As the saying goes, revenge is a dish best served cold. But for the Pomona-Pitzer (P-P) football team, their revenge against the Carleton Knights was red hot.
On Saturday, Sept. 7, at the newly renovated and turfed Merritt Field, the Sagehens orchestrated a brilliant 28-12 victory against Carleton College in their season opener, avenging last season’s 45-24 loss to the Knights.
Electing to receive the opening kickoff, P-P immediately sprung into action with a handoff and short pass to running back Brennan Dragomer PZ ‘27 on back-to-back plays. However, their opening drive was derailed by a pass breakup from the Knights, forcing the Sagehens to punt the ball.
The Sagehens defense immediately answered the call, led by a strong showing from the defensive line, stuffing Carleton’s first rush attempt and forcing a throw short of the sticks on third down.
After receiving the ball back on a short field following an errant punt by Carleton, quarterback Grady Russo PZ ‘27 immediately led the offense on an efficient scoring drive, capped by a short touchdown to receiver Quinten Wimmer PZ ‘25 to put the Hens up 7-0 in the first quarter.
The touchdown was just the beginning of a strong showing from Russo, who credited his fellow Hens for the team’s success through the air.
“I have the best receivers in the league, and our O-line improved so much,” Russo said. “I’m not making those throws if the whole line doesn’t protect me the way they did.”
Carleton’s attempts to get their offense going were met by stiff resistance from P-P’s defense. A high-effort performance from the Hens’ linebacker corps helped put the Knights into multiple second and third down situations where they were met by tight coverage from the Sagehen secondary.
After receiving the ball back in the second quarter, Russo and Wimmer connected again on a long throw to the right pylon. Wimmer hauled in the pass-through heavy contact from a Carleton defensive back. The second score to Wimmer was a testament to the connection between the two.
“I just chuck the ball up and [the receivers] are open,” Russo said.
Wimmer had a big day as a receiver, tallying nine receptions for 92 yards and a pair of touchdowns. However, much of his work was also done as a blocker helping open up lanes for Russo and Dragomer, who finished with 129 and 67 yards on the ground, respectively.
Sagehen Offensive Coordinator Brian Carroll spoke about the strength of the Hens’ multifaceted running game thanks to both the running backs and the offensive line.
“Those guys run hard, but they’re also really elusive, so they’re getting extra yards,” Carroll said. “It all starts with those big guys up front.”
The Sagehens entered halftime with a 14-0 lead following a missed field goal from Carleton, entering the second half looking to extend their lead.
After a slow start to the second half, the Sagehen defense picked up the slack, forcing a turnover on downs in their own red zone to give the ball back to the offense.
Russo and the offense immediately started off the fourth quarter with a bang, putting together an efficient red-zone series capped off by a spectacular connection between Russo and receiver Matthias Olson PO ‘26, who went on to secure a touchdown.
After cruising ahead to a 21-0 lead, a Sagehen field goal attempt was blocked by Carleton and returned for a touchdown, and their offense was subsequently stopped on a fourth-down conversion attempt in the red zone.
With just minutes left in the fourth quarter, the Sagehens defense immediately answered the turnover with a takeaway of their own: a 17-yard pick-six from linebacker Eamon Glascott PO ‘25. This would turn out to be the Sagehens’ last score of the game, giving the team a commanding 28-6 lead.
A late score from the Knights against a rotated P-P defense made the final score of the game 28-12, but did not dampen the mood of the team, who were ecstatic to avenge last season’s loss.
“That’s sweet, sweet revenge,” Wimmer said. “In the film room we watched [last season’s] game, there were so many things we could have done, and we did those tonight.”
This victory brings the Sagehens’ record to 1-0 on the season, and the team will enjoy a bye week to recuperate before facing Pacific University on the road on Sept. 21.
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