Senior free safety Matt Zaengle spearheaded the defense, coming up with 5 takeaways himself, including a school record tying 4 interceptions. The Poets, who entered the game with a 5-game winning streak, didn't help their cause by mishandling the ball 6 times (2 muffed kickoffs, 2 interceptions, 2 fumbles - 1 lost) in the first 11 minutes of the game. The Cougars were practically handed their 17-0 first quarter lead, with all 17 points coming off turnovers. In fact, the Cougars needed just 88 yards of total offense to jump out to that 17-0 lead.

Zaengle got the Cougars going by picking off a Steve Luce pass on the third play of the game. The Cougars quickly turned that into a Jim Daichendt 31-yard FG and a 3-0 lead less than 5 minutes into the game. Whittier's next drive was ended 4 plays into it when senior LB Elbert Baker picked off Luce at the Whittier 30-yard line. Three plays later, senior TE Justin Duarte took a Geoff Buffum sideline pass 28 yards to paydirt for a 10-0 Cougar cushion. Two plays into Whittier's third drive of the game, Luce was sacked by senior DE Oscar Burgueno, who forced Luce to drop the ball. Junior DT Brandon Cahoon fell on the loose ball at the Whittier 24-yard line. The Cougars turned that gift into another TD when Buffum connected with senior All-American WR Dexter Davis on a 3-yard lob in the corner of the end zone. By this point, Whittier had managed just 8 plays and 3 turnovers.

"Obviously, turnovers are a good thing," said Cougar coach Vic Shealy, "but you have to do something with them, and in the first half tonight, we did."

The Cougars took a 24-3 lead into the locker room at halftime, thanks again to another Zaengle takeaway. Zaengle pounced on a Poet muffed punt catch at the Whittier 13-yard line. Two plays and 13 seconds later, Buffum hit senior WR Shawn Zook for a 4-yard TD.

Azusa Pacific managed just 3 second half points, but the defense kept Whittier at bay, thanks to 3 successive Zaengle interceptions. Zaengle ended 3 straight Whittier fourth quarter drives by picking off Luce each time, the last being his fourth interception of the game, tying Jerry Newman's 1969 Azusa Pacific record for most interceptions in a game.

While the victory keeps alive Azusa Pacific's NAIA playoffs hopes, the game was not without its losses. Azusa Pacific 2-way standout Jack Williams, who entered the game needing just 27 yards to become only the sixth 1,000-yard rusher in school history, suffered a rib injury on the Cougars' second series and missed the rest of the game. He is questionable for the next 2 games. His replacement, junior TB DeAngelo Gossett, did rush for a career-high 99 yards on 26 carries. Buffum carrried the rest of the offensive load, completing 26-of-36 passes for 276 yards and 3 TDs. Davis finished with 13 catches for 110 yards. Zaengle had a team-high 5 tackles, while junior LB Gabe Giordano tallied 4 tackles, including a 9-yard QB sack.

Scoring by Quarters
Azusa Pacific             17   7    3    0 -- 27
Whittier                   0   3    6    0 --  9

        INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
SCORING
AP - Jim Daichendt 31 yd FG, 10:09 1st Qtr
AP - Justin Duarte 28 pass from Geoff Buffum, 8:09 1st Qtr (Daichendt Kick)
AP - Dexter Davis 3 pass from Buffum, 2:54 1st Qtr
WC - Jason Kohler 37 yd FG, 14:48 2nd Qtr
AP - Shawn Zook 7 pass from Buffum, 8:01 2nd Qtr (Daichendt Kick)
AP - Daichendt 32 yd FG, 9:53 3rd Qtr
WC - Jeremy Snyder 8 pass from Steve Luce, 6:38 3rd Qtr (run failed)

PASSING
Geoff Buffum (AP) 26-36, 276 yds, 3 TD, 0 INT
Steve Luce (WC) 14-37, 166 yds, 1 TD, 6 INT

RUSHING
DeAngelo Gossett (AP), 26 att., 99 yds
Damin Hurst (WC), 8 att., 35 yds
Marcel Desir (WC), 6 att., 25 yds
Jack Williams (AP), 3 att., 9 yds

RECEIVING
Dexter Davis (AP), 13 rec., 110 yds
Otis Carmichael (WC), 5 rec., 80 yds
Justin Duarte (AP), 4 rec., 65 yds
Shawn Zook (AP), 4 rec., 43 yds
           TEAM STATISTICS
               APU          WC
FIRST DOWNS     20          14
TOTAL YARDS   363 yds     199 yds
RUSHING        87 yds      33 yds
PASSING       276 yds     166 yds
FUMBLES/LOST    1-0         2-2
PENALTIES/YDS   8-95       6-32