FB: Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

[Sabretooth Tiger]

OB, thanks for the link to the LC write-up . . . very interesting that the first Oxy score was a pass to Justin Goltz . . . just wondering if the pass was to himself, from one of his competitors, or a tip?



And I noticed the report that Ryan Nastor added a couple of rushing TDs to ice the cake.  Not a name I know.  Wonder if we've got a frosh that may be the heir apparent to Mr. Anderson?

Looking forward to the Oxy write-up.  Kind of strange that we don't even have a brief email notification from Coach Widolff yet with the score and "details to follow" as of yet.

And thanks for the Whittier update . . . found that on their website . . . having the bye on opening weekend?  What a bitch.

I wish that the SCIAC presidents and ACs would open the rules up to permit a 10 game schedule.

Eat'em up Tigers.

The Mighty Oaks of Menlo up next.

tooth

[Toivo70]

I'm curious as to Redlands next opponent?  Wow another quality opponent Haskell Indian Nations University...it just rolls off the tongue  Just kidding ... a quality win against my Pirates.  Good luck throughout the SCIAC

[Sabretooth Tiger]

I'm curious as to Redlands next opponent?  Wow another quality opponent Haskell Indian Nations University...it just rolls off the tongue  Just kidding ... a quality win against my Pirates.  Good luck throughout the SCIAC

Except against Oxy.

[Toivo70]

How good will Oxy be without Andy Collins at quarterback?  What other weapons do they have?

[Tom Brady]

Holy crap!  I just took a look at the stats from the OXY game.  Is L-C really that bad??  I realize OXY is a very good team but come on, 117 total yards

I agree with Bob, please stop scheduling them.  (I know, I know, its done in advance.  I have seen all the posts about it so no need to hammer me on the subject )

Maybe OXY and CLU should switch next year.  I think the Lutes are waaaaaaaay out of the Kingsmens league.  They might want to get comfortable being compared to P-P, that is if they can beat the Hens.

[Sabretooth Tiger]

From the Oxy website: http://www.oxy.edu/x13420.xml

Tigers Start Season with Shutout

Portland, Ore. (September 8, 2007)

   
If there were early season jitters among the Tigers football squad, they were not apparent as Occidental College shutout the Pioneers of Lewis & Clark College 52-0 at Fred Griswold Stadium in Portland, Ore. on Saturday.

The Tigers controlled things from the get-go and had possession of the ball for 35:17 over the course of the game. Each of the 54-man travel squad saw playing time, including eight freshman and transfers who donned the colors of black and orange for the first time.

Occidental's Joey Coverson kicked off the season for the Tigers. Lewis & Clark promptly fumbled on their first play of the game and Oxy's sophomore defensive back Aaron Stanton recovered the ball 13 seconds in.

Oxy's junior quarterback Justin Goltz proved himself worthy of the starting position by completing his first pass in his first career start when he connected with Jordan Inabnit under a minute into the game. Goltz got the nod just a week ago after a competitive pre-season camp proved three viable candidates for the position, all of whom appeared in the game today.

Goltz finished the game 16-19 passing for a total of 260 yards, accounting for just under half of the 538-yard total offensive performance by the Tigers. Goltz took just five snaps in the third quarter. In that short time he was 3-3 including a game-high 56-yard pass to senior wide receiver Rocky Caisulli that set up a one-yard run into the end zone for senior running back Matt Andersen's third touchdown of the game.

Andersen, a four year starter, led the offense 129 all-purpose yards. He finished with a pair of 14-yard TDs, one in each of the first two quarters. On the ground he tallied 96 yards on the while adding three catches for 33 yards in just over a half of the game.

Just behind Andersen offensively was freshman running back Ryan Nastor (above photo). In his first collegiate game he ran into the end zone twice as he totaled 89 yards. With an average of 7.4 yards per carry he returned two punts for seven yards apiece.

The running game combined for 240 yards, which long time coach Dale Wildolff was satisfied with. "I was pleased with our ability to run the ball."

The offense was potent as they scored five of six times they were in the red zone. Occidental scored on each of its first possessions, jumping out to an early 24-0 half time lead.

Following Goltz's lead under All-SCIAC center Chris Kyles were senior transfer Danny Southwick  (Utah) and one of Occidental's most versatile players, Scott Saunders. Southwick finished the game 5-for-6 passing for 24 yards and added 21 yards by foot, including a 17-yard run. Saunders called some plays from the quarterback position, but was most notably recognized for a punt with 12:40 remaining in the game that landed within the one-yard line.

Kicking was split by three players. Coverson booted for nine kick-offs totaling 591 yards. Sophomore Alex Groh punted three times for a total of 128 yards. His longest kick was 57 yards and he twice sent the ball inside the 20 yard line, adding one touchback. Finally, scoring by foot for the Tigers was sophomore Neil Martin who connected for seven PATs and a 24-yard field-goal for the final score of the first half.

Rocky Caisulli finished with four catches for a game-high 114 yards and Jay Arthur caught five passes for 58-yards.

While the Occidental offense was on fire, their defense was just as good. They held Lewis & Clark to just 69 yards rushing. Pioneer's quarterback AJ Brown struggled, completing just eight of 18 pass attempts while getting picked off once.

Chris Washington, a multi-facet player who not only caught three passes for 22 yards but also played a key role defensively. He picked off a Brown pass attempt and ran 30 yards into the end zone. The pick improved the Tigers' lead to 38-0 with 11:53 remaining in the third quarter.

In addition to Washington's stellar performance, the Occidental defense overall was solid. The sophomore defensive duo of Alex Wertheimer and Jarred Salha each had three solo tackles. Salha added an assist for 3.5 total tackles to lead the Tigers. Wertheimer, junior Alex Ochoa and sophomore Jesse Fischer had a sack for a loss of five, nine and 14 yards respectively. JD Caisulli, a junior linebacker, also recorded a tackle for a three-yard loss.

Oxy players executed well on both sides of the ball. Widolff was content with the outcome of the season opener. "We did some good things out there. We didn't make many mistakes and we had no turnovers, which is always emphasized by our staff."

Indeed the Tigers were solid overall. With everyone playing, the coaching staff had a chance to see many of its young players in action, giving them an opportunity to prove themselves in a game situation.

"Overall our tier two players did well. The opportunity to play in game situations and build confidence gives us an advantage down the road as they move into starting positions or replace injured players" said Widolff.

In the season opener the Tigers got a chance to test their legs. "Today's game was a learning experience for all of us," said Kyles. "It was a good start to the season and helped everyone get back in check with the speed of the game and the level we know."

The last time that Occidental held its opponent scoreless was November 4, 1995 with a 10-0 victory at Whittier College. The win extends their regular season winning streak to 27 games, dating back to the 2004 season.

It was apparent that continuing tradition, building confidence and showing commitment were on the minds of the Tigers this weekend. Kyles agreed, "We realize we are going to be a competitive team this year and today's win just helped to build our overall confidence that much more."

Occidental will again hit the road next Friday as they travel to Northern California where they will meet non-conference Menlo College (0-2) at noon on Saturday, Sept. 15.

Kudos the Tigers and to our new SID who is just blazin' out of the gate.  Keep up the good work.

tooth

[Sabretooth Tiger]

Holy crap!  I just took a look at the stats from the OXY game.  Is L-C really that bad??  I realize OXY is a very good team but come on, 117 total yards

I agree with Bob, please stop scheduling them.  (I know, I know, its done in advance.  I have seen all the posts about it so no need to hammer me on the subject )

Maybe OXY and CLU should switch next year.  I think the Lutes are waaaaaaaay out of the Kingsmens league.  They might want to get comfortable being compared to P-P, that is if they can beat the Hens.

I would have expected a more competitive Lewis & Clark team this year.  Last' year's QB and best defensive player returned.  See the L&C previews for details http://www.lcpioneers.com/sports/fball/2007-08/news/2007_preview.  Given the shambles the program was in two years ago when they pulled the plug on league play, it is clear that the Pios are still in rebuilding mode and seem to have added a number of young players to the roster.  Let's hope that they jell and establish some upward momentum for the Pios.

As for the comments about Cal Lu . . . granted it seems that they may have a very rough year in store, but that is not a reflection of the overall quality of its historic football program . . . time will tell whether this is a hiccup or a sea change.

As for my Tigers . . . holy cow . . . I am thoroughly impressed with the way the kids have come together and what the staff has done here early in the year . . . let's hope that the team continues its positive development against Menlo and in its season opener against Claremont . . .

cheers,

tooth

[Gray Fox]

very interesting that the first Oxy score was a pass to Justin Goltz . . . just wondering if the pass was to himself, from one of his competitors, or a tip?

Maybe it was a pass from Justin Goulds [sic] to Justin Goltz.

OxyBob

Here are thre official stats from the L&C website.

  http://www.lcpioneers.com/sports/fball/2007-08/stats/fb0908.htm#GAME.SUM

Here are the stats from the Whitworth website for the Redlands game

  http://www.whitworth.edu/Athletics/Teams/Football/Statistics/2007/HTML/g1-ur.htm

[RFB]

Pat,

Thanks for choosing to highlight Redlands big win on the front page. The SCIAC needs the most national exposure it can get. Also, Congrats to Oxy on their win in Portland yesterday. They are going to be tough to beat.

[SnowLeopard]

Just behind Andersen offensively was freshman running back Ryan Nastor (above photo). In his first collegiate game he ran into the end zone twice as he totaled 89 yards. With an average of 7.4 yards per carry he returned two punts for seven yards apiece.

And I noticed the report that Ryan Nastor added a couple of rushing TDs to ice the cake.  Not a name I know.  Wonder if we've got a frosh that may be the heir apparent to Mr. Anderson?

tooth

Ryan Nastor is a great get for you guys. Played his high school ball at little private school in Concord, California called De La Salle. Its a pretty good football school.
--CarloRossiLep- didn't we play with a kid who went to DLS?

AS far as my Leos go...

I'm glad we shut them out in the second half, but 7 points a game on the offensive side of the ball isn't going to get it done. Its only going to get tougher as the season goes on especially with Whitworth coming off a tough loss next week...

Speaking of Whitworth - congrats Redlands on the victory. As much as I hate Bulldog football.... It's great to see you guys representing the SCIAC well and getting some front page love.

[MonroviaCat]

Also, Congrats to Oxy on their win in Portland yesterday. They are going to be tough to beat.

Oxy ran it up on a team with only 42 players on its roster, which includes 23 freshmen. A win is a win, I guess, but I am not impressed. If Oxy had any balls, then they'd have been 40 miles down the road playing a real football team in McMinnville.

OxyBob

Well said Bob--it would be nice if the Cats could get a game (non-playoff) vs. any of the SCIAC. 

[RFB]

Also, Congrats to Oxy on their win in Portland yesterday. They are going to be tough to beat.

Oxy ran it up on a team with only 42 players on its roster, which includes 23 freshmen. A win is a win, I guess, but I am not impressed. If Oxy had any balls, then they'd have been 40 miles down the road playing a real football team in McMinnville.

OxyBob

Well said Bob--it would be nice if the Cats could get a game (non-playoff) vs. any of the SCIAC. 

It was mentioned yesterday that Redlands & Whitworth have renewed their series. Hopefully, Redlands game with Haskell next week is only a one game contract. That would allow Redlands & Linfield to possibly start playing each other again.

[snoop dawg]

The Haskell gme may be a disappointment to the fans in terms of scheduling but from what I understand it is UR working in conjunction with the Soboda(sp?) Tribe to make the game happen.  They are financially sponsoring Haskell to come to So.Ca and it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Haskell.  Maybe it wont be the greatest of games but, I think it was scheduled in the spirit of d3 football. 

Congrats to the Dawgs on a great win over a tough opponnent.  It was a big confidence booster for the team.  I know they all worked very hard to put themselves in position to play a great game. 

I think Coach Thomas did a great job of play calling and kept the Whit defense guessing, especially on the last td call. 

Congrats to the other SCIAC  teams that won on Sat.

GO BULLDOGS!

[Gray Fox]

Also, Congrats to Oxy on their win in Portland yesterday. They are going to be tough to beat.

Oxy ran it up on a team with only 42 players on its roster, which includes 23 freshmen. A win is a win, I guess, but I am not impressed. If Oxy had any balls, then they'd have been 40 miles down the road playing a real football team in McMinnville.

OxyBob

L&C has a guy lined up to take down the goal post when they finaally win a game.  They had better hurry, he is 82 and lives in Wisconsin.  See the video.

  http://www.weau.com/

[D O.C.]

Nice job Redlands.

Unlike Oxy, which traveled almost 1,000 miles to play a complete stiff, "Redlands University" has the good sense to have the stiff come to them.

Guy's hilarious.

Haskell DOES have the right to have Fightin' Indians as a mascot, don't they?
Good move by the Soboba CASINO to sponsor the trip. Every sovereign   nation CASINO could do the same and cut the **** about providing jobs for the community.