Panthers treat themselves to Halloween victory
ORANGE, Calif. - On Halloween night, unlucky "13" proved to just enough for the Chapman University football team, which defeated visiting Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges 13-9 at Ernie Chapman Stadium on Saturday night. The Panthers actually created some of their own luck, capitalizing on four Claremont turnovers and a missed field goal to thwart several Stags drives.
A stalwart Chapman defense made several big plays to minimize further damage from a Claremont offense that out-gained the Panthers 286-271 in total offense and had three drives into Chapman territory where the Stags were unable to score. With under five minutes remaining in the game and trailing by four points, Claremont drove to the Chapman 15 before senior DL Willie Robbins forced the Stags' sixth fumble of the game - three of which the Panthers recovered, this one by junior LB Andrew Carcova.
Claremont (3-4) again got the ball back with 2:06 left in the fourth quarter and on its first play of the drive, freshman DB Nick Nugwynne intercepted a pass at the Chapman 18, securing the Panthers' victory.
For the second week in a row, Chapman (3-4) struck on its first possession. Following the opening kickoff, the Panthers marched 69 yards on 13 plays and scored on a fourth-and-goal quarterback sneak to go up 7-0 with 8:11 left in the first quarter. It was sophomore QB Blake Vanderweil who punched it into the end zone with a 1-yard touchdown run. The big play of the drive came on the Panthers' third play from scrimmage with Vanderweil connecting on a 42-yard pass play to senior WR Dan Delahoussaye to get deep into Claremont territory.
The ball bounced just right for the Panthers most of the night, especially in the early going. On Claremont's first play from scrimmage, the Stags fumbled and Chapman pounced on the loose ball at the Stags' 36-yard line. Four plays later, the Panthers scored again on a 27-yard pass from Vanderweil to junior WR Chris Langstaff to go up 13-0 quickly in the first.
However, that would be all the scoring for Chapman as the offense got stuck in neutral for the rest of the game. With the exception of a missed field goal midway through the second quarter, the Panthers didn't threaten again and never penetrated deeper than Claremont's 32-yard line while managing just four first downs in the second half.
Trailing 13-3 to start the fourth quarter, Claremont orchestrated a 14-play, 91-yard scoring drive that resulted in a 1-yard scoring run by QB Patrick Rooney, cutting the deficit to 13-9 with 14:02 left in the game.
It looked as though the Stags were on their way to completing a fourth-quarter comeback as they traveled 60 yards and into the Chapman red zone late in the fourth quarter before Carcova's fumble recovery.
Not surprising, Claremont's primary method of offense was on the ground as the Stags gained 206 yards rushing led by RB D.J. Lillard's 118 yards.
For Chapman, Vanderweil threw for a career-high 200 yards on 14 of 28 passing. Delahoussaye made six catches for 118 yards - his second 100-yard game this season. The senior wideout now has four 100-yard games in his career tying him for fourth in Chapman history.
The Panthers have now won five of the previous six meetings against Claremont. With the win Chapman snapped its first three-game losing streak since 2006 and evened its home record to 2-2 at Ernie Chapman Stadium this season.
Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/fball/2009-10/stats/cms-cu.htm