Tigers and Panthers set to claw it out on the gridiron

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Oct. 8, 2009) – After an incredible come-from-behind overtime victory on Patterson Field last Saturday, the No. 18 Occidental College football team looks to improve its overall record against non-conference foe Chapman University at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday evening. Occidental holds a 6-5 all-time record including four consecutive victories over the Panthers.

Team Notes:
The Tigers, trailing by 14 points in the fourth quarter, used a late surge to tie the score at 24-24 [and block a field goal attempt in the final seconds] against then No. 22 Redlands, winning 27-24 in overtime. Occidental finished with 296 yards of offense and scored on all four of their red zone chances as they improved to 3-1 and remain undefeated in SCIAC play at 2-0.

Chapman’s homecoming game was spoiled by Whittier as the Poets earned a 21-6 victory over CU before a record crowd of 4,498 at Ernie Chapman Stadium. The Panthers fall to 2-2 on the season after they gained just 11 first downs and totaled 232 offensive yards (192 yards through the air with just 40 on the ground). They were, however, 2-for-3 in the red zone and 1-for-1 on fourth down conversions.

Offense:
Occidental trailed 24-10 at halftime after Scott Saunders (25-for-43 for 271 yards), who was named the SCIAC Athlete of the Week for his performance against Redlands, hit Jason Lehman for a four-yard TD pass and Neil Martin nailed a 27-yard field goal. After a scoreless third quarter, on both sides, the Tigers came to life when Jason Haller rushed for a one yard touchdown to cap off a 12-play, 80 yard drive pulling the Tigers to 24-17. After forcing UR to punt, on two consecutive possessions, Oxy took the ball on their own 31 yard line. Saunders then completed a pair of long passes to Jordan Washington (eight catches for 118 yards), the latter an acrobatic 30-yard TD catch. Martin knotted the game at 24-24 with a PAT. In overtime, Occidental looked to Martin once again and he came up big with a 26-yard field goal. Lehman and Trevor Duessen each finished with five catches.

Chapman used two quarterbacks with Eric Willcockson completing 7-for-19 passes for 117 yards and was picked off once before Blake Vanderweil went 4-for-9 for 75 yards. Kaleo Perez caught four passes for 104 yards, including a 53-yard completion, while three other players caught a pair of passes. On the ground Akio Lloyd carried the ball 14 times for 52 yards.

Defense:
The Tigers’ defense looked to J. Washington against UR for a pair of blocked kicks, one in the first quarter on a PAT attempt, and the second, and more importantly, on a FG chance with just :03 in regulation, sending the game into overtime. In OT Jim Hildensperger and Jesse Fischer came up with a huge sack for a loss of 10-yards forcing the Bulldogs to make a last ditch effort for the win, which was picked off by Chris Washington. Ayrton Bates also got an interception with 2:58 to play in the game. Zac Perkins had a career night with 15 tackles while Aaron Stanton finished with nine. Fischer and Kyle Spaulding each had a sack in the game as well.

The Panthers’ defense combined for 10 tackles for a loss led by Jake Fey who had 11 total tackles (three for a loss) while Erick Mueller had eight tackles and a forced fumble while Brian Kaltenecker finished with two sacks for a loss of 13 yards.

Special Teams:
Occidental punter Alex Groh twice pinned the Bulldogs on the two yard line as he punted four times. While J. Washington led the pack with 118 all purpose yards, Nick Saraceni was right behind with 76 yards in kick returns on four chances with his longest a 23-yard run. Mike Jorgenson also ran back a kickoff for seven yards and C. Washington had a punt return for six yards to go along with three catches and six tackles.

All of Chapman’s scoring in the game came by way of field goals as Jimmy Adranly hit a pair at 23 and 20-yards. Dan Delahoussaye had three kick returns for 58 yards with his longest a 25-yard run. Lloyd also had a kick return and Perez had the only Panthers’ punt return of the night.

For those who are unable to make it out to the game you can watch the game live at KADYtv.com and listen as Craig Dunkin, Tim Walsh and Kevin Walsh call the game for you at oxybroadcast.com. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m.