Tigers Football Team Back on the Prowl
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Sept. 1, 2007)– Occidental College football players have enjoyed their summers but now it is back to work as the Tigers are just a week away from their season opener. The eighty-six man squad stepped foot on Patterson Field in mid-August with the goal of earning a fourth consecutive championship in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
For a quarter of a century Dale Widolff has called Occidental home. He has led the Tigers to nine SCIAC Championship seasons and currently the Tigers boast a 26-game regular season winning streak dating back to 2004. Over the past three seasons Oxy has captured three consecutive SCIAC Titles and appeared in four post-season games.
The Oxy Tigers have captured a trio of SCIAC Championships and looks to continue those winning ways in 2007. Among the players returning are twelve All-SCIAC players from last season including seven Tigers starters on the offensive side of the football, six to the Oxy starting defense and one special teams player.
A trio of seniors earned offensive First Team All-SCIAC Honors last year. Running back Matt Andersen (Sacramento, Calif.), wide receiver Rocky Ciasulli (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) and center Chris Kyles (Las Vegas, NV) made significant impacts in 2006. Andersen was ranked third in NCAA Division III in scoring with 12.0 points per game. He and Ciasulli led the Tigers rushing and receiving with 81.2 yards per game and 71.6 yards per game respectively. Andersen added 282 receiving yards (31.3 per game) and totaled a conference high 18 TDs. Sam Emerson (Puyallup, Wash.), a Second Team All-SCIAC selection a year ago, and Tom Gonzales (Camarillo, Calif.), a SCIAC Honorable Mention, will both be back on the o-line for their junior seasons. A pair of sophomore receivers, Jordan Inabnit (Turlock, Calif.) and Chris Washington (Point Arena, Calif.) were recognized for their first year performances with SCIAC Honorable Mention. Inabnit completed his first season with 38 catches for 538 yards and eight touchdowns. Washington crossed the goal line four times with 200 yards on 21 catches in 2006.
Defensively the Tigers welcome back First Team All-SCIAC linebacker Anthony Ostland (Las Cruces, NM) who tallied five interceptions, 40.5 tackles and two sacks as a junior. Earning Second Team All-SCIAC Honors are the sophomore duo of defensive lineman Alex Wertheimer (Everett, Wash.) and punter Alex Groh (Fountain Hills, Ariz.). Wertheimer was a disruptive force, at defensive end, for his opponents all season, tying for the league lead with 6.5 sacks, while Groh led SCIAC punters with 41.0 yards per punt. Joining Wertheimer on the d-line will be senior SCIAC Honorable Mention James Sabo (Seattle, Wash.) and Victor Lopez (Albuquerque, NM). Sabo contributed 17.5 tackles and two sacks while Lopez tallied 6.5 total tackles, including five solo. Rounding out the returning defense is senior defensive back Daniel Tromello (Newbury Park, Calif.). He tied teammate Ostland with five interceptions, broke up seven plays and was among the Tigers leaders with 30.5 tackles (24 solo).
With big shoes to fill after the graduation of three-time SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year Andy Collins the quarterback job is up for grabs with three viable candidates in the mix. Also graduating were nine additional players who garnered conference recognition. However, a strong core (52 letter winners) of experienced senior and junior players and a year under their belt for the Class of 2010 coupled with incoming class of 27 freshmen and transfers the Tigers will again be contenders for the 2007 SCIAC Title.
The Tigers are currently ranked by Street and Smith and also landed in the sixteenth spot of the Touchdown Illustrated poll.
Oxy will travel to Portland, Ore. to kick off the season against Lewis and Clark on September 8 at 1:00 p.m. The two teams met nearly a year ago to the day at Patterson Field. The Tigers walked away with a 49-7 victory and hope to do the same in the 2007 opener.
