LOS ANGELES, Calif. (Nov. 15, 2008) – On
a hot homecoming Saturday afternoon on D.W. Patterson Field the
Tigers posted 48 points, making it a day to remember for the 10
seniors who appeared in black and orange for the final time during
the regular season. Occidental bounced back from
a devastating loss a year ago to defeat Whittier College
in a lop-sided game as they won 48-14 and regain
possession of the coveted trophy the teams play for in the Battle
of the Shoes.
Occidental used their running game to collect
313 yards, paced by junior running back Jason
Haller who rushed for three touchdowns and 155 total
yards, giving him seven in his last two games. Senior quarterback
Justin Goltz added a pair of TD runs as well,
while he threw for 138 yards on 11-for-16 passing. The
Tigers' offensive captain added 63 yards on the ground.
Through the air Chris
Washington caught five passes, including the longest
completion of the game with a 39-yard catch. He also caught a pass
from his freshman brother, Jordan Washington, for
an eight yard gain. Oxy finished with 195 passing yards
(Kyle Kazarian also finished 5-for-7 with an
interception) for a total offense that produced 508 yards. C.
Washington added a 25 yard run to his total on the day.
Defensively the Tigers held the Poets to just
39 yards on the ground on 30 carries, which equates to 1.3 yards
per carry. Whittier was only able to connect for 4-of-14 passing,
totaling 60 yards for a total offense of 99 yards.
Junior defensive captain Alex
Wertheimer finished with a team high 6.0 tackles,
including a pair of sacks. Senior Daniel Tromello
and freshman Greg Hollsworth had four tackles
apiece as Tromello forced a fumble that Jim
Hildensperger recovered. Thomas Bergstrom
was credited with a sack for a loss of seven yards and senior
Alex Ochoa also earned a sack for a loss of four
yards. Zac Perkins and Kevin May
combined for the final sack of the game, pushing the Poets back
five yards.
Special teams were solid for Oxy again,
kicking off nine times, adding a pair of punts from Alex
Groh that totaled 80 yards, with one inside the 20.
With today's win, the Tigers even their
record against Whittier since the induction of the trophy, with
each team having won 32 games. Over the last 23 years Oxy has
earned 18 victories to the Poets' five.
Additionally the Tigers posted their fourth
undefeated season in five years, at 9-0 overall, 6-0 in SCIAC play.
Occidental has also claimed their fourth SCIAC title during that
span.
Occidental Head Coach Dale Widolf said after
the game that this was a great way for the seniors to go out.
“We executed our game plan and played hard out there.”
He went on “I was very pleased with the effort and
consistency that our players showed today.”
Sunday between noon and 12:30 on ESPNews the
team will find out their fate when pairings will be announced for
the 32-team field who earend post season bids. Who they will face
and the location of the game will be will be determined at that
time.
