WHITTIER, Calif. – The University of Redlands football team (3-4, 3-2 SCIAC) have now won three of their last four games with an impressive 69-14 road win at Whittier College Saturday evening. The 69 points are the seventh most in a single-game within program history while their 10 touchdowns are tied for the most.
The Bulldogs were up 7-0 just over four minutes into the game thanks to a 19-yard Mark Mitchell III (Fontana, CA) touchdown run. Then after they capped off a six-play drive with a Tobey Schmidt (Tustin, CA) passing touchdown to Mitchell III, Redlands would score two more times in a matter of :25 seconds, giving them 20 points and a 27-0 lead with 7:06 still to play in the first.
The second and third scores came off an interception return for a touchdown by Mosese Afemui (Maui, HI) and the second was a forced fumble returned by Jesse Vega (Fontana, CA) for a second defensive touchdown in only :14 seconds.
With a three and out forced on Whittier's third drive in less than two minutes, the offense got the ball at the Poet 44 after a 12-yard return by Dylan Williams (Torrance, CA). The big play of the drive was a 2nd and 5 rush for 19 yards by Taylor Bowie (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA), which was followed by four runs for 20 yards and a Bowie rushing touchdown.
A third forced turnover, and second fumble, came on the ensuing kickoff when Wyatt Williamson (Hillsboro, OR) forced and recovered the fumble. Schmidt then quickly found Julian Borrayo (Covina, CA) for eight yards and then hit Nathaniel Barnes (Seattle, WA) for a 23-yard touchdown and a 41-0 U of R lead with 1:56 on the clock in the first.
In the second Jakai Torres (Baltimore, MD) had the Bulldogs' touchdown, while a 56-yard connection by the Poets made it 48-7 at the half.
In the third quarter Torres finished off a 27-yard run into the endzone, which capped off a 4-play, 47-yard drive and Isaac Vitela (Redlands, CA) added six more points for a 62-7 Bulldog advantage at the 5:57 mark of the third when he found paydirt from two yards out.
Vitela then captained a 14-play, 94-yard drive that ate up more than eight minutes of game clock and ended with him collecting his second rushing touchdown.
The Bulldogs ran for 305 yards and six touchdowns. They churned out 504 yards on 77 plays, exactly doubling Whittier's yardage output and tallying 23 more plays run.
Overall, the Bulldogs forced two fumbles and had four interceptions, one by Mosese, Kam Abbasian (Bellevue, WA), Skye Taylor (Carson, CA), and Jaylen Ephraim (Fontana, CA). The four interceptions are the ninth-most in single-game history.
Due to the scoreline, Schmidt was below 200 yards passing (178) as he attempted only 17 passes, while Mitchell III ran for a game-high 59 yards on 11 carries as one of three backs over 50 yards along with Bowie and Torres. Overall, 13 different players recorded a rush, 10 different players had a reception, and 27 players had a tackle.
Redlands will look to use their momentum as they prepare to host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps next Saturday, October 31 at 7:05 p.m. for a Halloween, homecoming match-up with a chance at earning a spot in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship Game still available.
