Fourteen Tigers Earn All-SCIAC Football Honors

Five Tigers landed on the First Team All-SCIAC, while six more earned Second Team All-SCIAC accolades and three were named as Honorable Mention.

Representing the Tigers offense are Rocky Ciasulli, Jason Haller, Chris Kyles, Tom Gonzalez, Brett Henderson and Neil Martin while James Sabo, Alex Groh, Tim Creamer, Victor Lopez, Daniel Tromello, James Leonard and Josh Martinez garnered defensive recognition. Chris Washington showcased his skills on both sides of the ball for Oxy.

Groh, a sophomore punter was named to the First Team All-SCIAC after leading the nation with a 45.9 yards per punt average. In 36 chances he booted the ball more than 50 yards 12 times, placing the ball inside the 20 yard line 11 times with three touchbacks. Groh’s longest punt of the season came against Cal Lutheran when the ball traveled 61 yards. In the same game he had three 50+ yard punts. Groh was a Second Team All-SCIAC during his freshman season a year ago.

For the second time in as many years Ciasulli and Kyles earned First Team All-SCIAC honors. Both four-year players served as captains this year and have started for the past two years.

Finishing his senior season averaging 86.7 all purpose yards per game, Ciasulli ranked ninth among all SCIAC players. As a wide receiver he caught a conference high 64 passes for 780 total yards (12.2 yards per catch) and seven touchdowns, accounting for 42 Tigers’ points. His 86.7 receiving yards per game was second best in the SCIAC this year. Four times he topped the 100 yard mark this year. The longest completion of the season for Ciasulli was a 57 yard catch against Pomona-Pitzer. In the overtime victory at Patterson Field on Homecoming day Ciasulli grabbed eight passes for 100 yards and three touchdowns. 

Kyles, the Tigers center, has been strong on the offensive line, blocking for an Oxy team that averaged 448.4 total yards of offense per game in 2007. The Oxy running backs averaged 173.7 yards per game.

Also earning First Team All-SCIAC honors to finish his collegiate career is Sabo, a defensive lineman who received Honorable Mention status in 2005. A three year starter and team captain, Sabo made 24.5 tackles (16 solo) in 2007, accounted for 4.5 tackles for a loss and broke up two plays during his senior season. He contributed a season high 5.0 tackles against Pomona-Pitzer. Against Chapman he recorded a half a sack.

Haller rounds out the First Team selections. The junior began the season as a defensive back and transitioned into a running back after senior captain Matt Andersen went down with a season ending injury. Haller ran the ball 573 yards, scoring a team leading eight touchdowns in six games before suffering an injury himself, keeping him out of the final season game. In the 2007 homecoming game Haller ran the ball a season high 152 yards, picking up his longest run of the season at 36 yards. Against Cal Lutheran he also broke the 100 yard mark with 147 yards on the ground and two catches for 27 additional yards for a pair of touchdowns. Haller was third among all SCIAC players with 71.6 yards per game and second in the SCIAC in touchdowns, accounting for 48 of the Tigers’ points this season.

Earning Second Team All-SCIAC recognition is Tromello, a senior defensive back, who finished the season with 42.5 tackles including 34 solo stops. He led the SCIAC with six interceptions, returning the ball for 83 yards. Against both Redlands and Chapman he intercepted the quarterback twice and broke up an addition three plays. Tromello was named the SCIAC Athlete of the Week after the Redlands game in which he made an incredible juggling catch, running the ball back 74 yards to the one yard line in the third quarter. This return led to a score, which served as the ultimate winning touchdown in the game.Tromello also led the conference in passing defense, breaking up nine plays in addition to his interceptions. In his final homecoming game he had a season high 6.5 tackles. He finished the season with 5.7 tackles per game, which ranked him 18^th (tied with teammate JC Ciasulli) among all SCIAC players.

Scoring 56 points for Oxy this season, Martin, a sophomore kicker, was a perfect 41-41 in PAT attempts, adding five field goals to his stats. At both Lewis and Clark and Whittier Martin was 7-7 kicking after Oxy touchdowns. At LC he added a field goal for a season high 10-point performance.  He scored in all nine Occidental games of 2007.

Joining Kyles on the offensive line were the junior pair of Gonzalez and Henderson.

On the defensive side of the ball Creamer, a Tigers linebacker, was named to the Second Team All-SCIAC after tallying 22.0 tackles this season with 16 solo stops. Against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps he recorded a season high 6.5 tackles with six solo and 3.5 were for a loss of 14 total yards. He also recoded one of his 2.5 sacks in this game, pushing the Stags back seven yards. Creamer finished with 8.5 tackles for a loss of 32 total yards in 2007.

Also earning  Second Team All-SCIAC honors was Lopez, a senior defensive lineman. Lopez recorded 12.0 tackles with seven solo stops and a half sack. He broke up a pair of plays and 1.5 of his tackles were for a loss of yardage.

Earning Honorable Mention in 2007 are Leonard, Martinez and Washington.

Leonard, a defensive back, was a leader on the field all season. He finished his senior season with 42.0 tackles (31 solo) including four for a loss of yardage, 1.5 sacks, four broken up plays and a forced fumble.

Oxy’s junior tight end, Martinez, caught four passes for 25 yards, returned a kickoff for 15 yards against Pomona-Pitzer and added 1.5 tackles.

A multi facet player for the Tigers, Washington was key on defense and special teams. He averaged a team high 90.1 all purpose yards per game. He returned kickoffs for a total of 361 yards while gaining an additional 106 yards on punt returns. Against Redlands he ran a kickoff back 40 yards. Twice he returned punts for 23 yards. Washington caught 24 passes for 219 yards and four touchdowns. Against Whittier Washington caught five passes, including two touchdowns. In the season opener he intercepted the ball, running it back 30 yards for a score. Defensively he supplied Oxy with 12.0 tackles (11 solo stops), two forced fumbles and broke up a play.

Occidental College finished the season with a 7-2 record and a third place SCIAC finish. The Tigers led the conference in total offense with 448.4 yards per game, red zone defense and punting with 39.0 yards per punt.

A full list of the All-SCIAC teams can be seen below.