ORANGE, Calif. — Football dropped its first countable contest to Whitworth, 24-17, on Saturday, Sept. 16.

The scoring didn't get started until the second quarter, but before then, Chapman opened the game with an 11-play 68-yard methodical drive. The Panthers would fumble, however, inside the red zone stopping a potential scoring drive to open the game.

The defense would hang tough and force a fumble to give Chapman great field position inside Pirate territory near the end of the first quarter. Colin Keefe knocked out the ball and Kade Jordan swooped in for the recovery.

Once the clock hit zero on the first, the Panthers switched fields and Nathaniel Espinoza found the end zone on the ground, a one-yard rush which gave the Panthers a 7-0 lead.

Whitworth answered right away with a touchdown on the following drive, but the game wasn't tied for long. A patented quick 2:30 drive from the Panthers finished off with a 39-yard touchdown pass to Amir Adams, who finished the day with a game-high 145 yards, giving Chapman the lead again.

The Pirates would make a field goal and the Panthers would miss one at the buzzer ending the half 14-10.

From there, the Pirates outscored Chapman 14-3 and posted 209 yards of total offense to Chapman's 116.

Whitworth also converted on three third downs and one fourth down in the second half, resulting in clock-eating drives that took the air out of the Panthers' defense.

Chapman put together one final effort to tie the game, but a Whitworth interception sealed the deal.

The Panthers fell to 0-1 on the season, while Whitworth improved to 2-0. Chapman's next game is on Saturday, Sept. 23 against Redlands. The Panthers will celebrate homecoming that evening.