WHITTIER, Calif.  (Sept. 11, 2021) – Sophomore quarterback Sebastian Pimentel (Whittier, Calif. / California) and senior wide receiver Hakim Williams Jr. (Covina, Calif. / Covina) connected for the first two scores of the year for the Whittier College football team during Saturday's home opener against SCIAC foe Pomona-Pitzer Colleges.

The two local players first found the end zone on a 26-yard pass in the second quarter to cap off a six-play, 70-yard drive and cut into the Sagehens' early lead. The score would also be Pimentel's longest completed pass of the night, but not the Poets'. The longest gain through the air came on a trick play where senior wide receiver Moises Gonzalez (Long Beach, Calif. / Long Beach Poly) rolled out to his right and found freshman position mate Tyson Tapley (Scottsdale, Ariz. Desert Mountain) down the field for a 33-yard completion. Gonzalez's ambitious throw would help set up Pimentel's first touchdown pass to Williams. The second touchdown came on a seven-yard grab in the fourth quarter. While Williams did most of his damage on his two scoring plays, Tapley led the Poets in receiving six catches for 76 yards. The rookie's 11 catches for 124 yards currently leads the team. 

Sophomore linebacker Omar Lua (Pomona, Calif. / Pomona) made plays on the defensive side of the ball for the Poets. Lua tagged the Sagehens with their biggest loss of the game, a 12-yard sack in the first quarter that also resulted in a forced fumble that would be recovered by the offense. Sophomore defensive back Blake Boucher (Chino Hills, Calif. / Damien) and junior linebacker Enrique Santana (Inglewood, Calif. / Salesian) together paced Whittier with eight total tackles apiece while Santana added a five-yard sack. Meanwhile, junior kicker Noah Handel (Laguna Beach, Calif. / Laguna Beach) hammered home a 35-yard field goal to give the home team its first points of the season.

Saturday's home-opener was played on the 20th anniversary of September 11, 2001. In honor of Patriot Day, Whittier recognized its four student-veterans at halftime: Raymond Johnston, Andrew Romero, Vitalyi Tractenberg, and Liza Vasquez.

Head Coach Mike Neale and the Poets will head to the Pacific Northwest for next weekend's game, where they will pay a visit to Lewis & Clark College on Saturday, Sept. 18.

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