SportsDirect Inc. staff
Oct 1, 2010
Luke Collis threw three touchdown passes, including an 8-yarder to Nate Sullivan with 6:40 left in the fourth quarter, as Occidental defeated Whittier 25-22 in the 67th Battle of the Shoes on Saturday.
The teams had split the previous meetings 33-33.
Collis finished 22 of 30 for 214 yards.
Collis connected with Bobby Phillips for a 14-yard touchdown pass to give Occidental (2-1) a 7-3 lead in the first quarter, and Chandler Tunney with an 11-yard touchdown pass to give the Tigers a 14-3 lead in the second quarter.
Whittier's Josh Ollison scored two touchdowns in the third quarter - a 73-yard run and a 24-yard catch - to give Whitter (1-2) a 16-14 lead. The second point after attempt failed.
After Joshua Mun's 35-yard field goal gave the Tigers a 17-16 lead, Rodrigo Muratalla's 2-yard run put the Poets in front 22-17. The two-point try was no good.
Eric Cejudo's 37-yard field goal in the first quarter gave Whittier a 3-0 lead.
Occidental held Kimble Tillman to 58 yards rushing. He rushed for 238 yards and three touchdowns in the Poets' 42-39 victory over Puget Sound in six overtimes last week.
Occidental has won 19 of the last 24 meetings.