Occidental Romps to 29-0 Win

Occidental quarterback Tony Werbelow missed the team movie, “The Running Man,” which was shown Friday night.

But after his performance at Patterson Field on Saturday night, it was clear that Werbelow wouldn’t need footwork tips. Werbelow sat back comfortably in the pocket and completed 12 of 14 passes for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns en route to a 29-0 rout of Claremont-Mudd in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game.

Occidental and Claremont-Mudd shared the conference title last year.

“I was just hoping I wouldn’t get hit,” said Werbelow, who didn’t practice last week because of a bruised shoulder. “We just kicked their butts. We weren’t going to stop.”

Rather, it was Claremont-Mudd quarterback Mike Pembroke who got the crash course in scrambling. The junior was repeatedly forced out of his collapsing pocket and completed just 2 of 7 for 22 yards.

“He was real hesitant in there,” said Tiger linebacker Pete Tucker of Pembroke. Tucker had two of Occidental’s three sacks. “He knew there was no way out.”

Tiger fullback George Conahey, meanwhile, found a lot of holes in the Stags’ defense. Conahey ran for 79 yards in 14 carries and the last touchdown of the game, a play in which he rambled 13 yards and broke several tackles with 13.51 remaining.

Occidental’s leading rusher was tailback Mike Sandlin, who gained 84 yards in 19 carries.

For the third consecutive week, the Tigers held their opponents scoreless in the first half.

With a minute to play in the half, Werbelow connected with Jeff Bedell from eight yards out for the Tigers’ second score. It capped an 11-play, 56-yard drive and gave Occidental a 13-0 lead.