Author: Gil Alcaraz
On Saturday, Oct. 10, our Tiger football team took on the visiting University of Redlands Bulldogs, and both teams fought fiercely until the very end. After beating Claremont-Mudd-Scripps last week to open up SCIAC play, the 24th ranked Tigers were looking to keep their conference record spotless against the 22nd ranked Bulldog team.
This game marked the 101st game between the two teams, a record in which Oxy leads by a mere four wins. Occidental has won the last five meetings between the two teams, so Redlands was out for revenge.
When asked what the game meant to the Oxy football team, Defensive Coach Eric Johnson responded enthusiastically. “We try and approach it like any other SCIAC game but historically, the winner of the game has the inside track on the SCIAC title. It’s a true rivalry [with] lots of respect but no love loss,” he said.
Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, that cool Saturday night did not yield revenge, but instead the sixth loss in a row. The Tigers came back from a 14-point deficit at halftime, pushing the game into overtime where they were eventually victorious.
The Bulldogs got off to a quick start, scoring on their first possession, taking the lead 6-0 after a blocked extra point, courtesy of Wide Receiver Jordan Washington (sophomore). Oxy’s first possession was not as successful, but after a fumble on the ensuing punt, Jim Hildensperger (junior) gave the Tigers great field position and the offense was able to punch it in, giving them a 7-6 lead.
Once again, Redlands’ offense took to the field and, 84 yards later, again found the endzone. After attempting and getting the two-point conversion, they took a 14-7 lead as time expired in the first quarter.
Early in the second quarter, Kicker Neil Martin (senior) made good on a 27-yard field goal. This, however, was the turning point in the game, as Redlands then took control for the remainder of the half, tacking on another touchdown as well as a late field goal to bring the score to 24-10 in favor of the Bulldogs going into the locker rooms at halftime.
After a third quarter full of failed attempts to close the gap between them and the Bulldogs, the Tigers sparked to life in the fourth quarter, down by 14 points.
On the first drive of the final quarter, the Tigers took the ball 80 yards down the field, finally punching it in from one yard out in the arms of Running Back Jason Haller (senior). This cut the lead to seven points as time continued to become more and more of a factor for Occidental.
After a couple of drives that ended in punts for the Bulldogs, Oxy had just under five minutes left to play. Quarterback Scott Saunders (senior) took to the air, leading the Tigers to the tying touchdown. The recipient of the acrobatic touchdown catch was Jordan Washington, who had a spectacular night, including eight catches for 118 yards as well as two blocks. The Tigers made an astounding comeback to knot the game at 24 points apiece.
“I just felt like I was doing my part to help the team, and with the team playing hard, it made it easier to do well,” Jordan Washington said about the game and his performance.
After getting the ball back, the offense went to work, hoping to gain back the lead, but was denied when Safety Ayrton Bates (sophomore) picked off the Bulldog quarterback’s throw at the 39-yard line. However, Oxy’s offense stalled and was forced to give the ball back, resulting in a great punt from Alex Groh (senior), who helped pin the Bulldogs inside their own five-yard line.
Redlands put up one final, last ditch effort to keep the game from going into overtime, attempting a 30-yard field goal for the win. However, Jordan Washington would not have this, as he blocked the Redlands kicker’s attempt for the second time of the evening.
With such evenly matched teams that never seem to quit against one another, it was no wonder that the game was forced into overtime. Oxy received the ball first, and after a short completion accompanied with a couple incompletions, Martin came on to attempt a 26-yard field. He converted on the attempt, which gave Oxy its first lead since early in the first quarter.
Now it was Redlands’ turn. Their first two attempted throws fell incomplete, and after a huge sack by Hildensperger and Jesse Fischer (senior), the Bulldogs had no choice but to throw one final prayer towards the endzone.
The pass was, however, intercepted by Chris Washington (senior), and the Oxy sideline as well as the Oxy fans in the stands erupted into cheers and screams of excitement.
Johnson also commented on how he felt the game went. “Oxy found a way to win. We were not the best team, nor did we play the best. What we did was never lose faith . . . plus I think we had a little Oxy mojo going for us,” he said.
It was a tough game but with some luck, some incredible performances and support from the Tiger faithful, Oxy came out on top – in a game that has had a history of determining the winner in the SCIAC.
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