On a hot, humid Saturday afternoon on the Bjarne Ullsvik Stadium turf, the top-ranked Chaparrals relied upon strong defensive play and opportune scoring in their 23-7 victory over visiting Rochester Community and Technical College.
 
The Chaps' defense kept the Yellowjackets scoreless for more than 50 minutes and outscored their opponent with 23 unanswered points to improve to 2-0 overall.
 
"There will be games where the offense carries the day and (Saturday), our defense came up very big,'' Chaparrals defensive coordinator Trevor Cipriano said. "We wanted to improve upon tackling from a week ago, and the guys were inspired. We had tremendous efforts from our defensive backfield. They were physical.''
 
D-backs Ja'shawn Braswell and Danarius Shaw were two Cipriano noted in the Chaps' work in the secondary.
 
Rochester grabbed an early 7-0 lead, thanks to an eight-play, 97-yard drive capped by LaQwan Sims' 10-yard touchdown with 8:13 left in the first quarter.
 
The Chaps were 0-for-8 on their first-half possessions; four punts, three interceptions and a fumbled snap on a third-and-goal play from the 8 with under a minute left in the half.
 
COD broke through with a safety when Yellowjackets' quarterback Jaylen Gardner was called for  intentional grounding in the end zone under pressure from defensive back Kam Gothard with 4:48 remaining in the second.
 
The Chaps began their second-half output at the 8:02 mark in the third quareter when back-up quarterback Gavin Sukup found wide-out Myles McKatherine on a 37-yard TD pass. The two-point conversion failed, but the lead and momentum were back with the Chaps, 8-7.
 
"It just seemed like we needed a big play to get us going,'' Cipriano said. "That gave us the lead and pushed us along.''
 
On Rochester's next possession, the Chaps backed up their foe deep in Yellowjackets' territory, and on fourth down at the 11, Vince Brown broke through and blocked a punt through the end zone for the Chaps' second safety of the day for a 10-7 lead.
 
Touchdowns by Sukup (2 yards) and Jaden McGill (10 yards) in the fourth provided the final margin.
 
Cipriano lauded the efforts of linebackers Michael Walker and Joseph Holmes, who played nearly the entire game.
 
"We rotated a lot of guys through, but Michael and Joseph were rock steady,'' he said. "And also, we have to credit the work of our strength and conditioning staff. We held it together well in the second half on a hot, humid day. It was tough out there and the offseason work we put in paid off.''
 
The Chaps take their unbeaten record on the road Saturday for the first time this season when they play at Hocking College in Ohio.
 
Rochester C&TC 7-0-0-0_7
College of DuPage 0-2-8-13_23
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
R — LaQwan Sims 10 run (Fernando Vera kick), 8:13
Scoring Drive: 8 plays, 97 yards, 3:43
Second Quarter
C — Safety, Kam Gothard (QB intentional grounding) 4:48
Third Quarter
C — Myles McKatherine 37 reception from Gavin Sukup (run failed), 8:02
Scoring Drive: 3 plays, 49 yards, 1:21
C – Safety, Vince Brown (blocked punt through end zone), 6:51
Fourth Quarter
C — Sukup 2 run (Joshua Winslow kick), 12:36
Scoring Drive: 9 plays, 48 yards, 3:06
C — Jaden McGill 10 run (PAT blocked), 10:44
Scoring Drive: 3 plays, 39 yards, :56