Game Ebbs and Flows but in End Cal Lutheran Loses Fight, 26-17

WHITTIER —  Cal Lutheran lost a seesaw battle largely because of Shaun Battles.

Battles rushed for 233 yards and three second-half touchdowns and left the Kingsmen in his wake as Whittier beat Cal Lutheran, 26-17, in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game Saturday night at Newman Memorial Stadium.

Battles scored on runs of 86, seven and 31 yards, and his second touchdown put the Poets ahead for good at 20-17.

Battles scored again on his team’s next possession to secure the first victory of the season for the Poets (1-7, 1-3 in the SCIAC). Cal Lutheran (3-5, 2-3) scored first, driving 87 yards in 13 plays before Tim Cronk kicked a 22-yard field goal with 4 minutes 6 seconds left in the first quarter. Huisenga completed all four of his passes for 46 yards on the drive.

Whittier took a 7-3 edge with 6:33 left in the half when Marcos Ramirez recovered a fumble by Fredrik Nanhed and returned it 21 yards for a touchdown.

The score was the first in 12 quarters for Whittier, which had been shut out in its previous two games.

Cal Lutheran responded with a seven-play, 77-yard drive highlighted by a 41-yard pass from Huisenga to Dwight McNaughton and capped by Aaron Hehe’s 20-yard touchdown catch on the next play.

The half ended with Cal Lutheran leading on the scoreboard, 10-7, and in yardage, 200-170.

In one dramatic play, Battles wiped out the Poets’ deficit when he sprinted 86 yards down the middle of the field for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead.

But that edge was short-lived too. On Whittier’s next possession, Russ Bumgarner’s pass was intercepted by Kevin Lyon and the Kingsmen scored eight plays later on a 14-yard reception by Steve Handelin that put CLU ahead 17-14 and set the stage for Battles’ second decisive touchdown.

Huisenga was 20 of 41 for 255 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.