The bad news: the Hens got pummelled on the road at Cal Lutheran and then lost a strange one at Laverne. Adding insult to injury (actually, the other way around...) starting middle linebacker and punter Max Reed, starting tight end Bobby McNitt and starting safety Sam Littleton all got hurt. Even Dan was not left wholly unscathed as he is nor sporting a small bruise on the inside of his arm (more on this later).
First the game at Cal Lu. I was filming this one from the "coaches box" which at Cal Lu is a terrifying hydraulic-powered lift that sways in the wind. I may have heard a few lonely exclamations come from the coaches which are printable here, but If so I don't remember them. That should give you some idea of how well the game went. After a dismal 24-0 start, the Sagehens finally hit paydirt as Jake "the Snake" Caron wriggled into the endzone for a 1 yard touchdown. Our hero promptly jogged off the bench and hammered the point after attempt into the left upright, leaving it shaking even as he returned for the kickoff. Very similar to his failed Lewis & Clark effort, except that was a playful jab at the upright thrown by a featherweight, and this one was a titanic left to the chin that left the post convulsing like a chihuahua in a meat locker. Not pretty. With only 14 seconds left, Dan crushed a low line drive that nailed a hapless Cal Lu special teamer in the leg. Unfortunately the Hens could not recover and it will be forever remembered in the record books as "Dan Drehmel kickoff 15 yards to the P-P45, downed."
The second half was a bit more promising for Dirty Dan, but the Sagehens never got back into the game. Dan's two kickoffs were two of his best, sent to the 8 and 5 yard lines respectively, one of which was extremely well placed toward the corner of the endzone and resulted in a touchback. He also converted his only extra point attempt, which he credited to being "warmer" than his first try.
Despite a ridiculous 16 catch, 227 yard day for sophomore receiver R.J. Maki (who also holds for Dirty Dan), the Hens fell to Laverne in a shootout 45-37. This one was a real barnburner including Dan's second field goal, his 3rd and 4th missed extra points, his first tackle, his first real penalty an onside kick and a fake onside kick.
Afer nailing a 21-yarder and an extra point with ease, things started getting weird for Dan when Fullback Andy Russell scored to put the Hens on top 16-10. Earlier in the game TE Bobby McNitt went down with an ankle injury, and Bobby also happens to be one of the guards on the extra point unit. Nobody told Bobby's replacement, promising freshman defensive end Joe Chiusano which way to block, so the hulking mass that is "Jarrod Davis" burst through the Sagehen line completely untouched and to his surprise, blocked Dan's kick with ease.
The weirdness continued in the 4th quarter after WR Kevin Kelley caught a touchdown pass to bring Pomona Pitzer within 9. Dirty Dan pushed the extra point wide right, something that in the hundreds of kicks I've seen him take he rarely ever does. This mistake was followed by a booming 60 yard kickoff. Somehow the coverage team lost contain on the outside, and the Laverne return man burst to the outside only to be met face to face with Dirty Dan. Dan later described R. Keawekane as "really fast." However that didn't stop our hero from seeling off the angle, grabbing the Laverne speedster by the back of the jersey and wrestling him to the grass at the Sagehen 33. Having never seen such an act of extreme physical violence perpetrated by a kicker, one referee decided to flag Dan for a 15-yard personal foul, claiming it was a horse-collar tackle. Finally, with 11 seconds left Dan took a crack at an onside kick which though a decent effort, was easily recovered by Laverne. Final score: 45-37, one small bruise for Dan, one bruised ego for R. Keawekane.
This week the Sagehens look to get back on track as they return home (finally) to face the Whittier Poets. Richard Nixon went to Whittier so that about says it for them. Be there at 1:00 PM Pacific time on Saturday as Dirty Dan lays the hurt on kick returners everywhere, and hopefully stops missing extra points!
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