Whittier College Football ended the 2008 season with the Battle
for the Shoes against arch rival Occidental College on November
15. Last season, the Poets recovered the Shoes for the first
time since 2000 in a 67-61 shootout with the Tigers at Memorial
Stadium. This year, the Poets fell on the road to Division
III's #15 team by a score of 48-14 as they finish with a 1-8
overall record and 0-6 record in SCIAC play.
Whittier struggled to move the ball throughout the game,
accumulating just 99 yards of total offense. Occidental took
advantage on their way to a 27-0 lead at the halftime break.
The Poets didn't get on the board until the 8:26 mark of the fourth
quarter. With the score 41-0, Brandon Boehm '10 intercepted a
pass and took it 47 yards for a touchdown.
On the ensuing Occidental possession, Brandon Johnson '10 forced
and recovered a fumble to give the Poets the ball with 6:48
left. Anthony Pomponio '09 then capped a 48-yard drive with a
ten-yard touchdown run to make the score 41-14. It is the
sixth straight game Pomponio has recorded a touchdown. The
Tigers tacked on one more touchdown with just over a minute left in
the game and took back the shoes with the 48-14 victory.
Pomponio carried the ball 19 times for 46 yards and a
touchdown. He finishes a stellar senior campaign with 920
rushing yards and ten rushing touchdowns. He also had 21
receptions out of the backfield for 160 yards and two scores.
Shawn Briggs '09 had three receptions for 49 yards. He led
the Poets this season with 35 receptions for 488 yards and five
touchdowns.
