LA VERNE, Calif. (Oct. 15, 2022) - The Whittier Poets put forth their most competitive performance of the season, dropping a road conference game to the La Verne Leopards, 43-20. The game was as close as 30-20 with just over eight minutes to play and was interrupted by a lengthy lightning delay.

Freshman quarterback Mario Martinez made his first career collegiate start after debuting off the bench in the Poets' last game, and he performed well. The Riverside native threw two touchdown passes, completing 22 of 34 pass attempts for 171 yards. He also had a 17-yard run on the evening.

"I started off slow but got things rolling once I started breaking down the defensive coverages and hitting my reads," Martinez said. "Executing Coach (Neale)'s game plan and staying in the pocket allowed a few more seconds for the receivers to get open and make big-time catches."

Martinez's first touchdown throw was a 20-yard connection with junior wide receiver Tyson Tapley to cut the Whittier deficit to 23-6.

"I saw man coverage on Tyson and knew that if I got him the ball, he is capable of beating any defender one-on-one," said Martinez. "I tried to move the safety over with my eyes and dropped the ball over the top to Tyson, who made an outstanding catch."

The Diamond Bar high school alumnus' other touchdown toss was an 18-yarder to senior wide receiver/punter Sean Aldana that made the score, 30-19.

"As soon as the corner stayed in cover-1, I knew Sean was a few steps ahead of my safety, and that was my read," Martinez said. "I made sure I got him the ball over within his full stride so he could do what he does and make a big play by catching that TD!"

Tapley secured four receptions for 55 yards, while Aldana recorded three catches for 36 yards.

Junior wideout Jalen Jolley had game highs in receptions (10) and receiving yards (79).

Freshman Jason Terry had the longest run of the night for the Poets and the longest of his fledgling collegiate career, an 18-yard scamper.

Poets freshman linebacker DJ Williams had a game-high 12 tackles, and sophomore defensive back Isaiah Harris paced Whittier in solo tackles with seven and recorded 10 total.

Returner/wide receiver Samson Olajide returned five kicks for 129 yards, including a 48-yard return.

Despite Martinez's encouraging debut, the quarterback threw two interceptions, including an 87-yard pick-six with 35 seconds left in the game.

Martinez described the team performance as a "collective effort."

"It was not the outcome we wanted, but it was a big step toward getting better," the freshman QB said.

Collectively, Whittier's offense racked up 254 total yards and tallied 16 first downs, significant improvements from previous weeks. Another strong development was the Poets' 67% conversion rate on fourth downs, as the road team converted two of their three fourth-down opportunities.

Whittier's next chance will come at home against Chapman at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, in the Poets' Homecoming game.

Photo: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography

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