Box Score Photo by: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com
CLAREMONT, Calif. – For the first time since 2011 the Whittier College Football team has been shutout as they fell 24-0 to the Sagehens of Pomona-Pitzer Saturday evening at Merritt Field.
The last time the Purple & Gold were held scoreless was back in 2011 when they fell 56-0 to Cal Lutheran University. With the loss the Poets drop to 2-4, 1-3 SCIAC, while Pomona-Pitzer improves to 1-5, 1-3 SCIAC.
Whittier who was coming off a big win over La Verne last weekend where they put up 36 points and forced six takeaways was held to a season low 176 (109 passing/67 Rushing) yards of total offense.
Special teams led the way for the Sagehens beginning in the second quarter. With 8:56 left, Pomona-Pitzer punted the ball away, and Whittier made an attempt to field it at the 10-yard line. The ball squirted through, and Poet players cleared out, but Will Lata pursued the ball into the end zone and fell on it. After the officials conferred, they ruled that the ball had tipped off Whittier's hands and awarded the Sagehens the touchdown.
The 7-0 lead held until the second half, when Pomona-Pitzer used another special teams break to score again, as Zach Harris came through up the middle to block a punt at the Whittier 33-yard line. The ball bounced free, and Kyle Whelan was able to pick it up, stay on his feet, and scamper into the end zone for the touchdown to make the score 14-0 at the 8:13 mark of the third quarter.
Pomona-Pitzer continued to come up with big plays in key spots, including a forced fumble of Brandon Pickens (Gilroy, Calif.) in the third quarter, which was picked up by Evan Lloyd, which ended in a 26-yard field goal by Kevin Masini.
Whittier tried to comeback in the fourth attempting to convert on 4th and 1 at the 40 but Lloyd came up with a big tackle to stop running back Erek Brown (San Dimas, Calif.) for a one-yard loss. This gave the ball back to the Sagehens which they would take 59 yards in 11 plays eating up 6:39 on the clock ending in a touchdown run by Alex Bresler that gave the final blow to the Purple & Gold.
The Poets would attempt to get on the scoreboard late in the fourth but a Steven Rivera (El Monte, Calif.) pass would be tipped up in the air and picked off by Bulolo Jonga with 28 seconds left that secured the victory and shutout for the Sagehens.
Pickens was 6-16 for 58 yards in three quarters of play, while Rivera was 5-9 for 51 yards in the fourth. Marcell Blow (Lompoc, Calif.) led the rushing attack with 49 yards on nine attempts, while Zachary Ouderkerken (Fullerton, Calif.) hauled in a career high three receptions for 49 yards, with a long being 11.
On defense, Sam Bettencourt (Downey, Calif.) had 14 tackles (8 solo/6 assisted), while Trevor Phillips (La Habra, Calif.) had 11 (4 solo/11 tackles) and a sack.
Whittier returns home to Memorial Stadium next Saturday, November 1 when they host the University of Redlands beginning at 1:05pm.
