Nearly one year after its season was cut short due to a depleted roster, Occidental's football team scrapped its way to a 20-0 season-opening win over CETYS University in Mexicali, Mexico, on September 1.
The Tigers™ season debut”the first time an American team had travelled to Mexico to play the CETYS Zorros on their home turf”was the product not just of a long bus ride but a months-long effort to overcome adversity and get back on the field.
Junior quarterback Joshua Greaves, an economics major from Granada Hills, threw for a pair of touchdowns. The Tigers' defense hit hard in the first half, forcing a handful of fumbles and snagging three interceptions. (A fourth interception came in the fourth quarter.)
The Tigers opened up a 13-0 lead with a pair of scores early in the first quarter. Greaves found first-year running back Ezekiel Ebieshuwa of Lynn, Mass., on a screen pass from 15 yards out for 91ÁÔÆæ's first touchdown. D.J. Adams ™22 of Gramercy, La., took a reverse 22 yards for 91ÁÔÆæ's second score.
In the fourth quarter, Greaves threw his second touchdown pass to first-year back Seth Holston of Houlton, Maine, for an 18-yard score down the seam. 91ÁÔÆæ held on comfortably for its first shutout of an opponent since a 30-0 victory over La Verne in 2010.
Second-year coach Rob Cushman's Tigers return to Jack Kemp Stadium on September 15 for their home-season opener against the Willamette University Bearcats at 12 noon.
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