COLLEGE FOOTBALL: CLU TAKES MOMENTUM ON THE ROAD.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

Road trips have been the best way to stop a hot streak by the Cal Lutheran football team in recent years.

``We have this sort of road curse,'' Kingsmen tailback Dorian Stitt said.

CLU, which has won its last two games after an 0-3 start, tries to end its streak of seven consecutive losses on the road tonight when the Kingsmen play at Occidental, the site of CLU's last road win two years ago. The 7 p.m. contest in the first of three road games in a row for the Kingsmen.

``We can't just be a home team,'' Stitt said. ``You can't play 10 games at home.''

The difference between home and road performances just this season has been significant.

The Kingsmen opened the season at home and seemed to be on the right track when a strong second half brought them within two of nationally ranked Pacific Lutheran. CLU followed with a second-half collapse at San Diego the next week and didn't score a touchdown at Whitworth.

However, a strong running game, defense and learning to provide solid play for an entire game makes the Kingsmen's ability more dangerous than any streak. A win today would keep CLU (2-3, 2-0) in contention to take over first place in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference next week when it plays current leader La Verne (5-0, 3-0).

Confidence is running high for the Kingsmen after CLU became only the second team this season to beat Claremont-Mudd, doing so 31-21. Cutting back on penalties - CLU had 12 for 95 yards last week - and interceptions should be a bigger challenge than this week's opponent, which is far from matching the Stags' talent.

Occidental (1-4, 0-3) is winless in SCIAC play and has scored fewer points the entire season (44) than CLU did in one game (48, two weeks ago against Whittier). Last week's 13-10 win at The Colorado College ended a streak on nine consecutive losses and was just the second in 18 games for the Tigers, who hold a 16-5 disadvantage in the all-time series against CLU.

Senior quarterback Steve Bowman leads an Occidental offense that ranks last in the conference with an average of 86.6 yards of total offense a game. Bowman has completed 22 of 65 passes for 264 yards with two interceptions and one touchdown. He threw for just 5 yards in four attempts last week during a snow storm. Sophomore Kameron Jones is the Tigers' leading rusher with an average of 54.2 yards a game and 271 net yards and one touchdown in 68 carries.

Stitt and fellow CLU rushers can look forward to running wild against the SCIAC's second-worst rush defense.

George Keiaho and Stitt combined for 271 yards and three touchdowns last week, marking the fifth time two Kingsmen runners each had 100 or more net rushing yards in the same game.

The Tigers go up against a defense that gets stronger every game. Freshman linebacker David Oviedo was one of three Kingsmen to have nine tackles last week, contributing two of six sacks for a loss of 16 yards.

``We'll be ready,'' CLU quarterback Chris Czernek said. ``Our goal is to go undefeated in conference.''

CAL LUTHERAN AT OCCIDENTAL

Kickoff: Patterson Field, 7 p.m.

Records: CLU 2-3, 2-0 in SCIAC; Occidental 1-4, 0-3.

Outlook: The Kingsmen have a good chance of reaching the .500 mark for the season when they face the SCIAC's last-place team. Occidental is coming off its first win of the season, 13-10 at The Colorado College, but faces a CLU team that has been solid since it started conference play and upset Claremont-Mudd a week ago. If the Kingsmen overcome their trend of losing on the road, they can remain in position to move into first place next week when CLU plays at current conference leader La Verne. The true status of Chris Czernek, who has been banged up in recent weeks, is the main question mark for CLU, which insists their quarterback is fine. The CLU defense faces the SCIAC's worst overall offense (195.4 yards a game). The Tigers have been outscored 139-44.

CAPTION(S):

Box

Box: Cal Lutheran at Occidental (see text)