CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Pomona-Pitzer football team beat Redlands 38-37 in overtime on Saturday night at Merritt Field.
Season Impact: With the win, the Sagehens improved to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in SCIAC play.
Freshman
Dominick Catalano completed 38 of 53 passes for 397 yards and five touchdowns. He also ran for 31 yards, including a 12-yard run in overtime that set up the go-ahead score.
Senior
Jack Sobota led the receivers with 98 yards and two touchdowns on five catches, including a 57-yarder on the game's opening drive. Junior
Nicholas Buchenau had six catches for 69 yards and two scores, one of them the touchdown in overtime.
Connor Conneely added six receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown, and
Broghan Daley caught five passes for 65 yards. Senior
Brennan Dragomer had a team-high 10 receptions for 42 yards.
Pomona-Pitzer ran for 55 yards on 21 carries. Catalano led the way with 31 yards, and freshman
Brennen Yamane added 18 yards on five carries.
Junior
Colin Miller led the defense with 10 tackles, nine of them solo. He added two tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry.
Leo Ryals had nine tackles and a tackle for loss, and
Bo Molinelli had seven tackles and a pass breakup. Junior
Cole Krawiec added seven tackles and three quarterback hurries.
The Sagehen defense held Redlands scoreless in the third quarter. On the Bulldogs' longest drive of the quarter, a touchdown run was called back for holding, and the defense then forced an incomplete pass on 4th-and-7 at the Pomona-Pitzer 23.
As a team, Pomona-Pitzer totaled 452 yards and 24 first downs. The Sagehens scored on all five of their trips inside the red zone and converted both of their fourth-down attempts, each of them on the game-tying drive.
How It Happened
The Sagehens scored on their opening possession, going 70 yards in four plays. Catalano found Sobota for a 57-yard touchdown pass with 13:15 left in the first quarter. Redlands answered with a 97-yard drive to tie the game at 7-7.
Pomona-Pitzer retook the lead early in the second quarter, when Catalano hit Buchenau for a 20-yard touchdown on third-and-8. After a Redlands field goal, the Sagehens kept their next drive alive with a pass interference penalty on fourth-and-5. Catalano then threw a 16-yard touchdown to Sobota on third-and-4 to make it 21-10 with 3:19 left in the half. Redlands scored two touchdowns in the final 2:32 of the half, the second with four seconds left, and took a 24-21 lead into halftime.
Neither team scored in the third quarter. Early in the fourth, the Sagehens went 75 yards in seven plays to retake the lead. Daley's 33-yard catch on second-and-2 moved the ball inside the Redlands 25. Catalano then hit Conneely twice for 11 yards each, and the second was a touchdown for a 28-24 lead with 7:44 to play. Redlands answered with a 25-yard touchdown pass with 3:35 remaining to go back ahead, 31-28.
Pomona-Pitzer took over at its own 19 and put together a 14-play, 61-yard drive. Conneely made a 17-yard catch on fourth-and-4 from the Sagehen 41. Sobota caught a 7-yard pass on fourth-and-1 at the Redlands 33, and Daley followed with a 10-yard catch to the 16. Streidl then made a 37-yard field goal as time expired to tie the game 31-31.
The Sagehens had the ball first in overtime. Catalano's 12-yard run moved the ball to the 13, and two plays later he found Buchenau for a 13-yard touchdown. Streidl's extra point made it 38-31. Redlands scored on a 1-yard run on fourth-and-1 and went for two points and the win, but the conversion attempt failed, and Pomona-Pitzer won 38-37.
Up Next: The Sagehens will play in the SCIAC Tournament on Saturday, November 14th at Merritt Field. The opponent and kickoff time are still to be determined.
