Cal Lutheran football coach Ben McEnroe would normally have no problem describing a defensive performance as "lights out."

But considering the lights really did go out during Cal Lutheran's game at Whittier on Saturday night, McEnroe thought the term was "a little bit too cliche."

"Really, really good" will have to suffice.

Behind another strong effort from its defense, CLU opened Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play with a 32-7 victory over Whittier College.

"The defense is really playing well, and that is a big part of our offense having some success," McEnroe said. "The best defense we see is every day in practice. If we can hold up against our own defense, we are going to be fine."

Playing its only scheduled night game of the season, CLU (2-1, 1-0) was treated to a power outage in the fourth quarter. It turned an already dim Memorial Stadium atmosphere even dimmer.

Once the lights were restored 15 minutes later, the Kingsmen's defense figuratively turned them out for good by intercepting a pass that led to CLU's final touchdown.

Safety Garrett Redd popped the ball into the air like a setter in volleyball and Ebere Winston swooped in to grab it.

Running back Derek Martinez scored from 18 yards on the ensuing play for CLU's third rushing touchdown. Jericho Toilolo and Antoine Adams (10 carries, 97 yards) scored on runs of 2 and 15 yards, respectively, in the second quarter.

Whittier's lone touchdown came on a 47-yard punt return, and CLU's defense held the Poets to 192 yards of total offense. Whittier running back Anthony Pomponio — the reigning SCIAC Player of the Week — finished with 99 yards on 19 carries.

"Coach (Scott) Beattie is doing a nice job putting the defense in the right place and mixing up the pressure," McEnroe said. "It seems like teams are having a hard time protecting the quarterback right now with the angles we are coming from and the speed of our defense."

As he drove to CLU's Thousand Oaks campus on Sunday to begin preparing for Pomona-Pitzer, McEnroe wasn't feeling too groggy.

"It's so much easier to go into the office after a win, especially in a late-night turnaround," McEnroe said. "It feels a lot better."