WHITTIER, Calif. — Cal Lutheran football opened conference play in dominating fashion as the Kingsmen went to Whittier and shutout the Poets 45-0 on Saturday night.

The win gets the Kingsmen above .500. Cal Lutheran improved to 3-2 overall and is 1-0 in the SCIAC. 
 
The Kingsmen dominated all facets of the game. The Cal Lutheran offense totaled 420 yards while the defense held the Poets to 62. Cal Lutheran was 9-of-13 on third-down conversions while Whittier was 2-of-12, and averaged 6.1 yards per play to 1.4. 

Quarterback Nick Lasher was 9-15 for 113 yards and two scores. Hector Gonzalez also saw playing time and was 5-7 with 39 yards and a score.

Three Kingsmen had rushing touchdowns on the night. The trio of Isaiah Martin, Canaan Chandler and Dante Coxsom all found the endzone. Martin rushed for 68 yards, Chandler had 30 yards and Coxsom had 22.

The wide receiver's that hauled in touchdown catches were Faizon Knight, Jajuan Thomas and Desmond Thompson. Knight recorded the most yards with 55, Thomas was next with 28 and Thompson had 15. 

The defense was all over the field and shutout the Poets. Randal Voutt, Matt Flynn, Jalani Blade and Jordan Gonzalez all had three tackles with Jackson White, Daylen Wilson, Gabriel Hernandez, Connor Cobos and Jacob Murillo having two. 

White, Wilson, Murillo and Jacob Butler all had a sack while Flynn and Blade both tallied an interception. 

The Kingsmen started the scoring with a field goal. Daniel Burgos connected on an 11-yard field goal and Cal Lutheran was off and running.

The Violet and Gold added one more score in the opening quarter. Using a short field, Martin capped off a nine-play 40-yard drive with a five-yard rushing touchdown.

The Kingsmen scored twice in the second quarter, both touchdown passes coming from Lasher. Knight caught the first one and Thomas corralled the second. 

Cal Lutheran was up 24-0 at the halftime and picked up in the second half right where they left off in the first. 

The Kingsmen scored two rushing touchdowns in the third. Coxsom ran it in from five-yards out and Chandler had a 1-yard touchdown. 

Cal Lutheran led from start to finish and the game was capped off with a 10-yard touchdown pass from H. Gonzalez to Thompson.

The Kingsmen look to go 2-0 in conference next Saturday. Cal Lutheran will host Redlands on Oct. 8 with kickoff set for 7:05 p.m.

Box Score: CLU 45, WC 0
CLU Instagram: CLUSports
Sport IG: callutheranfootball
CLU Twitter: CLUSports
Sport Twitter: CLUFootball
CLU Facebook: CLUSports
Hashtags: #clusports #ownthethrone #goregals #gokingsmen #theSCIAC #ncaad3