59 yards on the opening drive alone, as Pomona-Pitzer nearly drove the length of the field on its first possession of the season. However, the drive stalled on the eight-yard line, and the ensuing snap on a field goal attempt rolled all the way back to midfield, where Whitworth was able to take advantage of the good field position and scored an early touchdown. Junior quarterback Luke Ferguson (Silverton, Ore.) accounted for the Pomona-Pitzer points on a fourth-down sneak in the final quarter. Senior running back Zack Tannous (Millbrae, Calif.) ran for 49 yards on five carries, including a 34-yard run, the longest play from scrimmage on the day for the Sagehens. Junior linebacker Jake Rollins (Simi Valley, Calif.) led the Sagehens defense with 10 tackles, while sophomore linebacker Kyle Roskamp (Chesterfield, Mo.) added nine.
Last Year vs. Lewis & Clark: Current assistant coach R.J. Maki had 12 catches for 127 yards and two touchdowns for the Sagehens, but it was not enough, as Lewis & Clark captured a wild 63-38 win over Pomona-Pitzer in Portland, Oregon. Current junior Luke Sweeney (Broken Arrow, Okla.) added 116 yards on the ground for the Sagehens, but Lewis & Clark tallied 606 rushing yards as a team, including a nine-carry, 241-yard, five-touchdown performance from Keith Welch, who had scoring runs of 72, 43, 37, 29 and two yards. Joevonte Mayes added 206 yards on 26 carries as well.
Sweeney's Top Performances: The strong rushing performance from junior Luke Sweeney (Broken Arrow, Okla.) last weekend was not his first such effort in a Sagehen uniform. In fact, he still fell 44 yards shy of his career best of 220, which was set last year at Occidental. Sweeney also carried for 126 yards against Whittier last season, and 116 yards at Lewis & Clark. His 176 yards last weekend put him over 1,000 at barely past the midway point of his career, a fact that's even more impressive since he saw limited playing time as a freshman in a reserve role.
Back On Top Again: Junior linebacker Jake Rollins (Simi Valley, Calif.) led the Sagehens with 10 tackles in last weekend's season opener. Seeing Rollins at the top of the defensive stat lists is nothing new, though. Rollins led Pomona-Pitzer in tackles as a freshman in 2009 with 57 (47 solo), and then led the team again last year with 51.5 (46 solo).
Mr. Versatility: A year ago, senior Zack Tannous (Millbrae, Calif.) ranked as one of the top defensive players on the Sagehens, tallying 38.5 tackles (21 solo), including five for losses and one interception. This year, though, Tannous has switched sides of the ball and saw his playing time at running back last weekend at Whitworth, tallying 49 yards on five carries, including a 34-yard run.
Next Up: The Sagehens have a bye week next weekend before returning to Merritt Field on Saturday, Oct. 1 for their final non-conference game of the year against Chapman. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
