Looking Back on a Championship Football Season and Recognizing 21 All-SCIAC Players
Justin Goltz was named the SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year (Photo: Tracy Maple).
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Dec. 1, 2008) – The Tigers’ 2008 journey began in Colorado where Occidental posted a 41-0 season opening victory over Colorado College. Ten weeks later after eight more victories to finish the regular season 9-0 with a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title while climbing the national rankings to the 11th spot, second in the West region, the Occidental football season ended with a 48-33 loss to #1 West region seed Willamette University in the first round of the 2008 Division III Playoffs.
Among the notable highlights from the season were the Tigers’ win over then #14 the University of Redlands 28-15, and come-from-behind victories over non-conference Chapman (31-28) and SCIAC foe Cal Lutheran (24-21) on Nov. 1 to remain undefeated and earn sole possession of first place in the SCIAC.
Occidental was effective on both sides of the ball all season long thanks to both the seasoned senior veterans and the young energetic incoming class along with everyone in between.
The Tigers’ offense scored 50 touchdowns, 33 rushing and 17 passing, as they accumulated 4616 yards of total offense during the season. Oxy averaged 38.5 points per game (15th in the nation) on 459.9 total yards per game (eighth in the nation). They averaged 223.8 rushing yards (33 TDs) with 237.8 passing yards per game (17 TDs).
Leading the way for Occidental was senior captain and SCIAC Player
of the Year Justin Goltz who finished with a
155.29 passer efficiency rating on 165-for-247 passing, which
ranked him 14th in the nation. The protection that the
offensive line of Sam Emerson (First Team
All-SCIAC), Tom Gonzales (First Team),
Logan Brown (Second Team All-SCIAC), Brett
Henderson (Honorable Mention) and center Nick
Danielson (Honorable Mention) provided Goltz time in the
pocket, giving up just eight sacks (11th in the nation)
and opened holes for the running game all season long. Josh
Martinez also earned First Team All-SCIAC as a tight end
for the Tigers.
On the ground junior running back Jason Haller carried the ball 100 times for 708 yards (7.1 yards/carry) and 118.0 yards per game (six games) with a team-leading 12 touchdowns en route to First Team All-SCIAC honors. Haller’s most notable touchdowns of the season were 66 and 62-yard runs against Redlands, one of the nation’s top defenses.
Bryan Fiorito was a close second to Haller with 11 scores as he carried the ball 99 times for 509 yards. His longest run was a 28-yard gain against Chapman.
Goltz, who followed in the footsteps of three-time Offensive Player of teh Year Andy Collins ('04, '05, '06), was a dual threat, rushing 89 times for 692 total yards (7.2 yards/carry) and 63.9 yards per game with seven touchdowns. His longest run also came against Redlands when he broke off a 65-yard score.
Through the air Goltz’s favorite targets this season were First Team All-SCIAC selection Chris Washington and Newcomer of the Year Jordan Washington as well as Jason Lehman and Jordan Inabnit who were each named Honorable Mention.
Junior wide receiver C. Washington reeled in 58 catches for 652 yards (11.2 yards/catch) averaging 65.2 yards per game. While scoring seven TDs. In addition to his receiving efforts he added 38 punt and kick returns for a combined 476 yards averaging 8.3 and 19.8 yards, respectively. C. Washington who plays multiple roles averaged 115.4 all-purpose yards per game and gained a combined 744 yards this season.
In his first collegiate season J. Washington made an impression on his opponents and was recognized by the conference after catching 34 passes for 399 total yards (11.7 yards/catch), adding five rushes for 33 yards. He also returned five kicks for 100 yards with his longest return 30-yards.
Lehman caught 38 passes for 633 yards and led all Tigers with 16.7 yards per catch (70.3 yards per game) including a 63-yard catch and six touchdowns while Inabnit finished with 18 catches for 247 total yards (13.7 yards/catch) with one touchdown.
Overall Occidental converted 45% of their third-down conversions and 53% of their fourth-down conversion chances this year. On 43 of the team’s 53 Red Zone scoring chances (81%), the Tigers have been successful with 33 touchdowns.
On the other side of the ball the
Tigers’ defensive unit shut down its opponents’ running
game throughout the season. Oxy allowed just 3.0 rushing yards per
play and 97.6 rushing yards per game (34th in the
nation).
Overall Oxy had eight players finish with more than 30 tackles.
Together they sacked the
opposing quarterback 36 times for a loss of 203 yards, which
equates to 3.6 sacks per game, second in the country. The Tigers
intercepted the ball seven times, forced eight fumbles and broke up
51 plays.
Junior Alex Wertheimer returned from a knee injury in 2007 and established himself as one of the top defensive linemen in the conference as he led the Tigers with 8.5 sacks and 13 tackles for a loss, accumulating 43 total tackles (hurrying the QB twice). His presence on the field was a challenge for the opposition all season as he also blocked a pair of kicks, including a huge PAT block in the post season, which was returned for a safety.
Also earning recognition from the defensive line were Jesse Fischer (Second Team All-SCIAC) and Jim Hildensperger (Honorable Mention). Fischer was responsible for 7.0 sacks for a loss of 36 yards and 8.5 tackles for a loss. He finished with a total of 25 tackles while forcing a fumble and recovering a fumble. Hildensperger finished with 39 total tackles, 2.0 sacks, 6.0 tackles for a loss and a fumble recovery.
A pair of senior defensive backs, Daniel Tromello and JD Ciasulli, earned First and Second Team All-SCIAC honors, respectively. Tromello had a team leading three interceptions, a 48-yard fumble recovery and 31 tackles while breaking up five plays. Ciasulli was second on the team with 46 tackles and he broke up four plays for the Tigers.
Patrick Sarkissian led all Tigers with 51 tackles including 7.5 tackles for a loss of 25 yards and 1.0 sack, adding an interception, forced fumble, fumble recovery and three plays broken up.
Two linebackers garnered All-SCIAC honors as Kyle Spaulding was named to the Second Team and Anthony Ostland was an Honorable Mention. Spaulding finished the season with 37 total tackles, 2.0 sacks and broke up seven plays. Ostland, who missed half the season with an ankle injury, tallied 25 total tackles, 2.5 sacks for a loss of 14 yards in five games. Each hurried the quarterback twice.
Special teams were consistent all season long punting 35 times for an average of 41.9 yards per punt. Until the post season junior punter Alex Groh was ranked second in the nation as he averages 43.1 yards per punt with his longest at 61 yards. After the post season he fell off the charts as his season totals do not meet the minimum requirements for ranking purposes. Sixteen punts landed inside the 20-yard line with five touchbacks.
Freshman Nick Saraceni was named Honorable
Mention after returning 19 kicks for 407 yards (21.4 yards/return)
with his longest at 47 yards. Saraceni also returned a blocked kick
against Willamette in the post season.
Oxy place kickers nailed 10-of-12 field goals, and were 45-for-48 on PAT attempts led by Neil Martin who was 9-for-11, 41-for-43.
The 2008 Tigers contributed to and built upon one of the most successful eras in the history of Occidental Football and look to continue the tradition of success in the future.
