WHITTIER, Calif.—Dyontae Navarrete and Devon Guest each had huge games on offense and the Pioneers defense held the hosts to just 227 yards, to lead Lewis & Clark football past host Whittier College 44-13. 

THE BASICS
Lewis & Clark 44, Whittier 13
(Lewis & Clark 2-0) 
(Whittier 0-2) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
The Pioneers raced out to a 27-7 halftime lead and cruised to their first 2-0 start since the 2012 season. 

Offensively, Navarrete dominated the hosts in the first half. The junior running back rushed 11 times for 151 yards and three touchdowns. He tacked on three catches for 36 yards to bring his total to 187 yards on the afternoon. He averaged 13.4 yards a touch and scored on a career-long 84-yard rush. 
 
Guest nearly doubled his career receiving yards total, as he terrorized the Poets defense. The junior wideout went off for nine catches, 143 yards and a touchdown. He also added a rushing touchdown on an 11-yard play. 
 
Senior quarterback Cruz Montana finished with 242 passings yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the win. He finished the day 20-31 and tacked on five yards on the ground. 
 
Senior Sean Bodi finished second on the team with six receptions for 36 yards, while junior transfer running back Elijah Washington posted five carries for 41 yards. 
 
Senior linebacker Sam Meinhard anchored the Pioneers defense and scored his first collegiate touchdown in the win. He tied for the team lead in tackles (five), added a sack and caught a four-yard touchdown pass from Montana in the third quarter. 
 
Fellow senior Isaac Cordova recorded five tackles of his own and he and Jordan Fajardo came through with one sack apiece. Junior Silas Ticeson recorded the Pioneers first interception of the season. 
 
Lewis & Clark needed just two plays to kick off the scoring. After a big return from Desmon Holton, Navarete used two rushes and a Poets penalty to make it 7-0. 
 
The Pioneers forced a fourth-down stop on the ensuing possession and that set-up a 14-0 lead. Guest opened the drive with a pair of receptions for 20 yards and then Washington rushed for 12-yards to put the Pios inside the red zone. Guest took it from there, as he scampered into the end zone from 11-yards out. 

Whittier cut the deficit to 13-7 early in the second quarter, when they took advantage of a short field off a Pioneers turnover to score their first points of the season. 
 
Two possessions later, Navarrete gave the Pioneers some breathing room, when he tiptoed along the far sideline for an 84-yard rushing touchdown. 
 
The Pioneers would add one final score before halftime. After a partially blocked punt gave the Pioneers the ball at their own 43 with under two minutes in the half, Lewis & Clark went down the field in seven plays. Montana connected with Ben Burnham for a 29-yard catch to the three and Navarrete bulldozed his way into the end zone for his third score of the half and a 27-7 advantage. 
 
Lewis & Clark put the game away to start the second half. The Pioneers used a 14-play, 68-yard drive to extend the lead to 35-7. Montana and the visitors went 4-4 on third down on the drive, with Montana hitting Guest, Jojo Powell and Guest for first-down receptions and Montana scampering for one as well. With the ball at the four-yard line, Meinhard lined up as a tight end and made a diving catch in the end zone for his first collegiate score. 
 
The Pioneers extended their advantage to 38-7 on their next possession. Ticeson's interception gave the Pioneers good field position and they drove down to the 15, before Alex Koga kicked a 37-yard field goal. 
 
Lewis & Clark closed out their scoring midway through the fourth quarter. Montana connected with Guest for second receiving touchdown in as many weeks to make it 44-7. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• The Pioneers are 2-0 for the first time since 2012. The 2011 (7-0 start) and 2012 (4-0 start) are the only other Pioneers teams this century to start 2-0. 
• In two career games against Whittier, Navarrete has rushed for 314 yards (on 37 carries) and scored seven rushing touchdowns. 
• Lewis & Clark improved to 4-0 all-time against the Poets. 
• Justin Hope and Lindell Betts were each credited with a team-high two pass break-ups. 
• The Pioneers limited Whittier to 227 yards, 3.7 yards per carry, 4-for-15 on third-down conversions and a 2-for-5 showing on fourth downs. 
• Koga went 1-1 on field goals and 5-5 on PATs. The senior kicker is now fourth all-time in program history in career kicking points (85). 
• Montana eclipsed 2,500 yards passing for his career and moved into 17^th-place in program history for passing yards (2,630).  

WHO'S NEXT 
 
The Pioneers will host Lewis-Clark Valley on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. in their final tune-up before conference play begins. Saturday's game will be an exhibition game with none of the stats counting towards the Pioneers season stats. No tickets will be sold, seats will be first come-first served.