The University of Redlands football team finished out the 2012 regular season with a bang, pounding the Poets of Whittier College, 63-40. The fifth-consecutive victory for the Maroon and Gray sealed a second-place finish in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) in addition to marking the second-straight contest in which the Bulldogs put up 60 points or more.
Highlighted by a 31-point second quarter, Redlands scored an impressive 45 points in the first half en route to cruising to the 23-point triumph.
After falling behind early, Redlands senior running back Brad Crisanty (Granite Bay, CA) led the comeback-charge in the first quarter, scoring the Bulldogs' first touchdown of the day on an eight-yard run with 6:14 remaining in the opening period, cutting the Poet lead in half.
Watch Crisanty's touchdown here.
After the teams traded scores, the Poets fumbled with 7:09 remaining in the first half, and Bulldog senior linebacker Jordan Garcia (Carlsbad, CA) pounced on the ball to give Redlands possession at the Whittier 25-yard line. Senior quarterback Chad Hurst (Dixon, CA) took full advantage of the timely turnover and connected with junior wide receiver Taylor Irwin (Rocklin, CA) on a 20-yard touchdown strike less than a minute later, tying the game at 24-24.
On the very next drive for Whittier, Bulldog senior defensive back Zak Mella (Yucaipa, CA) intercepted a Steven Rivera pass and took it 32 yards to the house for the touchdown, giving Redlands its first lead of the day.
The Bulldogs' defense did its job on the Poets next drive, forcing a three-and-out. With good field position, the Maroon and Gray used its quick-strike offense again when Hurst connected on a seven-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 14 with just over three minutes remaining in the half.
Junior defensive back Zach Roberts (Oregon City, OR) gave Redlands once last opportunity to put points on the board before halftime when he intercepted a pass near midfield. On the day, the Redlands defense recorded three total interceptions, bring its season total to 21.
Running the two-minute offense, the Bulldogs marched down the field, and with just 33 seconds left on the clock, Hurst threw his fourth touchdown of the half when he found senior wide receiver Mark Richardson II (Los Angeles, CA) for the score.
After the halftime break, Redlands looked as if it didn't miss a beat when Hurst ran one into the endzone from two yards out.
Up by 27, Redlands used four Kevin Grady (Seattle, WA) field goals during the second half to secure the win. The junior kicker was a perfect five-for-five on field goals for the game in addition to adding six extra points, helping the Bulldogs finish a perfect 11-for-11 in the redzone.
It was yet another fantastic performance from the Bulldog offensive line and running game. Netting 331 yards on the ground, Redlands eclipsed the 300 mark for the second-consecutive game. On 31 carries, Crisanty led the way, totaling 249 yards and the one score. On top of Crisanty's fantastic performance, freshman running back Curtis Tanquary (San Jose, CA) added 59 yards on seven carries.
Through the air, Hurst had one of his best showings on the year, completing 15 of 28 passes for 224 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions.
Whittier showed the ability to move the ball well on offense, but Garcia and the Bulldog defense came up with big-time stops on numerous occasions. Garcia led the squad with 11 total tackles while senior defensive backs Scott Payton (Sammamish, WA) and Nick Kido (Honolulu, HI) tacked on nine and seven stops, respectively. Moreover, the junior defensive linemen tandem of Steven Locke Jr. (Barstow, CA) and Daniel Kane (Covina, CA) helped to shut down the Poet running attack, limiting Whittier to just 45 yards on the ground.
With the win, Redlands (6-3, 6-1) now must await the announcement from the NCAA selection committee as to whether or not it will receive an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships.
The NCAA selection show is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday at www.ncaa.com.
