Record breaking day for Chapman at Pomona-Pitzer in 35-13 victory
CLAREMONT, Calif. – The Chapman University football team celebrated Coach Bob Owen's 50th Panther win, in a 35-13 victory over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges in Claremont on Saturday afternoon. Senior Jeremiah McKibbins rushed for a total of 79-yards to become the Panthers All-Time Leading rusher with 2,370 yards in his career while Coach Owens become the winningest football coach in Panther history.
The Sagehens were the first to strike with a 34-yard field goal by sophomore Kevin Masini with 1:55 left in the first quarter to take the lead 3-0. Pomona then marched 73 yards down the field in 8 plays to tag on another seven at the 4:20 mark. Freshman Edward Sias completed a 5-yard pass to senior Brett Harper which gave the Sagehens the 10-0 lead.
Trailing 10-0 with 2:23 left in the second quarter the Panthers compiled 114-yards and a pair of touchdowns to take the lead 14-10. On the Panthers second drive, Chapman marched 90 yards down the field in five plays to finish with a 15-yard pass from sophomore QB Mac Vail to senior WR Sean Myers to put the Panthers on the board 10-7.
Chapman then took possession on the Pomona-Pitzer 24-yard line, where Vail connected with Myers again for a 13-yard pass. McKibbins then rushed for 6-yards, to break the All-Time leading rushing record at Chapman and record the Panthers go-ahead touchdown to make the score 14-10.
The Panther defense came out strong in the second half, with junior DB Conner Larkin recording an interception with 10 on the clock to give the Panthers possession on the Pomona-Pitzer 38. Four plays later, Vail passed to sophomore LB Diano Pachote for a 25-yard touchdown to put another seven on the board for the Panthers and take the lead 21-10 with 5:43 on the clock in the third.
With the ball back in Pomona-Pitzer possession, Larkin came up with another interception and returned the ball for 10-yards to give the Panthers the ball on the Pomona-Pitzer 25-yard line. Chapman offense then struck again, stringing together six plays for another Panther touchdown, with a 2-yard rush by McKibbins to give Chapman the 28-10 lead.
The Panthers struck one last time, thirty seconds into the fourth quarter when Vail connected with sophomore WR Noah Rivard on a 56-yard pass for another TD to give the Panthers a 35-10 lead.
Thirty-five unanswered points later, Masini then tacked on another field goal for Pomona-Pitzer in the fourth quarter with 10:24 on the clock to tighten the score 35-13, but the Panthers held the Sagehens scoreless through the rest of the game.
Chapman (1-3 overall, 1-1 SCIAC) compiled 268 yards of total offense, with Vail earning a career-best of 168 yards and three TD's. Myers led the passing game once again for the Panthers with 76 yards on three catches.
Chapman will travel to Occidental College (1-2 overall, 0-1 SCIAC) for a SCIAC match up on Oct. 17 with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
by Raquel Rinauro
Sports Information Assistant
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