OXY OUTMATCHED AGAINST NAIA MENLO
ATHERTON — It was a quick trip and one the Occidental College football team will likely want to forget just as fast.
With a number of injuries up and down their roster, the Tigers didn't give NAIA Menlo much of a run in a 56-6 road loss on Saturday.
Even with a healthy squad though Menlo is not the traditional Menlo that Oxy has played for a number of years. The Oaks (3-1) give athletic scholarships and are now closer in ability to NCAA Division II schools like Humboldt St. and Azusa Pacific.
It showed. Menlo jumped on Oxy from the start, extending their 56-6 lead by halftime. The Oaks rushed for 277 yards as a team, led by Brandon Bell who rushed for 104 on eight carries.
Oxy coach Bill Redell wasn't happy with the loss, admitting the Tigers were outmatched, but was happy that his team didn't quit.
"It's not easy when everything goes in your opponents favor," Redell said. "Our guys kept fighting and I'm proud of them for that."
Oxy did have a few notable individual performances.
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Austin Cheadle (Portland, Ore.), who missed Oxy's opener against Pacific, rushed for 61 yards on 11 carries, an encouraging sign for Oxy after netting -4 yards on the ground as a team in Week 1.
Preseason All-American wide receiver Matthew Tuckness (Alamo), who also missed the Pacific game, is slowly working himself back into game shape. The standout had two receptions and Oxy's only touchdown, making it 15 TD catches in 10 games played dating back to the start of the 2011 season.
Oxy quarterback Tommy Edwards (Sherman Oaks) found Tuckness for a 15-yard score on third down with 13:50 to play in the second quarter. Edwards finished 15-24 for 141 yards one TD and one interception.
On the other side of the ball, freshman Devin Chapman (Dallas) led the Tigers with 11 tackles. Teran Mawhinney (Fort Collins, Colo.) had nine, upping his team-best total to 17 on the season.
The schedule doesn't get any friendlier for the Tigers. After a bye week, Oxy opens SCIAC play at Redlands on Sept. 29 at 7 p.m.
