With a perfect set of predictions last week on the podcast, Matt Hillman is starting to surpass me as the SCIAC football soothsayer. It’s tough, but sometimes you just have to admit that picking div. 3 football based off of nonsensical battles between poets and tigers is a young man’s game. I’m going to take the week to reflect on this, and come back next week with possibly the final mascot matchup for SCIAC football ever.
4th down, clock winding down in the 4th quarter of the Battle for the Drum, Southern California’s oldest college football rivalry between the Occidental College Tigers and the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens. The Sagehens have the ball with the Oxy clinging to a slim 21-24 lead. As the players lined up for the ensuing play, everyone in Jack Kemp stadium rose to their feet, trying to cheer their team to victory. It was almost as if this were a real college football game.
Saturday night’s win by Oxy showed us what Occidental football has the potential to be. The play that I described above was the first time in my limited involvement with Tigers football that I have experienced fan support worthy of this prestigious program. Even when the Sagehens converted that fourth down, and eventually took the ball into the endzone to take the lead, the belief that the Tigers could win the game never seemed to fade.
This season has not gone the way that the Tigers would have hoped, but the way the team played Saturday night provides great hope for the future. Every facet of the game worked for Oxy. Mark Kuzbari not only kicked a career long 40 yd. field goal, but also averaged 44.3 yds per punt. The defense made big plays when it needed to. And of course, Tommy Edwards lit up the Sagehens while putting an exclamation point on the game with his near perfect two minute drill to lift the Tigers to victory.
Oxy has the opportunity to bring their SCIAC record to 3-3 with a win over Whittier tomorrow night at home. A late season charge by this team could really get this program back in the right direction towards regaining its former glory.
Cal Lutheran Kingsmen vs. Whittier Poets
A medieval battle of epic proportions the simple bard taking on the gallant knight of the realm. If anyone can come up with a scenario where Shakespeare could defeat a knight of the Round Table I would like to hear it.
Final Score: Cal Lu 56, Whittier 14
La Verne Leopards vs. Chapman Panthers
Panther or Leopard? Leopard or Panther? Same difference.
Final Score: La Verne 14, Chapman 14
Redlands Bulldogs vs. CMS Staggs
As my Tiger Talk colleague Matt Hillman says “if you add bull to any animal name its automatically the toughest animal.”
Final Score: Redlands 41, CMS 15
Occidental Tigers vs. Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens
In the battle for the drum on Oxy’s homecoming weekend, the sagehens shouldn’t even bother coming to Jack Kemp Stadium if they don’t want to end up as dinner.
Final Score: Oxy 125, Pomona 27
This past Saturday the Tigers football team picked up their first win of the 2012 season, and it was an extremely important victory for many reasons. It was coach Bill Redell’s first win as Oxy’s head coach, it was Tommy Edward’s first win as the team’s quarterback, but most importantly the win came on a day that the entire college paid tribute to a great football player, and an even better man, Andy Collins. Before the game Collins’ #1 jersey was retired, the first time such an honor has been bestowed upon someone in Oxy’s 125 year history. The three time SCIAC offensive player of the year, Collins, tragically passed away in August of 2011 at the age of 27. His family was presented with a framed No. 1 jersey accompanied by a huge ovation from the crowd just before kickoff. Unfortunately, there was one person who was not able to attend the event that would have liked to more than anyone, former Oxy quarterback Justin Goltz. Goltz, a quarterback for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League, expressed just how much his relationship means to him even to this day in this article written by Kirk Penton. I urge you to read the article to understand just how important Andy Collins was, and still is to Occidental.
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Bombers’ Goltz will never forget deceased friend
By KIRK PENTON, QMI Agency
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 Bombers QB Justin Goltz will never forget the impact former teammate and friend Andy Collins had on him. Collins died in August 2011. (QMI Agency/CHRIS PROCAYLO) |
WINNIPEG – Justin Goltz believes there’s a future for him in Winnipeg, that one day he’ll be slinging passes for the Blue and Gold.
The fourth-string quarterback, who has dressed in plenty of games over the past two seasons due to Buck Pierce’s injuries, will be in uniform once again on Monday in Montreal. Pierce is out with a concussion, and Goltz, the team’s developmental quarterback, as it calls him, will be on the sidelines once again.
Right there with him, even though he passed away 14 months ago, will be Andy Collins. Goltz will never forget the impact his former teammate and friend had on him while they were at Occidental College in Los Angeles.
“I’m trying to live out a dream for two of us now,” Goltz said. “Andy was my mentor, kind of my big brother in college. He was an incredible athlete with an incredible work ethic. He laid a foundation for me.”
Collins transferred from Oregon to Occidental when the Ducks wanted to make him a safety. He played at Occidental for three seasons, and they were 27-0 in games he started. When Collins was a junior, Goltz arrived on campus from his Michigan home as a freshman. Collins welcomed him with open arms, even though Goltz was technically the competition.
“I distinctly remember walking on the practice field,” Goltz said. “He was like, ‘This guy’s the future of Occidental College.’ He was just a very good, supportive guy. A great Christian, a man of God.”
They became fast friends and kept their friendship going after Collins graduated and got a tryout with the New York Giants, which was quite exciting for a small NCAA Division III school. Collins was unable to stick with the Giants, but he kept the dream alive for Goltz.
“(Occidental) wasn’t necessarily the best path to play pro football,” Goltz said, “and I saw him do it and I thought, ‘Why couldn’t I do it?’ So I just kind of followed in his footsteps and worked my ass off and I put in the work and was able to go to minicamp with Detroit.
“Nobody was happier for me than him. The dude was just an inspiration.”
Goltz joined the Bombers late in 2010 and was invited back to training camp in 2011. He was fourth on the depth chart and didn’t want to stick around on the practice roster, so he went back to the U.S. to look for playing time. When Joey Elliott suffered a torn ACL in Week 3, Goltz was brought back.
Collins, meanwhile, got married just after Goltz returned to Winnipeg. Collins’ wife, Brooke Olzendam, was a sideline reporter for CBS, and Collins decided he was going to get a job in the real world after bouncing around indoor leagues for a while.
He and his wife were still living in a hotel in Florida because they hadn’t found a house yet. Collins went down to the fitness centre on Aug. 1, 2011, and suffered a fatal heart attack while running on a treadmill. He was 27 years old. He had been married for 10 days.
“It was surreal, because Andy’s damn near super human,” Goltz said of getting that phone call. “The guy is stronger than anybody I ever met, faster than anybody I ever met.”
It turned out the arteries around Collins’ heart were abnormally small. That’s why it ultimately gave out. Goltz was 23 years old, and one of his best friends had just died of a heart attack.
“When he passed away it was a big point in my life, a big eye-opener,” Goltz said. “I felt an obligation to try and live a dream for the both of us.”
Trying to live a football dream for two people doesn’t pay the bills, but it is a big reason why he’s continuing to pursue his football dreams.
“It’s a huge factor,” he said. “I kind of take it as a burden to do it for the both of us at this point.”
The Bombers have shown their faith in Goltz by putting him on either the one-game injured list or the four-man reserve this season when he hasn’t dressed, meaning he still received his full salary no matter what. Some are calling for Goltz to get a start or two down the stretch since the Bombers are all but out of playoff contention at 3-10.
“I think I do have a solid future in Winnipeg,” Goltz said. “Obviously it’s pretty cloudy right now. I think they had an agenda coming into this year to kind of figure out who would be the successor in the future. I was kind of the developmental guy, and they told me that from the beginning. I understand my role here, but at the same time I’ve been here for two years and I’m very confident in my abilities.
“I’m not the one to speak up or speak against anything that they tell me, and they’ve been very loyal and very honest with me from the beginning, and everything they’ve told me has come to fruition. So day by day I just continue to work hard. I know eventually I’m going to get a chance and hopefully prove them right with my abilities and show the fans of Winnipeg why I’m here. I think my future here is bright. Eventually people will see that.”
Occidental College retired Collins’ No. 1 on Saturday night in Los Angeles before their game, the first time it has bestowed such an honour on a player. Goltz couldn’t attend because he was getting ready to go to Montreal on Sunday morning, continuing his pursuit of a starting quarterback job at the pro level.
And when that day comes, Andy Collins will be right there with him.
kirk.penton@sunmedia.ca
twitter.com/PentonKirk
Our first two podcasts are online and can be accessed by logging on to Oxy’s Stretch Network web portal at http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/oxy.portal#. Just search for Tiger Talk, click listen, and enjoy.
Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens vs. Cal Lutheran Kingsmen
Likely outcome of this game for the sagehens
Poor Cecil the Sagehen, he can never catch a break. Crushed by an Oak tree in week 1, pulverized by the pioneers in week 2, and now he has to go up against the one of the toughest warriors in the history of the world. With virtually no weapons to launch an offensive attack, and only feathers to act as protection there’s only one strategy here for Cecil, Run! Perhaps the kingsmen will show some mercy.
Final Score: Pomona 0, Cal Lu 63
La Verne Leopards vs. CMS Staggs
Without question the leopard is the superior predator in this contest. However, this will be its downfall. Charging in with overconfidence the leopard will go in for an early kill shot, but to counter this all the stagg has to do is dip its head and wait for the leopard to collide with its antlers. Sometimes doing less is more.
Final Score: La Verne 21, CMS 24
Occidental Tigers vs. Redlands Bulldogs
You’re Pick
Chapman Panthers vs. Whittier Poets
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: the razor sharp claw to the jugular is mightier than the pen.
Final Score: Chapman 24, Whittier 7
I love seeing parents support their kids sports teams. But this makes me wonder how happy stores are when Oxy parents come in to buy all these tiger hats. New business model, put a tiger on something and set up shop in Eagle Rock.
La Verne Leopards vs. Menlo Oaks
This seems pretty self explanatory, but I’ll walk through it anyway. First of all the average life expectancy of a leopard is about 21-23 years, compared to the hundreds of years an Oak tree can live. There must be a reason for that. Second, have you ever noticed that leopards do not live in areas where there a native Oak trees? Coincidence, doubtful. Finally, Oak leaves have those little points on them that really hurt when you step on them. It all ads up to a Menlo victory.
Final Score: La Verne 17, Menlo 49
Chapman Panthers vs. Whitworth Pirates
A pirate is aboard his ship, and all of a sudden a panther jumps out at him how do you think he is going to react? I’m gonna assume he will panic. When you panic and have a firearm your first option is going to be to use it. The single shot, black powder pistol that the pirate has has somewhere around a zero percent chance of taking out the panther. Even if the gunpowder doesn’t explode or the gun doesn’t jam from the moisture in the air from the sea, the pistol is probably only accurate to about 3 feet. The quick moving panther would be too difficult to hit. Once this option is used the pirate has no choice, but to go for his sword. This will give the panther the opportunity to take the pirate down.
Final Score: Chapman 23, Whitworth 13
Whittier Poets vs. Puget Sound Loggers
This is a tough one to pick. The Logger definitely has better weapons with an ax and a chainsaw, but the poet is most likely smarter. I’m going to say that the poet confuses the logger with a barrage of Sonnets, then takes him out with a quill.
Whittier 10, Puget Sound 7
This Saturday night at 6:00 pm your Occidental Volleyball team will be taking on the Cal Lutheran Regals in a rematch of last year’s SCIAC Championship Tournament finalists. This will be Oxy’s biggest test of the season so far, and taking down CLU could set the tone for an even greater season than the Tiger’s playoff run last year. With this game having so much at stake, and it being the first home volleyball game of the season I think that it’s only fitting that we pack Rush to support the team. You can’t ask for a better way to start your saturday night than watching the two of the best teams in the country square off, and the opportunity to yell at Cal Lutheran parents. See you out there.
I don’t know who is in charge of the way cross country results are organized, but they don’t do a very good job. If you have to use the find feature on a computer in order to figure out how your school did in a sporting event it might be time for a new system. To help get everyone on the cross country team a little recognition here is a list of all the times from this past weekends UCR Invite.
UCR INVITE
| MEN | Team Results | ||||||
| Place | Runner | Time | Place | Team | Points | ||
| 21 | Cole Williams | 26:43.6 | 1 | Claremont | 49 | ||
| 28 | Louis Jochems | 27:03.7 | 2 | CSU San Marcos | 73 | ||
| 43 | Charlie Sauter | 27:41.1 | 3 | Pomona-Pitzer | 94 | ||
| 71 | Sam Fogel | 28:37.6 | 4 | Occidental | 100 | ||
| 77 | Shawn Dunn | 28:55.0 | 5 | Concordia | 122 | ||
| 90 | Kyle Fukui | 29:11.0 | 6 | Redlands | 145 | ||
| 102 | Robbie George | 29:36.6 | 7 | Riverside CC | 191 | ||
| 122 | Tyler Radler | 30:23.6 | 7 | Cal Tech | 191 | ||
| 131 | Jayson Yuter | 31:00.8 | 9 | Cal Coast TC | 238 | ||
| 148 | Andrew Imthurn | 32:59.0 | 10 | Chapman | 282 | ||
| 154 | Jackson Atwater | 33:37.7 | 11 | Whittier | 298 | ||
| Women | |||||||
| Place | Runner | Time | Place | Team | Points | ||
| 34 | Megan Lang | 19:10.6 | 1 | CSU San Marcos | 30 | ||
| 37 | Deanna Dupuy | 19:13.8 | 2 | Concordia | 61 | ||
| 52 | Tara Saxena | 19:36.4 | 3 | Claremont | 108 | ||
| 81 | Megan Bull | 20:15.3 | 4 | Southern Utah | 142 | ||
| 103 | Lydia Harmon | 20:37.5 | 5 | Cal Poly Pomona | 148 | ||
| 114 | Jennifer Zhu | 20:50.5 | 6 | Pomona-Pitzer | 208 | ||
| 116 | Lila Singer-Berk | 20:51.9 | 7 | Occidental | 211 | ||
| 128 | Dani Lyons | 21:11.5 | 8 | USD | 212 | ||
| 138 | Lily Hochman | 21:28.4 | 8 | LA Trade Tech | 212 | ||
| 10 | Whittier | 230 | |||||
| 11 | Western New Mexico | 329 | |||||
| 12 | Redlands | 333 | |||||
| 13 | Cal Tech | 361 | |||||
| 14 | Riverside CC | 385 | |||||
| 15 | CSU San Bernardino | 416 | |||||
| 16 | Chapman | 478 | |||||
| 17 | Cal State LA | 496 | |||||
| 18 | Pepperdine | 572 | |||||
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