THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - The Cal Lutheran football team opened Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play this evening as they took on the Whittier Poets at Rolland Stadium. The Kingsmen have had strong success against the Poets historically and they extended their overall series record to 25-4 with their 31-7 victory on Saturday night.
After a nearly silent first quarter the Poets were able to put up the first points of the game, taking a 7-0 lead.
The Kingsmen, however, were quick to respond. Senior wide receiver Ricky Johnson came through with a big 49-yard return that brought the Violet and Gold to midfield. A five play, 44-yard drive would be capped off with a seven-yard touchdown rush by senior running back Ben Chavez II. The successful extra point attempt by Chris Taylor would tie the game up 7-7.
CLU would look to extend its lead scoring yet again on the following possession. Quarterback Adam Friederichsen found tight end Connor Allen down the field, connecting for a 40-yard pass, putting the Kingsmen at the Whittier 16-yard line. After back-to-back rushes by Chavez, junior running back Isaac Seymour would punch it in from eight yards out to extend the Kingsmen lead to 14-7.
After a converted 18-yard field goal attempt and an impressive catch by senior wide receiver Sean Bellotti, that would ultimately lead to a two-yard touchdown rush by Seymour, Cal Lutheran would extend its lead to 24-7.
Late in the fourth quarter Ushali Ellison would rush for a combined 33 yards and a touchdown to seal the deal for the Kingsmen with the final score of 31-7.
While the passing game was almost neck and neck between the two teams, the Kingsmen out rushed the Poets 231-116 yards and totaled 430 offensive yards compared to 322 for Whittier.
Offensively the Kingsmen were led by Friederichsen who was 11-for-19 and threw for a total of 199 yards, Chavez who had 20 rushes for 105 yards and Allen who had five catches for 122 yards.
Cal Lutheran's defense had three interceptions on the night from Lucas Quinn, Logan Sanders and Nick Gordon while EJ Edinburgh, Ronny Camacho, Trevor Roe, Dalton Santos and DeJon Rothschild all finished with seven tackles.
Cal Lutheran (3-0, 1-0 SCIAC) will be home again next weekend as they continue their conference campaign. The Kingsmen will take on the University of Redlands Bulldogs during Homecoming Weekend on Saturday, Oct. 10 with game time set for 1:00 p.m.
Box Score: CLU 31, WC 7
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