LOS ANGELES — When the Doug Semones era in Occidental College football officially kicks off it will be in Forrest Grove, Ore.
A trip to meet Northwest Conference foe Pacific (Ore.) on Sept. 14 opens the Tigers 2013 schedule, released on Wednesday. Oxy faces the Boxers and has one non-conference home game against Austin College on Sept. 21 before their first SCIAC competition against Redlands on Oct. 5.
The Tigers homecoming game is Oct. 19 against Chapman, the second time in three years that Oxy has met up with the Panthers with alumni packing the stands.
Oxy's two famous rivalry games will be away from campus. The Tigers play at Whittier on Nov. 9, trying to reclaim the "Shoes" trophy and at Pomona-Pitzer on Nov. 2 in the Battle for the Drum, the oldest college football rivalry in Southern California. The Tigers split the games last season, beating Pomona-Pitzer 31-27 and losing to Whittier 61-30.
Oxy will be underneath the lights for most of the season, playing six games at 7 p.m. and the other three at 1 p.m. Oxy plays at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Oct. 12, at Pomona-Pitzer on Nov. 2 and at home against La Verne in the season finale on Nov. 16, all during the day.
Oxy went 2-7 last season, but has a new coach, a new attitude and most of its core players returning, minus star wide receiver Matthew Tuckness (Alamo), utility player Ryan Rodriguez (Oakley) and key defensive lineman Casey Shibuya (Kahala, Hawaii).
Senior Tommy Edwards (Sherman Oaks), who joined all-time Oxy great Andy Collins as the only Oxy quarterbacks on record to throw for 2,900 yards, leads the way offensively. His top target will be junior wide receiver Samuel Stekol (Manhattan Beach), who should be among the best wide receivers in the SCIAC next year.
Protecting Edwards will be five returning offensive lineman, led by senior right guard Dalton Spinas(Atascadero).
On the defensive side of the ball, the Tigers return linebacker Matt Matulaitis (Simi Valley), defensive backs Jordan Lance (San Diego) and Shay Mueller (El Dorado Hills) and defensive lineman Michael Gilliam (Songtan, South Korea) and Dallas Gosselin (Bothell, Wash.).