Menlo magic leaves Chapman disappointed in opener
ATHERTON, Calif. – For the second week in a row, the Menlo College football team used a bit of fourth-quarter magic to come from behind and win. This time, it was Chapman University that fell victim to the Oaks' rally as the visiting Panthers were upended in their season opener 21-10 at Connor Field on Saturday afternoon.
Chapman (0-1) had led 10-7 heading into the fourth quarter, but Menlo (2-0) rallied for two touchdowns in the final 15 minutes to snap its three-game losing streak to the Panthers and hand Chapman its first opening week loss since 2006.
Menlo had rallied a week before against Occidental, out-scoring the Tigers 28-8 in the final quarter to beat Oxy 42-25.
The Oaks took their first lead of this game with 13:48 remaining in the fourth quarter as QB Cruz Castillo connected with WR Mike Alexander on an 18-yard touchdown pass to give Menlo a 14-10 lead. That score capped a 73-yard drive and chewed over 5 minutes off the clock. Menlo then added some insurance later in the quarter with a 12-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that ended with Castillo hitting WR Kenny Cavness with a 30-yard scoring pass to make it 21-10.
The Chapman offense was unable to respond to the Oaks' drives in the fourth quarter. The Panthers went three-and-out in their first two possessions of the fourth quarter and in a frantic final drive, Chapman reached as deep as the Menlo 30 yard line but could not score.
The Panthers managed just 181 yards of total offense, 158 of those yards coming in the air.
After a scoreless stalemate in the first quarter, the Panthers' offense showed signs of life in the second. Chapman earned its first first down of the game and quickly turned it into a three-play, 54-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 35-yard touchdown run from senior RB Akio Lloyd, giving the Panthers a 7-0 lead.
Menlo's defense came up with its second interception of the half with 10:07 remaining in the second quarter and after the 17-yard return, the Oaks had the ball on Chapman's 30 yard line. Menlo capitalized on the great field position and seven plays later evened the score at 7 with a touchdown of its own.
On Chapman's final drive of the half, the Panthers used good clock management, traveling 51 yards in nine plays and 75 ticks of the clock to enable sophomore K Mauricio Alfonso to kick his first career field goal. The kick, a 31-yarder, gave Chapman a 10-7 lead with just 8 seconds left in the half.
The Panthers' defense was solid for three quarters but wore down in the fourth, allowing 144 of the Oaks' 326 yards and two touchdowns in that time. Chapman also forced a pair of fumbles in the game, but could not turn them into points.
Senior DB Jake Fey forced one of those fumbles and led the Panthers with 12 tackles, including three behind the line of scrimmage. Senior DL Bob Burton also created havoc in the Menlo backfield with 2.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback sack.
Offensively, junior QB Bret Visciglia completed 21 of 39 passes in his Chapman debut with eight different receivers catching passes. Lloyd, who rushed for 70 yards on just 10 carries, also caught four passes for 43 yards.
Chapman's kick return unit, which led the nation in 2009, was held to just 62 yards on four returns for an average of 15.5 yards.
by Doug Aiken
Sports Information Director
Boxscore: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/fball/2010-11/files/cu-mc.htm