WHITTIER, Calif. (Nov. 11, 2007) - As the perfect fall Southern California day turned to evening the focus of two teams began to unfold. For one team the mission was to win and be crowned Tri-SCIAC Champion, for the other is was win and not only end the season on a glorious note, but be labeled as an upset “spoiler.”

In addition to the SCIAC standings, the tradition of “The Shoes” were on the line tonight. Dating back to 1946 the Tigers and Poets have played for the right to display a pair of Bronzed Shoes on campus until the following meeting.

This was the setting as the Tigers travelled to Whittier for the final game of the 2007 regular season.

The stakes were set earlier in the day as the University of Redlands (8-1, 6-1 SCIAC) defeated California Lutheran University (5-4, 5-2) 38-17 at Mt. Clef Stadium in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Temporarily the two teams were crowned co-SCIAC Champions with the final fate of the standings on the field at Memorial Stadium.

Entering the game the Tigers knew that a victory would allow them to join the Bulldogs and Kingsmen atop the league.

Despite junior quarterback Justin Goltz throwing for four touchdowns and senior QB Danny Southwick throwing for an additional pair, Oxy came up short, losing 67-61. Goltz was picked three times, once returned for a touchdown, and Southwick was brought down in the backfield a pair of times for a loss of nine total yards. Goltz and Southwick finished the game 16-for-38 and 10-for-18 respectively.

Whittier's senior quarterback Josh Scurlock finished his collegiate career with a record performance, throwing seven touchdown passes, accumulating 443 yards in the air, and adding 105 yards on the ground including a rushing touchdown. Scurlock was 25-for-40 passing with two interceptions and carried the ball 22 times.

Oxy got on the board first. Goltz found Joey Coverson for a 37-yard completion and Neil Martin finished off the play.

Whittier stormed back on the ensuing possession, but an extra point attempt was no good, leaving the Tigers with a slight edge at 7-6.

A quick Oxy possession forced the Tigers to punt, putting the ball back in Scurlock's hands. The Poets gained 76 yards and a touchdown on six plays. The two point conversion was good as Scurlock hit Chris Delgado to put Whittier up 14-7.

Occidental responded on their next possession with a 33 yard TD pass from Goltz for Chris Washington. Martin again finished the play, tying the game at 14-14 with 1:58 to go in the first quarter.

Within the first four minutes of the second quarter Scurlock found John Ollison for a pair of touchdowns. The first 11 yards and the second an 80 yard completion, giving the Poets a 27-14 advantage. On the second touchdown Oxy sophomore Jarred Salha blocked the PAT attempt.

The Tigers again responded, scoring on their next possession when Goltz again found Washington, this time for a 16 yard score. Martin's kick was good, cutting the deficit to 27-21.

Just over five minutes from halftime Alex Groh punted the ball 56 yards. It was downed at the WC2 yard line. Oxy's defense limited Whittier to just eight yards, forcing the Poets to punt.

With 1:26 to go in the half Goltz found Coverson for a 34 yard touchdown pass, tying the score at 27-27. Martin gave the Tigers the edge 28-27 entering the locker room. 

On Whittier's second possession of the second half they picked up three consecutive first downs before capping the play off with a 10 yard TD completion from Scurlock to Ollison. Again they failed on a PAT, but the Poets regained the lead for the final time of the night.

Whittier tacked on two more scores in the third quarter, the first a two yard run by Scurlock. The second was a 56 yard pass to Shawn Briggs, giving the Poets a 47-28 lead entering the final quarter of regulation.

Clary Jeffrey rushed the ball a yard into the end zone for Oxy with 13:34 to play.

Coverson kicked off 60 yards and Whittier returned the ball 18. On the next play Scurlock threw a 72 yard completion to Alex Pomponio, increasing the lead to 53-35. Just 16 seconds later WC scored again when Sean MacNeil intercepted Goltz, running back 35 yards. Scurlock finished off the play running into the end zone for two more points, giving Whittier 61.

JD Ciasulli  picked off Scurlock at the WC20 with 9:40 to go. A Whittier penalty started the Tigers at the WC10. Freshman running back Bryan Fioritto found his way into the end zone for the first touchdown of his college career. Martin made it an even 42 Tiger points.

Whittier came back with their final score of the game when Scurlock again found Briggs for 18 yards.

The game was not over yet, though. Aaron Stanton recovered a Whittier fumble on the WC25 yard line with 3:12 to play. On the next play  Southwick found Jason Lehman for a 25 yard TD pass. A two point conversion failed, leaving the scoreboard reading 67-48.

Martin's onside kick attempt was successful, giving the Tigers the ball on the Whittier 43 yard line with 3:08 remaining. A minute and 13 seconds later Fioritto rushed five yards for his second TD of the game. Again a two-point conversion failed, and Oxy trailed 67-54.

Occidental forced Whittier to punt from their own 30 yard line a minute later. Washington returned the punt 18 yards, setting up the drive from mid field.

After two incomplete passes, Southwick hit Coverson for a 50 yard TD. Martin's kick was good, cutting the deficit to 67-61.

Then it was like déjà vu.

With 18 second left in regulation there was still hope as the Tigers' Mike Jorgenson recovered a second on-side kick at the Oxy41.

Coverson caught an 11 yard pass from Southwick, getting into Whittier territory, with 12 second remaining.

A three hour and forty minute marathon came down to the line. Oxy took a timeout with four seconds left, which allowed the Tigers to solidify their game plan.

Although Coverson was deep and got a hand on Southwick's pass at the three yard line, the Whittier defense did not surrender, knocking the ball to the ground. Unfortunately the Tigers came up just short.

Coverson finished his collegiate career with seven catches for 143 yards and three touchdowns. He also averaged 61.4 yards on seven kickoffs.

Washington led all players with 212 all purpose yards, including 121 on kickoff returns. Lehman tallied 130 receiving yards for the Tigers tonight.

Defensively Trace Wallace led all players with 9.5 total tackles (nine solo). Patrick Sarkissian finished with 7.5 including one for a loss of five yards. Salha had 6.5 tackles and broke up a play while Daniel Tromello contributed 5.5 tackles and had an interception in his final collegiate game.

Groh punted six times for an average of 46.2 yards per punt. Martin was perfect, 7-7, on PAT attempts.

Oxy picked up 27 first downs. They converted 7-of-16 third down conversion chances and were 1-for-3 on fourth down conversion attempts. In the red zone, they scored on four of six opportunities.

The Tigers recorded a season high 61 points but the Occidental record books indicated that this would be the most points ever recorded in defeat.

Yes, 61 points, six touchdown passes, 588 total yards on offense, two recovered on side kicks yet still it was not be enough on a cold evening when the high hopes of a championship would become an usual statistic in the record book.

The loss drops the Tigers to second place in the SCIAC with a 5-2 record. They finish the season 7-2 overall.

Sixteen senior athletes have appeared in orange and black for the final time. With a strong core of players returning to the gridiron next fall, the Tigers look to regain the SCIAC title in 2008.