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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ORANGE, Calif. – The Chapman University football team jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead and held on for a 24-7 victory over visiting Menlo College at Wilson Field on Saturday night. The win gives the Panthers their first season opening victory since 2004 and improves their home record to 4-1 since the beginning of last season. Chapman (1-0) played a complete game on all sides of the ball. The Panthers’ offense totaled 346 yards and no turnovers, while the defense limited Menlo (0-2) to zero first downs in the first half, forced two turnovers and held the Oaks to just 2-of-17 in third and fourth down conversions. Both offenses sputtered at the start of the game as each team exchanged short drives and punted back-and-forth. That ended when junior LB Dominick Gaitan batted and intercepted a pass by Menlo QB Tony Rehn at the Oaks’ 16 yard line. On Chapman’s first play of the ensuing drive, senior QB Luke Robinson connected with junior RB Chris Shynn on a 16-yard touchdown pass and the first score of the game with 2:24 remaining in the first quarter. The Panthers’ next score was again set up by the Gaitan-led Chapman defense. The junior sacked Rehn and forced a fumble, recovered by senior DL Chip Lewis on Menlo’s 46 yard line. Three plays later, Robinson tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to junior WR Nick Pierson at the start of the second quarter. Chapman’s next touchdown featured an eight-play, 69-yard drive that ended with senior RB Ian Galanis punching it into the endzone with a 1-yard touchdown run at 9:54 in the second quarter. The big play of the drive came seconds earlier on a 43-yard completion from Robinson to senior WR Harrison Dull, who was forced out of bounds at the 1 yard line. Dull led all Chapman receivers with nine catches for 98 yards. Meanwhile, Robinson finished 24-of-36 for 278 yards passing. The Oaks scored their only touchdown of the game on their first drive of the second half. RB Eddie DeLeon ran from 1 yard out to make the Chapman lead 21-7. The Panthers rallied on their next possession to get three points back on a 29-yard field goal from senior Brandon Koller to end the game’s scoring.
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