Cal Lutheran Sacks Menlo, Extends Win Streak to 3 : College football: Freshmen-laden line keys stingy Kingsmen defense. Hacker passes for 253 yards.

Freshmen football players often catch the blame for a team’s woes, and there was plenty of finger-pointing by more experienced Cal Lutheran players after the Kingsmen played Menlo College Saturday on a soggy field at Mt. Clef Stadium.

Only this time they were directing compliments.

“The freshmen are coming in and playing like veterans,� junior defensive back John Wilson said after Cal Lutheran delivered a 19-7 victory. “That’s the difference.�

After losing its first three games by a total of eight points, Cal Lutheran has won three in a row to improve to 3-3, 2-1 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

Against Menlo, Cal Lutheran’s defensive line of freshmen Tyler Blackmore, Mario Guerrero and Paul Ferguson, along with senior Tom Pellegrino, was the focal point of the game. The foursome, backed up by three other freshmen, sacked quarterback Ryan Ferguson four times and pressured him into four interceptions. Ferguson completed 15 of 31 passes for 131 yards.

“It’s just a matter of growing up,� Blackmore said. “I firmly believe the best way to learn the game is to play the game. Tom Pellegrino brought me along, took me under his arm. He really helped me out.�

Blackmore registered 12 tackles, a sack, and hurried Ferguson several times. His mentor, Pellegrino, had seven tackles and a sack.

Cal Lutheran’s defense set up the Kingsmen’s first touchdown when junior John Henderson intercepted a Ferguson pass at the Kingsmen 18-yard line on Menlo’s opening possession. A 43-yard pass from Adam Hacker to tight end Scott Wheeler moved the ball to the Oaks’ two-yard line, and sophomore tailback Steve Roussell’s one-yard scoring run gave Cal Lutheran a 7-0 lead.

Roussell started in place of Cassidy O’Sullivan, who sat out with two sprained knees. Roussell gained 73 yards in 17 carries and rushed for two touchdowns, the second a four-yard scamper in the third quarter that gave Cal Lutheran a 19-0 lead.

A 47-yard scoring strike from Hacker to Wheeler on the third play of the second half accounted for Cal Lutheran’s second touchdown. Hacker completed 15 of 31 for 253 yards. Wheeler had four receptions for 126 yards. Hacker also found wide receiver Len Bradley five times for 76 yards.

Hacker said that the duo came open time and again because of mismatches with the defense.

“Everybody’s a mismatch compared to Len Bradley,� Hacker said. “It’s even more so when a linebacker is on Scott, so you want to go the big mismatch.�

Menlo’s offense found no such advantage. The Oaks gained only 182 yards and were shut out until backup quarterback Mark Tillemans engineered a three-play, 74-yard touchdown drive in the final minute.