Cal Lutheran, Thomas Smile for the Camera, 45-6

Members of the Cal Lutheran football team will want to make plenty of copies of the videotape of Saturday night’s 45-6 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference victory over Whittier.

When things start going sour, a peek at that tape is sure to bring a smile.

The Kingsmen dominated all aspects of the game, rolling up 573 yards of offense. It was Cal Lutheran’s third consecutive 400-yard performance.

“It felt real good,” quarterback Ryan Huisenga said. “The line was doing a spectacular job as well as the receivers. I didn’t think I played that well, but the receivers did a great job.”

Huisenga’s modesty aside, he was one of the standouts, although he had to take a back seat to tailback Terrence Thomas.

Thomas gained 195 yards and scored three touchdowns in 29 carries in only three quarters. The performance raised his season total to 1,134 yards, breaking the Cal Lutheran single-season record of 1,024, set by Hank Bauer in 1975.

Thomas broke the record with a 56-yard scoring run in the second quarter. He also had scoring runs of three and nine yards.

“He’s something special,” Huisenga said of the senior running back. “We are going to miss him next year.”

Huisenga had one of his best passing days of the season, completing 18 of 25 passes for 238 yards and two touchdowns, also in three quarters.

He threw a 46-yard scoring pass to Jason Higbee.

Cal Lutheran’s defense held Whittier to 211 yards and 11 first downs.

By winning its third game in a row, Cal Lutheran evened its record at 4-4, 3-3 in the SCIAC. But the Kingsmen are expecting the NCAA to rule their season-opening victory over Claremont-Mudd a forfeit because the Kingsmen used an ineligible player.

Whittier dropped to 1-7, 1-4.

Cal Lutheran took the lead early in the second quarter, when Dan Leffler made a 26-yard field goal. The Kingsmen scored on their next two possessions, with drives of 85 and 80 yards, both capped by Thomas touchdowns.

The first touchdown drive was helped with an unusual reception by Thomas. Huisenga’s pass hit Whittier’s Peter Gomez and deflected backward, where Thomas plucked it out of the air for a 14-yard catch.

Cal Lutheran scored on all three of its third-quarter possessions, taking a 38-0 lead and spurring a parade of second-stringers in the fourth quarter.

Cal Lutheran fullback Ivan Moreno left the game in the first quarter with a broken leg.