Anthony Pomponio '09 rushed for 129 yards on 20 carries as Whittier College won their first game of the season 17-0 against Chapman University at Memorial Stadium on October 14.  The Poets improve their record to 1-4 while Chapman falls to 2-3.

Josh Scurlock '08 threw for 126 yards, completing 13 of 28 passes with one interception.  Kevin Cullina '08 caught four passes for 30 yards.  Shawn Briggs '08 made three catches for 36 yards and a touchdown. 

On the defensive side of the ball, the Poets finished with ten sacks.  Arlo Castelo '09 led the way with three sacks.  Donovan Maloney '09 finished with 2 sacks and Tommy Terhune '08 had one sack and a team-high 4.5 tackles.  Mike Vara '09 had an interception for the Poets and Josh Toailoa '07 had a fumble recovery that he returned eleven yards for a touchdown.

All the scoring in the game came in the first half.  After Vara's interception on the game's first drive, the Poets took their first possession 48 yards on eleven plays ending in a Ben Walker '08 44-yard field goal to give Whittier a 3-0 lead with 9:04 remaining in the first quarter.  The Poets struck again in the first quarter, this time on defense when Toailoa picked up a Panther fumble and ran 11 yards for a touchdown to make the score 10-0 at the 4:35 mark of the first quarter.  The final score of the game happened with :41 seconds left in the first half.  Scurlock's 5-yard touchdown pass to Briggs gave the Poets the 17-0 lead that remained the final result.

The Poets return to SCIAC play next weekend, when the University of La Verne comes to Memorial Stadium for the Whittier College Homecoming weekend headliner.  Kickoff is at 1pm.