LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Despite the prospect of a competitive team on the horizon coupled with key injuries on the Tigers squad, Occidental College Football stretched their regular season winning streak to 30 games as they defeated the University of Redlands 28-21 on D.W. Patterson Field in SCIAC play tonight.

On a night that Dale Widolff, in his 26^th year as head coach, recorded the 150^th victory of his career, the Tigers had to overcome much adversity. In addition to the Oxy injury report Redlands, one of the toughest teams Occidental will face in 2007, accumulated 539 total yards while the Tigers racked up only 299.

The Tigers first possession of the game ended with a 16 yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Justin Goltz to sophomore Chris Washington.

A fired up Bulldogs squad responded with a touchdown of their own on the ensuing possession, knotting the score at 7-7.

Washington then put the Tigers in good field position with a 40 yard kick off return to the 50 yard line. Redlands helped the Oxy offense with two of their 17 penalties of the game, on the drive. Occidental senior Jason Haller continued to be successful after transitioning from a linebacker to a running back a week ago. He drove 11 yards down the field before gaining another four yards by foot for the second Tigers score in as many chances. Neil Martin finished off the four-play, 50 yard drive, with a PAT that gave the Tigers a 14-7 advantage, one they would not relinquish for the rest of the game.

On their first possession of the second quarter Oxy added to their lead (21-7) when Goltz connected with Joey Coverson for a 27 yard pass.

For a second time the Bulldogs cut the deficit just before the half when Redlands QB Dan Selway launched a 35 yard pass that found the hands of Kyle Godfrey. The scoreboard read 21-14 as the teams headed into the locker rooms.

Ten minutes into the third quarter Haller again ran his way into the end zone. He picked up one yard after senior defensive back Daniel Tromello made an amazing juggling catch for an interception at the Oxy 25 yard line that he returned 74 yards. 

Again the Bulldogs responded with a score on their next possession. Selway sent a 44 yard toss that landed in the arms of Brian Putman for the final score of the game as both teams were unable to score in the fourth quarter.

Oxy was able to convert three chances in the red zone, but was just 4-13 on third down conversions and tallied just 17 first downs. Redlands finished the game with 27 first downs and were .500 on third down chances (9-18).

Redlands got just 101 yards by foot, as the Tigers played the run well limiting their leading rusher, Selway, to 32 yards.  

Penalties hurt the Bulldogs tonight as they were called for 17 totaling 111 yards while the Tigers finished with just three for a loss of 24 yards as well as playing corner on defense.

Offensively Goltz finished the game 19-32 for 220 total yards (two touchdowns) and was picked off once. Haller and Rocky Ciasulli finished with 61 yards on the ground and in the air respectively. Jason Lehman led the Tigers with 64 receiving yards on five catches.

Washington, who caught two passes for 22 yards, is a multi-facet players who contributed on special teams as well with two kick returns for 59 total yards.  

Occidental's defense did a fantastic job as they faced 87 Redlands plays. James Leonard led the Tigers defense with 8.0 tackles, all solo. Four different players, Adam Dunbar, JD Ciasulli, Jarred Salha and Tromello, each totaled 4.5 tackles, with all but Tromello earning four solo tackles. Salha was all over the place as he broke up five plays. Tromello and Aaron Stanton were each credited with breaking up three. Tommy Andre had the only Tigers sack of the day when he brought Selway back 11 yards.

As it has been all season, the Oxy kicking game was solid. Punter Alex Groh booted the ball five times for a total of 219 yards including two inside the 20 yard line. His 51 yard punt was the longest of the night, but a 45 yard kick in the third quarter landed on the 1 yard line. On the night he averaged 43.8 yards per punt.

Redlands had two players with over 100 yards receiving with Godfrey grabbing 10 catches for 117 yards and Putman catching four for 103. Each of them scored a touchdown in the contest. Selway's aerial assault combined for 438 yards (30-59-2) with two TDs and a pair of interceptions.

The Tigers remain undefeated on the season at 4-0 and are tied atop the SCIAC with Cal Lutheran at 2-0. Redlands drops to 3-1 overall and is now 0-1 on the season in conference match-ups.

"This is a big win for us," said Widolff. "Our kids believe in themselves and their abilities. Tonight they went out and showed that."

A variety of injuries have called upon a number of players to switch positions and allowed some young blood to showcase their talents, all the while playing for a common reason. "This squad is a very unselfish one. Occidental has a culture where the kids don't make excuses, they want to succeed."

As long as the team maintains its strong work ethic, improving day by day, the program will continue to succeed.

Saturday, Oct. 13 the Tigers will host the winless University of La Verne Leopards (0-4, 0-2 SCIAC) at 7:00 p.m. at Patterson Field.