Quarterback Max General threw for four touchdown passes and ran for another as defending NJCAA champion College of DuPage defeated visiting Ellsworth College 48-25 in the opener for both teams Thursday night at Bjarne Ullsvik Stadium.
 
General threw for 409 yards on 17 of 24 passing and gained 23 yards rushing on the night.

All told, the Chaps totaled 594 yards of total offense and did not have a turnover for the game.

A big-strike offense from the Niles native put the Chaps in control for nearly the entire game. His 9-yard tally capped an 84-yard drive in just the first minute of play. And after Ellsworth countered with a quick-strike TD of its own, General answered with a 48-yard pass to Myles McKatherine and COD led 14-6 with 12:05 remaining in the opening quarter.
 
"That might be the best air raid attack we've had in my time here,'' Chaps head coach Matthew Rahn said. "Just a complete turnaround from a year ago out of Max. He showed a lot of growth tonight.''
 
COD padded its lead with the first of two field goals from Joshua Winslow early in the second quarter, and after Ellsworth earned a safety and a field goal to trail 17-11 to go in the half, COD countered with a big momentum swing.
 
General connected with wide receiver Vince Brown on a 73-yard pass and catch, and the duo came through again later in the quarter, this time on a 57-yarder and COD led 31-11 at halftime.

Brown finished with three receptions for 106 yards and Franklin Hayes added 96 yards on three receptions. Porter totaled 76 yards and McKatherine had two catches for 61 yards.
 
"We countered after their scoring, and gained momentum right back,'' Rahn said. "We struggled on the o-line on blocking for the run, but we gave Max time to make plays. And we got to credit our receivers who did a great job of downfield blocking.
 
"Many of our guys saw the field for the first time here at COD and to get a hard-earned win is a great way to open the season.''
 
General earned his final TD throw of the night, hitting Marquel Porter on a 46-yard score with 2:33 left in the third.
 
Closing the scoring for COD was Samson Zander, who scored a 31-yarder to open the fourth quarter and Winslow delivered on a 18-yard FG with 5:05 left in the game.
 
Defensively, the Chaps totaled three interceptions — one each from Nick Bucaro, Jarin Edwards and Ja'shawn Braswell. Rahn and defensive coordinator Trevor Cipriano noted top efforts from  Byron Puryear, Michael Walker, and Danarius Shaw.
 
COD remains at home next week, taking on Rochester (Minn.) C&TC.
 
Ellsworth — 6-5-7-7_25
Chaparrals — 14-17-7-10_48
 
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
C — Max General 9 run (Joshua Winslow kick), 13:34
Drive — 4 plays, 84 yards, 1:23
E — Nashon Johnson 73 pass from Joshua Bauer,  13:18
Drive — 1 play, 73 yards, :12
C — Myles McKatherine 48 pass from General (Winslow kick), 12:05
Drive — 4 plays, 65 yards, 1:13
Second Quarter
C — FG 29 Winslow, 14:55
Drive — 8 plays, 32 yards, 4:05
E — Safety, Young tackled in end zone,  14:05
E — FG 23 Chris Ndushabandi, 11:54
Drive — 9 plays, 48 yards, 1:41
C — Vince Brown 73 pass from General, (Winslow kick) 11:30
Drive — 1 play, 73 yards, :15
C — Brown 57 pass from General, (Winslow kick), 3:09
Drive — 6 plays, 57 yards, 3:09
Third Quarter
E — David Hall 2 run (Ndushabanki kick), 7:00
Drive — 1 play, 2 yards, :12
C — Marquel Porter 46 pass from General (Winslow kick), 2:33
Drive — 2 plays, 46 yards, :17
Fourth Quarter
C — Samson Zander 31 run (Winslow kick), 14:48
Drive — 3 plays, 38 yards, 1:22
E — Micah Hobin 15 pass from Bauer (Ndushabanki kick), 9:51
Drive — 1 play, 30 yards :16
C — FG Winslow 18, 5:05
Drive —  7 plays, 67 yards, 4:32