Box Score LOS ANGELES, Calif. – It has been four years since the Poets have hoisted the coveted shoes fought over year after year by Whittier and Occidental but Saturday evening the Purple & Gold prevailed in the 67th "Battle of the Shoes" bringing the shoes home in a 61-30 rout of Occidental College at Jack Kemp Stadium.
The last time the Poets have held the shoes it was back in 2007 when Josh Scurlock led the Poets to a 67-61 overtime victory that propelled the Poets to a 4-5, 3-3 SCIAC record.
Whittier this season has now emerged back to .500 with a 4-4, 3-3 SCIAC record, while Occidental drops to 2-6, 2-4 SCIAC. The win marks only the seventh time the Poets have won a match-up against Occidental in the last 32 years.
The Poets used a 41-0 run beginning with 1:23 to go in the first quarter capped off with a touchdown to open up the second half to spoil the Tigers senior day. Turnovers proved costly for the Tigers as Whittier turned four takeaways into 21 points.
The Tigers jumped out to an early lead just 40 seconds in when Tommy Edwards connected with Kwame Do in the flat who took it to the house for a 62 yard touchdown reception. On the Tigers next possession they were looking at a 2nd and five but Edwards was sacked by Brandon Wilcox, which forced a fumble, which was recovered by Charles Scicli. This put the Poets deep in Oxy territory but WC was unable to come away with any points as Douglas Soriano's field goal was blocked keeping the score at 7-0.
On the Tigers ensuing possession they went down the length of the field in eight plays capped off with a touchdown grab by Do that put the Tigers up 14-0 giving them a lead they would soon forget as Whittier went on to tally six straight touchdowns that encompassed all of the second quarter and the start of the third. Whittier got things started at the end of the first quarter when they went 75 yards in 5 plays capped off by a 50 yard touchdown scamper down the sideline by Rufus Osby that cut the deficit to 14-7.
This touchdown run would only spark the Poet offense and get the defensive unit hyped because opening up the second quarter, Tyquion Ballard forced a fumble, which was recovered by Alex Mitchell, which stopped an Occidental scoring drive at the Whittier 7. The Purple & Gold then capitalized going the length of the field going 93 yards in 15 plays covering 4:58 finished with a touchdown grab by Dameron Fooks that evened the score at 14-14.
After the defensive unit forced a three and out by Oxy, the Poets again went 71 yards in four plays capped off by a 27 yard pass and catch from Steven Rivera to Kimble Tillman who gave the Poets their first lead of the contest 21-14.
On the ensuing kickoff, the Whittier special teams got into the mix as Steele Frey forced a fumble on Mawhinney on the Oxy 10 that was recovered by Antonio Desmaris that got the Poet offensive unit in the red zone and on the first play from scrimmage Rivera found Fooks in the back of the endzone that extended the Poet lead to 27-14.
The next series for Oxy proved costly as Whittier's special teams again forced a turnover as senior John O'Malley was able to come off the end to block the Kuzbari punt that again put the Poets in striking distance. Whittier again only needed a short field to punch it in and in a rare offensive call, Head Coach Todd Stratton decided to call a halfback pass from Tillman to Fooks that wrapped up the second quarter.
On the Tigers opening series in the second half, they threatened after a 23 yard kickoff return by Rodriguez but on the next play, Ballard came away with a big interception down the sideline to the Whittier 2 that again stopped a short field opportunity for the black and orange.
The Poets then went the length of the field once more going 98 yards in 8 plays covering 3:19 thanks to a huge grab by Tillman who went 56 yards before being brought down at the Oxy 40. After three straight receptions to Matt Asaro, Rivera found a wide open Tillman in the endzone 13 yards out that moved the score to 41-14.
The Tigers used two touchdown passes from Edwards to pull within 13 points with seven minutes left in the third quarter, but their comeback hopes fell short when Tillman ran back the ensuing kickoff for his first collegiate kickoff return touchdown going 97 yards to put the Poets back up by 20 48-28.
After a big fourth down stop by the Poet defense, Whittier used 3:44 to drive 78 yards in 10 plays to open the fourth capped off with a scoring strike to Tillman who scampered in from 22 yards out. On the Poets next series, Rivera connected with Fooks once again from 26 yards out and after a blocked extra point, which was run back by the Tigers, the score was set at 61-30, which proved to be the final points either team would gather for the rest of the quarter.
Whittier who came in with one of the top five offenses in the country, finished with 561 yards of total offense (383 Passing; 178 Rushing), while Occidental totaled 489 with all of the yards coming through the air.
Rivera led the passing attack throwing for 380 yards to go with a career high six touchdowns, while Tillman and Fooks had breakout games combining for nine touchdowns. Tillman hauled in 8 catches for 142 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw for a touchdown and ran a kickoff back. Fooks finished with 12 receptions for 138 yards and four touchdowns.
On the ground, Whittier was led by Osby who ran for 115 yards on 14 carries, while Anthony Walker registered 70 yards on 12 attempts.
These incredible numbers both through the air and on the ground are due in large part to a healthy offensive line who has been an integral part of the offense this season behind a line consisted of Patrick Sweigart, Oscar Hernandez, Timothy St. Marie, Efrain Gonzalez, and Idean Vandi.
The Oxy field position was due in large part to the tremendous punting display by Alex Jungsten who totaled four punts for 173 yards with a long being of 63, which is a career high. This helped the defensive unit led by Taylor Holland who finished with 12 tackles (10 solo, 2 Assist), while Ballard and Scicli finished with 10 a piece. Whittier forced four turnovers, including three fumbles by Wilcox, Ballard, and Frey, while Nathan Poole, Wilcox, and Juan Diego Temple registered a combined four sacks.
The Purple & Gold look to grab their first home victory of the season as they host the Bulldogs of the University of Redlands, Saturday, November 10 beginning at 1:00pm in their final game of 2012.
