Author: Alex Graves
For many students, the start of a new school year means moving into a new residence hall, standing in line for books, and adjusting (or re-adjusting) to the daily grind of classes. For the 85 members of the Occidental Football Team, the start of the school year signifies the approaching road to redemption.
Last season, the team fought its way to a 7-2 record, which for many schools would be a successful season. However, Oxy’s football program is not like that of most schools. “For a lot of teams, 7-2 is good. For us that’s disappointing,” Coach Widolff said, who is entering his 27th season as head coach.
Between 2004 and 2006, the program managed an impressive 28-4 regular season record, including a dominant 18-0 record in Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) games. Last year, despite a 7-2 record, the team missed the playoffs for the first time in recent history. With the loss of graduated players, including 1st team All-SCIAC receiver Rocky Ciasulli and 2nd team selections James Sabo, James Leonard, and Victor Lopez, some might question whether this year’s squad can reclaim the SCIAC title. However, talking with members of this year’s team, confidence is not an issue.
“We’re coming back with a vengeance this year,” defensive back Trace Wallace (junior) said. He added that there is certainly an advantage to flying under the radar. Teammate Chris Washington (junior) agreed, observing that “everyone’s been working really hard,” and that this year’s team has something to prove to themselves.
This is not to say that last year’s team did not work hard. Last year, various players suffered key injuries. Then-sophomore defensive lineman Alex Wertheimer (junior) and then-sophomore defensive back, Wallace, were both temporarily out of the game due to various injuries. In addition, then-senior captains Anthony Ostland (linebacker) and Matt Andersen (running back) missed the majority of the season due to injuries. These injuries certainly did not help, but more importantly they were “a blow to our leadership,” Wallace said.
However, this year’s team has many reasons to be optimistic. The team added roughly 30 first-years to its already talented roster. The offensive line returns four seniors who all started last year. Quarterback Justin Goltz (senior), who last year managed 36.5 points a game, will once again be under center to lead the offense. Coach Widolff believes that one key to the success of this year’s team will be the returning starters to play “at a better level” than last year. Widolff also added that this year’s kicking game has a chance to be “very special” with the return of All-American punter, Alex Groh (junior).
Looking ahead to the season, Widolff believes that Oxy is in for a dogfight. “The conference is much-improved,” he said. Cal Lutheran and Redlands, who were co-SCIAC champions last year, will be two key competitors.
Under the leadership of Coach Widolff, this year’s team is confident and eager to prove to the Oxy community, themselves, and everybody else that last year was a fluke.
“We’re going to win the SCIAC,” Wallace said. “We’re more poised and more focused. Expect competitiveness.” When asked to predict howthis team would fare, Washington did not hesitate to say 9-0.
The Tigers backed up this prediction in their first game of the season against Colorado College on Saturday, Sept. 13, where they ended the season-opener with an impressive 41-0 score. The team brought their competitive edge to the field early in the game, completely dominating the first half, and heading to the locker room at half time with a 34-0 lead. The Tigers hope to prolong their success in their first home game against Menlo on Saturday. Sept. 20.
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