With “Extreme Desire” and “Mental Toughness”, Head Coach Mike Maynard led the Bulldogs to their 28th Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship and fifth NCAA appearance during the 2007 campaign.  In a season that resulted in an 8-2 overall record, the Bulldogs left their mark on the records book as one of the best teams in Redlands football history.  The team captured a share of the coveted title with a 5-1 SCIAC mark and advanced onto the playoffs as the automatic bid.

The season opened with excitement as the Bulldogs traveled to Whitworth University (WA) for a challenging showdown with the Pirates.  A traditionally tough opponent, Redlands accomplished the unlikely feat of defeating them on their field, earning the accolade of being the only school from Southern California to ever do so.  Despite going down 0-10 in the first quarter, the Bulldogs settled into an impressive comeback by scoring more than 10 points while shutting out the Pirates in two quarters.  With two touchdowns by junior running back Zach Schafer (Saugus, CA), Redlands upset then-ranked #16 Whitworth by a score of 24-12.

This was just the beginning for the Bulldogs as they rattled off two more non-conference wins, dominating Haskell Indian Nations University (KS), 42-7, and fighting for a competitive victory over Chapman University, 12-0.  Prior to the Haskell game, the Bulldogs enjoyed the unique experience of sharing dinner with their opponents and learning more about the Native American Indian way of life.

With a 3-0 record, Redlands broke into the D3football.com rankings at #25 for the first time in many years.  In the opening game of SCIAC competition, the Bulldogs faltered against reigning champion Occidental College, 21-28.  Despite defeating the Tigers in just about every statistical category, Redlands came up short in the score line and suffered a heartbreaking loss.  A bright note of this game came as junior quarterback Dan Selway (Villa Park, CA) made 30 completions on 59 attempts for 428 yards to break into the Bulldogs’ top-10 lists for each category.

Nonetheless, the Bulldogs refused to go away and instead rattled off five consecutive wins in conference.  Against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, graduate student wide receiver Kyle Godfrey (Apple Valley, CA) notched the second-most receiving yards in school history for a single game with 239 on nine catches and two touchdowns.  The Bulldogs came away with a solid 53-23 victory over the Sagehens.

After defeating conference rival Claremont-Mudd-Scripps by a score of 49-21, the Bulldogs took on the University of La Verne in an unusual Homecoming game.  Due to the uncertainty of air quality during the Southern California wildfires, Redlands moved the game to Palm Desert High School.  Regardless of the new venue, the Bulldogs remained focused and dismantled the Leopards, 45-17.  In this exciting showdown, Redlands looked to seven different players to score, including a 33-yard reception by sophomore wide receiver Sean Scott (Bellevue, WA) late in the fourth quarter.

In the final home game of the season, the Bulldogs hosted Whittier College and cruised to a 59-6 victory over the Poets.  This marked the fifth game during the 2007 campaign in which Redlands scored 40 or more points.  The Bulldogs exploded with 23 points in the first quarter and never looked back.  With impressive efficiency, the team established a new school record for total offense at 677 yards.  Selway dispersed passes to 12 different receivers for 452 yards while 10 ball carriers tallied 225 rushing yards.  Once again, the Bulldogs relied on a diversified scoring crew as eight players broke into the Poet end zone.

This strong performance set up an important game against the Kingsmen of Cal Lutheran University, who sat undefeated in conference at the time.  Redlands faced a must-win situation and hoped for the best around the SCIAC to determine its playoff fate.  A three-way tie would send CLU to the NCAA Championships due to the “Rose Bowl” rule, which benefited the team that had not been in the longest time.  If Oxy suffered an unlikely loss to the Poets, a tie between the Kingsmen and Redlands would bode well for the Bulldogs, given the head-to-head results.  But first, Redlands had to take care of business.

The Bulldogs jumped out early by capturing a 17-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.  Although the Kingsmen pulled within three at the half, Redlands responded by scoring three touchdowns and gave up only one field goal in the reminder of the game.  Freshman defensive back Mike Nicolini (Novato, CA) aided the team’s scoring efforts with a 28-yard interception return into the end zone.  With the 34-17 win, the Bulldogs earned a share of the conference title, marking the program’s 28th championship.

After doing their part against CLU, the Bulldogs now waited to see if Whittier would help them out by defeating Oxy.  In a marathon game, the Poets overcame the Tigers by a wild score of 67-61.  The result was a head-to-head tie between the Bulldog and the Kingsmen, giving Redlands the automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.

The Bulldogs headed to the playoffs for the fifth time in school history and faced St. John’s University (MN), which is the winningest Division III football program of all time.  Redlands made the trek to the wintry conditions of Minnesota to represent the West Region.  Although the Bulldogs came up short in their quest to win a playoff game, they competed with enthusiasm, integrity and conviction.  The #8 Johnnies sent Redlands home with a 13-41 loss to end the season.

To wrap up a solid season, the Bulldogs gained 14 players on the All-SCIAC Teams, with Selway earning Offensive Player of the Year honors.  He was joined on the First Team by Godfrey, Schafer, senior tight end Jake Lacey (Ontario, OR), graduate student offensive lineman D.J. Tano (Kailua, HI), and junior offensive lineman Jared Schwass (Ukiah, CA).  Junior running back Tom Romaine (Ahwatukee, AZ) earned his first All-SCIAC award with a spot on the Second Team.  On defense, the Bulldogs gained five First Team performers in senior linebacker Kris Richardson (Ahwatukee, AZ), junior defensive linemen Gavril Gabriel (Downey, CA) and Brock Arndt (Valencia, CA), and senior defensive backs Jerel Garcia (Belen, NM) and Conor Drake (Jackson, CA).  Junior defensive lineman Mitch Crocco (New Castle, WA) and junior linebacker Eddie Stamm (Portland, OR) represented Redlands on the Second Team for defense.  In addition, Godfrey, Gabriel, and Arndt landed on the d3football.com All-West Region Second Team.

With an 8-2 overall record and a 5-1 mark in SCIAC, the 2007 edition of Bulldog football achieved great success during this exciting season.  Beyond the win column, Redlands landed on various all-time individual and team school records while reestablishing the program as one of the best in the country.  The Bulldogs finished out the season with a national ranking of #19 and were one of 32 teams to compete in the NCAA Championships.  While graduating seven important players will be difficult, the team looks forward to the continued contributions of the returning squad, which included nearly 35 rookies.  As the foundation for success remains steady, the Redlands football team holds high expectations for even more impressive showings in the seasons to come.