Josh Scurlock '08 ended his Whittier College career throwing for
seven touchdowns and running for another to lead the Poets to a
67-61 victory over SCIAC rival, nationally ranked #24 Occidental
College, at Memorial Field on November 10. The win marks the
first time the Poets have beaten Occidental since 2000.
The offenses wasted no time finding the end-zone as both teams
scored on their opening possession. Occidental got the ball
first, and orchestrated a seven-play, 70-yard drive that ended with
a 37-yard touchdown pass from Justin Goltz to Joseph
Coverson. The Poets scored on their ensuing possession, going
78 yards in ten plays with Kevin Cullina '08 catching a 16-yard
touchdown pass from Scurlock. The extra point was missed,
making the score 7-6. Whittier took the lead on their next
possession, when Shawn Briggs '08 caught Scurlock's second
touchdown pass of the day, this one from eight yards out.
Scurlock converted on the two-point conversion with a pass to Chris
Delgado '11 to give the Poets a 14-7 lead. Occidental tied
the score at the end of the first quarter with a 33-yard touchdown
pass from Goltz to Chris Washington.
The Poets scored twice to start the second quarter. The
first came on an eleven-yard touchdown pass from Scurlock to Josh
Ollison '11 to take a 21-14 lead. After the Poet defense
forced a punt on the Tigers' next possession, Scurlock and Ollison
hooked up on the first play of the drive for an 80-yard touchdown
pass to extend the lead to 27-14 after the extra point was
blocked. Occidental answered back with two scores of their
own before the end of the half. The first was a 16-yard pass
from Goltz to Washington, the second a 34-yard touchdown reception
by Coverson with 1:13 left in the half. The extra point gave
Occidental a 28-27 lead at the halftime break.
The third quarter belonged to Whittier, as they outscored
Occidental 20-0 in the quarter. It started with Ollison
catching his third touchdown pass of the day, this one a ten-yard
strike to put the Poets back out in front. They were unable
to convert the two-point conversion to make the score 33-28.
Chris Gartrell intercepted his second pass of the year on the
Tigers' next possession to give the ball back to Scurlock and the
Whittier offense. They took advantage, driving the ball 80
yards on nine plays with Scurlock rushing into the end-zone from
two-yards out. He also ran in the two-point conversion to put
Whittier up 41-28. Another Occidental three-and-out put the
ball back in Scurlock's hands and four plays later, he found Briggs
for a 56-yard touchdown reception. Another missed extra point
kept the score at 47-28.
The fourth quarter saw the two teams combine for 53 points.
It started with Occidental putting together a 15-play scoring drive
that carried over from the third quarter. A one-yard
touchdown run from Clary Jeffrey made the score 47-35 with 13:34
left in the game. On the ensuing possession, Anthony Pomponio
'09 scampered 72-yards for a touchdown on the first play of the
drive to put the Poets back out in front by 18 points
(53-35). The Poets defense came up with another big play on
the next Tiger possession. Sean MacNeil '09 intercepted a
pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Scurlock
punched in the two-point conversion to give Whittier a 61-35 lead
with 12:49 left. Occidental scored on a Bryan Fiorito
ten-yard touchdown run three minutes later. The Poets were
able to score once more with six minutes left in the game when
Scurlock and Briggs connected for an 18-yard touchdown pass for
what appeared to be a comfortable 67-48 lead.
The Poets defense did their job again, forcing a turnover on downs
from the Tiger offense. Three plays later, however, a
Whittier fumble gave Occidental great field position with 3:12 left
in the game. They capitalized on their next play as backup
quarterback Danny Southwick found Jason Lehman for a 25-yard
touchdown pass. Their two-point conversion failed leaving the
score at 67-48. On the ensuing kick-off, the Tigers recovered
an on-side kick to get the ball back with three minutes left.
Fiorito ran the ball in from five yards out just over a minute
later. Another two-point conversion failed and the score
remained 67-54. The Poets offense went three-and-out on their
next possession, giving the ball back to Occidental after a
punt. Three plays later, a 50-yard touchdown pass from
Southwick to Coverson, followed by the extra point made the score
67-61 with 23 seconds left in the game. Once again, the
Tigers recovered the on-side kick, giving them a chance to win the
game in the closing seconds. Southwick completed a pass to
Coverson to put the Tigers into Whittier territory with ten seconds
left in the game. Twice, Occidental threw deep passes for the
end-zone, and both times the Poet defense was able to keep the ball
out of the hands of Tiger receivers. The final whistle blew
three hours and forty minutes after kick-off, with the Poets on top
67-61.
Scurlock finished with 443 yards on 25-of-40 passing with seven
touchdowns and two interceptions. He set Whittier College
single-game records with the seven touchdown passes and 443 passing
yards. He also rushed for 105 yards and another score.
He finishes 2007 with a single-season record 2,650 yards of total
offense. He was just two completions short of setting the
record for completions in a season and three touchdown passes short
of the season record. He leaves Whittier with career passing
records in yards (6,439) and touchdowns (50).
Pomponio rushed for 120 yards on just 13 carries, including a
72-yard touchdown run. The Whittier College receiving corps
had a huge day, led by Briggs who caught ten passes for 140 yards
and three touchdowns. Ollison finished with six receptions
for 163 yards and three touchdowns. Cullina also caught six
passes, accounting for 71 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, the Poets were led by Arlo Castelo '08 who had seven
tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. MacNeil had four tackles
and a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown. Gartrell
and Matt Gocke '09 also had interceptions.
The Poets set team records with 30 first downs in the game.
Their 695 yards of total offense was just 13 yards short of the
single game record set in 1959 against Pomona.
The Poets finish their season 3-3 in conference play in fourth
place. Their 4-5 overall record is the best finish for a
Poets team since 2000.
