Football season ends in 55-24 playoff loss to No. 10 Linfield
McMINNVILLE, Ore. – A magical run, highlighted by Chapman University's first SCIAC championship and NCAA Division III playoff berth, came to an end at Linfield College on Saturday afternoon. The No. 10-ranked Wildcats handed the No. 17-ranked Panthers a 55-24 defeat in the first round of the NCAA Championships at Maxwell Field, ending Chapman's eight-game winning streak and its season.
Linfield (9-1) was the only team to defeat Chapman (8-2) in 2014, and it did so twice – once to open the season and again on Saturday. And the next time the Panthers suit up will be right back in McMinnville to open the 2015 season against these same Wildcats.
The result was all but a foregone conclusion after the highly-ranked Linfield jumped on top of Chapman 28-0 with four touchdowns in the first quarter, including a 63-yard punt return by Jordan Giza for a six points. The Wildcats capped the period with a 73-yard scoring drive, finished off by QB Sam Riddle's 4-yard scoring pass to Charlie Poppen as time expired. The rest of the game played out much different as Linfield scored 27 points over the final 45 minutes.
Chapman finally got on the board with 1:19 left in the first half on a 34-yard field goal by senior K Markus Trujillo which made it a 38-3 halftime lead.
The Panthers mounted a mini comeback in the third quarter with touchdowns on back-to-back possessions to cut the Linfield lead to 45-17 with 4:34 left in the period. Senior QB Michael Lahey, playing in the final game of his career as a Panther, rushed for a pair of scores from 3 yards and 28 yards to cap scoring drives. Lahey finished with 14 of 28 with 206 yards passing and was also Chapman's leading rusher with 60 yards on the ground.
Lahey later connected with senior RB Kean Stancil on a 38-yard touchdown pass which made it 52-24 Linfield with 7:28 to go in the game. That play came at the end of Chapman's best drive of the day, marching 97 yards on just seven plays and in 2:10 off the clock.
Riddle (22 of 36, 279 yards passing) tossed four touchdown passes for Linfield, two of which went to Poppen who finished with 158 yards receiving on 10 catches. The Wildcats will take on the winner of Mary Hardin-Baylor and Texas Lutheran next Saturday.
Senior DB Osayande Aikhionbare led the Chapman defense with 11 tackles (10 solo).
The road loss is Chapman's first since the conclusion of the 2012 season – a string of nine consecutive wins away from Orange.
by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director
Become a fan of Chapman Athletics on Facebook
Follow Chapman Athletics on Twitter @ChapmanSports
Post your #PantherPic to Instagram @ChapmanSports
#CUPanthers