PORTLAND, Ore. (Sept. 8, 2007) – If there were early season jitters among the Tigers football squad, they were not apparent as Occidental College shutout the Pioneers of Lewis & Clark College 52-0 at Fred Griswold Stadium in Portland, Ore. on Saturday.

The Tigers controlled things from the get-go and had possession of the ball for 35:17 over the course of the game. Each of the 54-man travel squad saw playing time, including eight freshman and transfers who donned the colors of black and orange for the first time.

Occidental's Joey Coverson kicked off the season for the Tigers. Lewis & Clark promptly fumbled on their first play of the game and Oxy's sophomore defensive back Aaron Stanton recovered the ball 13 seconds in.

Oxy's junior quarterback Justin Goltz proved himself worthy of the starting position by completing his first pass in his first career start when he connected with Jordan Inabnit under a minute into the game. Goltz got the nod just a week ago after a competitive pre-season camp proved three viable candidates for the position, all of whom appeared in the game today.

Goltz finished the game 16-19 passing for a total of 260 yards, accounting for just under half of the 538-yard total offensive performance by the Tigers. Goltz took just five snaps in the third quarter. In that short time he was 3-3 including a game-high 56-yard pass to senior wide receiver Rocky Caisulli that set up a one-yard run into the end zone for senior running back Matt Andersen's third touchdown of the game.

Andersen, a four year starter, led the offense 129 all-purpose yards. He finished with a pair of 14-yard TDs, one in each of the first two quarters. On the ground he tallied 96 yards on the while adding three catches for 33 yards in just over a half of the game.

Just behind Andersen offensively was freshman running back Ryan Nastor. In his first collegiate game he ran into the end zone twice as he totaled 89 yards. With an average of 7.4 yards per carry he returned two punts for seven yards apiece.

The running game combined for 240 yards, which long time coach Dale Wildolff was satisfied with. “I was pleased with our ability to run the ball.”

The offense was potent as they scored five of six times they were in the red zone. Occidental scored on each of its first possessions, jumping out to an early 24-0 half time lead.

Following Goltz's lead under All-SCIAC center Chris Kyles were senior transfer Danny Southwick  (Utah) and one of Occidental's most versatile players, Scott Saunders. Southwick finished the game 5-for-6 passing for 24 yards and added 21 yards by foot, including a 17-yard run. Saunders called some plays from the quarterback position, but was most notably recognized for a punt with 12:40 remaining in the game that landed within the one-yard line.

Kicking was split by three players. Coverson booted for nine kick-offs totaling 591 yards. Sophomore Alex Groh punted three times for a total of 128 yards. His longest kick was 57 yards and he twice sent the ball inside the 20 yard line, adding one touchback. Finally, scoring by foot for the Tigers was sophomore Neil Martin who connected for seven PATs and a 24-yard field-goal for the final score of the first half.

Rocky Caisulli finished with four catches for a game-high 114 yards and Jay Arthur caught five passes for 58-yards.

While the Occidental offense was on fire, their defense was just as good. They held Lewis & Clark to just 69 yards rushing. Pioneer's quarterback AJ Brown struggled, completing just eight of 18 pass attempts while getting picked off once.

Chris Washington, a multi-facet player who not only caught three passes for 22 yards but also played a key role defensively. He picked off a Brown pass attempt and ran 30 yards into the end zone. The pick improved the Tigers' lead to 38-0 with 11:53 remaining in the third quarter.

In addition to Washington's stellar performance, the Occidental defense overall was solid. The sophomore defensive duo of Alex Wertheimer and Jarred Salha each had three solo tackles. Salha added an assist for 3.5 total tackles to lead the Tigers. Wertheimer, junior Alex Ochoa and sophomore Jesse Fischer had a sack for a loss of five, nine and 14 yards respectively. JD Caisulli, a junior linebacker, also recorded a tackle for a three-yard loss.

Oxy players executed well on both sides of the ball. Widolff was content with the outcome of the season opener. “We did some good things out there. We didn't make many mistakes and we had no turnovers, which is always emphasized by our staff.”

Indeed the Tigers were solid overall. With everyone playing, the coaching staff had a chance to see many of its young players in action, giving them an opportunity to prove themselves in a game situation.

“Overall our tier two players did well. The opportunity to play in game situations and build confidence gives us an advantage down the road as they move into starting positions or replace injured players” said Widolff.  

In the season opener the Tigers got a chance to test their legs. “Today's game was a learning experience for all of us,” said Kyles. “It was a good start to the season and helped everyone get back in check with the speed of the game and the level we know.”

The last time that Occidental held its opponent scoreless was November 4, 1995 with a 10-0 victory at Whittier College. The win extends their regular season winning streak to 27 games, dating back to the 2004 season.

It was apparent that continuing tradition, building confidence and showing commitment were on the minds of the Tigers this weekend. Kyles agreed, “We realize we are going to be a competitive team this year and today's win just helped to build our overall confidence that much more.”

Occidental will again hit the road next Friday as they travel to Northern California where they will meet non-conference Menlo College (0-2) at noon on Saturday, Sept. 15.