Chapman hangs 57 on Puget Sound in football opener

TACOMA, Wash. – For the second year in a row, the Chapman University football team took advantage of struggling University of Puget Sound (Wash.) program to open the season with a powerful and lopsided victory, beating the host Loggers 57-14 at Baker Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Similar to last season, the Panthers racked up over 500 yards of total offense and spread the wealth with five different players running for touchdowns. Chapman (1-0 overall) also got a special teams score from junior DB Osayande Aikhionbare who ran a punt back 55 yards for the Panthers' sixth touchdown of the game in the third quarter.

Chapman was efficient on offense, putting together four scoring drives of at least 10 plays and converting on all eight red zone opportunities. Meanwhile, the Panther defense held Puget Sound (0-1) to just six first downs in the first half and shutout the Loggers in the process.

The rushing game for Chapman set the tone right away with touchdown runs on back-to-back drives as senior RB Kyle White and junior QB Michael Lahey scored from 4 and 5 yards out, respectively to give the Panthers an early 13-0 lead.

The Panthers then put the game out of reach in the second quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points to lead 34-0 at halftime. Junior RB Terrell Dolberry scored a pair of touchdowns in the quarter and finished the game with 56 yards on 13 carries. Junior RB/QB Kean Stancil also scampered 7 yards for a score with 4:07 remaining in the half, one of his 10 rushes in the game.

Puget Sound opened the scoring in the second half with a 5-yard pass from QB Braden Foley to WR Bryson Calma to trim Chapman's lead to 27. But the Panthers responded with a 30-yard field goal from junior K Markus Trujillo and Aikhionbare's punt return which gave Chapman a 44-7 lead with 3:39 left in the third quarter. The Loggers would score once more in the period on another 7-yard pass play from Foley, who finished 28 of 40 for 197 yards.

Chapman closed out the game with two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to bring the final score to 57-14. The Panthers' 57 points is their most in a game since 1999 when Chapman put up 62 points on the road against Occidental.

Junior RB Cody Chapple didn't get into the end zone, but led the Panthers with 106 offensive yards (60 rushing, 46 receiving). Starting QB Lahey completed 12 of 16 passes for 158 yards as three Chapman playcallers combined for 246 yards passing, connecting with 10 different receivers.

The Chapman defense made things uncomfortable for Foley and the Puget Sound offense all afternoon, making 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, including five quarterback sacks. Senior LB Steven Santana led the way for the Panthers with a team-high seven tackles and a sack.

It was the 20th consecutive defeat for Puget Sound, dating back to 2010.

The Panthers improved to 12-8 all-time in season openers, including having now won six of their past seven.

Chapman will have two weeks to prepare for Whitworth University, who travels to Orange to face the Panthers in their home opener at Ernie Chapman Stadium on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. The Pirates are 2-0 after defeating Whittier College on Saturday 28-17.

Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/fball/2013-14/boxscores/20130914_bfww.xml

by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director

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