Stingy defense helps Chapman to homecoming win
ORANGE, Calif. - With a strong defensive effort and a balanced offensive attack, the Chapman University football team defeated visiting Pomona-Pitzer Colleges 17-3 on Saturday night in front of 2,813 homecoming fans at Ernie Chapman Stadium. The Panthers celebrated homecoming with a victory for the third straight year.
The Panthers jumped ahead 3-0 on a first-quarter field goal by sophomore PK Jimmy Adranly but were unable to get much offensive production after that until late in the second quarter. After the Chapman (2-1) defense forced another punt, the Panthers put together a nine-play, 77-yard drive which resulted in a 13-yard touchdown reception by senior WR Evan Webber from senior QB Eric Marty with 18 seconds remaining in the half to give Chapman a 10-0 lead. Marty finished the game 19-of-31 for 240 yards with a touchdown and an interception.
"I think scoring right before halftime changed the whole tempo of the game," said Head Coach Bob Owens. "That gave us a lot of juice for the second half."
Pomona-Pitzer (1-2) struck first in the second half with a field goal by junior PK Dan Drehmel but those would be the only points the Sagehens could muster up against a stingy Chapman defense. Five of the Sagehens nine possessions in the game ended with punts, two possessions ended in failed fourth-down conversions and another ended in an interception. The Chapman defense was led by the senior linebacker duo of Will Hopkins and Daniel Hartigan who had nine and six tackles, respectively.
With a 10-3 third-quarter lead, Chapman turned to its ground game to run down the clock. Sophomore RB Akio Lloyd put the game out of reach with a 25-yard touchdown run giving the Panthers a 17-3 lead. Chapman rushed for 160 yards in the game, 97 coming from Lloyd. Senior RB Mike Christensen totaled 117 all-purpose yards on the ground and receiving.
A last ditch effort by Pomona to mount a fourth-quarter rally ended when senior DB Chris Shiramizu intercepted a fourth down pass by Sagehens sophomore QB Jake Caron. Oddly enough, Caron equaled Marty in passing stats pass-for-pass, going 19-for-31 with 240 yards.
The win was Chapman's first in its new stadium, which was officially dedicated on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers have won three straight against Pomona-Pitzer and lead the all-time series 4-1.