WHITTIER, Calif. (Oct. 29, 2022) - Whittier fell, 43-0, to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Senior Night Saturday in the Poets' home finale.

The Poets played excellent defense on the opening drive of the game, forcing the mighty Stags to punt. Senior Enrique Santana had two tackles on the series before fellow senior Nicholas Hanamaikai took down CMS' Anderson Cynkar three yards shy of the first down marker on third down.

One of the plays of the game for the Poets came on third-and-six for CMS around the 10-minute mark of the third quarter when Santana sacked the CMS signal caller for a 14-yard loss, forcing a 50-yard field-goal attempt. Santana, who was named Second Team All-SCIAC after last season, had four tackles in the contest. The Kinesiology major from Inglewood plans to attend physical therapy school upon graduation and then start his own PT clinic.

Junior wide receiver Tyson Tapley was outstanding Saturday, hauling in a career-high eight receptions for a career-high 110 yards. This included a 32-yard catch from freshman Mario Martinez.

Freshman linebacker DJ Williams led the Poets in tackles for the third straight week with eight. Senior Izaiah Lazaro, who aspires to attend nursing school after graduation, added a season-high six tackles.

Prior to the game, each of Whittier's 16 departing seniors were honored with an on-field ceremony that featured their family, friends, teammates and coaches. Each student-athlete's major, hometown, favorite team memory and plans for after graduation were announced over the PA system to the delight of the hundreds of fans in attendance.

Congratulations to the departing seniors on your athletic and academic careers at Whittier. They will be missed!

Photos: Tony Leon/ActionWestPhotography.com

Follow and show support for your Whittier Poets on Twitter (@WCPoets), YouTube and Instagram (@PoetAthletics)!