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Football Gary Pine

Cougars Pick Apart Whittier

AZUSA, Calif. –  Jolted by a lightning bolt in the first minute of the game, the NAIA's No. 19-ranked Azusa Pacific nonetheless recovered in rather impressive fashion by methodically dismantling Whittier College for a 31-12 nonconference victory Saturday night.
 
Whittier wasted little time putting points on the board, scoring on the second play of the game when reserve QB Sam Winner, starting in place of the injured Mark Mejia (knee), hooked up with Kenny Bohman on an 85-yard catch-and-run just 65 seconds into the game.
 
Yet that was all the Whittier offense would muster the rest of the night.  Azusa Pacific took control of both sides of the line and cruised in for its seventh straight win over Whittier.
 
"We got great push on both sides of the ball tonight," said Azusa Pacific head coach Peter Shinnick.  "The o-line did what we thought they were capable of.  Now we just have to get them doing that every game."
 
The Cougars responded to Whittier's opening strike by scoring touchdowns on their first 2 possessions.  Junior WR Jimmy Travis capped an 8-play, 73-yard drive when he took a Luke Winslow pass and plowed 21 yards down the right sideline to put the Cougars up 7-6.
 
"I keep asking the coach and Luke for the ball," said Travis, "and when the ball came this time, I said, 'let's see what I can do.'  And it turned out well."
 
Winslow then found a stretching Lathian Tyler in the middle of the end zone for 33-yard TD strike to push the Cougar lead to 14-6 less than 10 minutes into the game.
 
"I took a little ibuprofen, had the adrenalin pumping and I felt OK," said Tyler, who entered the game with sore ribs.  "I'm a little man so I rely on my vision and I'm already low to the ground.  The line gave me some good blocks and I was just reading them tonight."
 
Sophomore PK Matt Ryburn closed out the first-half scoring with a career-long 38-yard field goal with 51 seconds remaining.
 
Unlike it's opening drive of the game, Whittier's first possession of the second half ended in disaster.  Cougar FS David Lum picked off a Winner pass over the middle and returned it 32 yards for his first-ever touchdown, improving the Cougar lead to 24-6.
 
"I happen to in the right place at the right time," said Lum.  "We had a little letdown in that first series but we didn't let that stay with us.  We fought back, stayed focus on what we needed to do."
 
Sophomore TB Dan Gray capped the Cougars' scoring with his first collegiate TD on a 12-yard blast up the middle with less than a minute left in the third quarter.
 
Thanks to a pair of 15-yard penalties on the Cougar defense, Whittier found itself with a first-and-goal situation at the Cougar 4-yard line early in the fourth quarter.  However, the Cougar defense held on 4 consecutive plays to thwart the Poets' scoring threat.  Whittier added 7 points for its finally tally when Bohman returned a punt 89 with 8 minutes remaining in the game.
 
Winslow, who spearheaded a Cougar offense that chewed up 401 yards in total offense, finished 12-of-23 passing for 130 yards and 2 TDs.  With the effort, he moved pass Geoff Buffum (1998) and Dave Williams (1980-83) and into fifth place on the all-time Cougar passing chart with 3,162 yards.
 
Tyler tallied his second straight 100-yard rushing game, registering 144 yard on 23 carries (6.3 avg.).  All-American LB Jeremiah Beery led the Cougar defense with 6 tackles, including 1 for loss.
 
"Our line was really blocking well which opened up Lathian," added Shinnick, "and even when they didn't block well, he ran well."
 
Whittier accumulated 276 yards in total offense, but just 191 after the second play of the game.  Winner was 12-for-27 passing for 167 yards and 2 picks.
 
The win moves the Cougars' record to 2-1 on the season.  Whittier falls to 0-3.
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