ORANGE, Calif. (Oct. 30, 2010) – In the final non-conference game of 2010, the Occidental College Tigers fell 28-24 to the Chapman University Panthers for the first time since 2004.

The Tigers held the Panthers to a three-and-out on the first possession of the game before scoring the first points of the game. Oxy wasted no time lighting up the scoreboard as they drove 68 yards on 11 plays, culminating in a one-yard rushing touchdown by Ryan Nastor. On the drive, quarterback Luke Collis found Nick Saraceni for a 26-yard completion, his longest of the evening.

Occidental held Chapman scoreless in the opening stanza, but just seconds into the second quarter the home squad scored, taking a 7-6 lead with 14:56 to play n the half.

Again, the Black and Orange responded when Nastor found a gap in the Chapman defense and scurried 49 yards into the end zone before Joshua Mun capped off the play with a point after, giving Oxy a 13-7 advantage.

That lead quickly disappeared at the hands and feet of CU senior wide receiver Chris Langstaff who scored back-to-back touchdowns en route to a game-high 256 all purpose yards. The first score came on an 85-yard punt return with the latter an 84 yard completion from quarterback Bret Visciglia, who was 8-for-14 in the game.

With just 1:06 remaining in the half, Saraceni returned the kick 15 yards to set up the Tigers on their own 37 yard line. Quick passes to Nate Sullivan and Saraceni and Wed McDaniel for 20,14 and seven yards, respectively got the Black and Orange into Chapman territory. Collis scurried for nine yards and a first down on a second and three. Another pass to McDaniel set up Mun for a 26 yard field goal pulled the Tigers closer to the Panthers, trailing just 21-16 at the intermission.

Despite maintaining possession for nearly 12 and half minutes in the second quarter, CU outscored Oxy 21-10.

On the second Tigers' possession out of the locker room, Collis found Bobby Phillips for a 17-yard TD pass. Occidental opted for a two-point conversion, which was successful as Collis found Nastor, regaining the lead 24-21 with 4:48 to play in the third.

The ensuing drive was the thorn in the Tigers' paws. Another long completion, from quarterback Michael Lahey to Ed Harris for 43 yards set up a sequence of rushes and passes, which culminated with a one yard rushing TD by Harris. Mauricio Alfonso capped off the play with the final point of the evening, giving the Panthers a 28-24 advantage with seconds to play in the third quarter.

The teams exchanged fumbles and recoveries on the first two drives of the fourth quarter, although neither team was able to capitalize. Brandon Ortega forced the Chapman fumble as the Tigers recovered the loose ball.

Oxy went for it on a fourth and four, and while Collis competed the pass to Nastor, the Tigers were just short of the first down. Occidental nor Chapman was able to find the end zone in the final period of play.

Collis completed 39-for-49 passes for 321 yards with no interceptions and one touchdown. His favorite targets tonight were Phillips and Matthew Tuckness who each nabbed seven catches. Nastor finished with six and Saraceni, Sullivan and McDaniel each caught five.

Saraceni returned to the field after suffering a concussion two weeks ago and led all Tigers with 119 all purpose yards, followed by Nastor who was a yard shy of the century mark in the game. Jordan Lance finished with a pair of kick returns for 30 yards.

The defense was paced once again by Nate Proulx, who led all players with 11 total tackles. Both he and Greg Holsworth finished with six solo stops (nine total) as they combined for the only sack of the night, pushing CU back seven yards. Senior Kyle Spaulding tallied eight, five solo tackles and Carter Norfleet added six, all solo, and broke up a pair of plays.

The last time Occidental dropped back-to-back games was in 2003 to Pomona-Pitzer and Redlands.

Occidental (5-2, 4-1 SCIAC) will host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Patterson Field for Homecoming next Saturday, Nov. 6 at 2:30 p.m.

Article by Tracy Maple, Sports Information Director