Chapman Football Game Notes (9/25/10)

NCAA Division III Football Game Notes
Chapman University (0-1) vs. Azusa Pacific University (3-0)
Saturday, Sept. 25, 2010
Wilson Field, Orange, Calif.
7 p.m. Kickoff

Home Openers
Chapman will attempt to make it four wins in five home openers under head coach Bob Owens since 2006. The Panthers are 3-1 in their past four home openers with their only loss coming in a 41-35 decision against Whitworth (Wash.) in 2008.

20+ Points = Success
Last season the offense was inconsistent, scoring 20 points or more on just three occasions. The Panthers were 2-1 in the games that they scored 20-plus points and 2-4 in the other games. The lone loss in 2009 that Chapman had when they scored over 20 points was to nationally-ranked Redlands.

Give Him the Rock
Senior RB Akio Lloyd navigated his way through the Menlo defense with relative ease in the Panthers' season opening loss. Lloyd racked up 113 total yards on offense, averaging over 10 yards every time he touched the ball. His 43 yards receiving on four catches was second on the team, and he led the way on the ground with 70 yards on seven carries. Lloyd also scored Chapman's lone touchdown - a 35-yard run - in a 21-10 loss.

CU Gets Defensive
Chapman senior SS Jake Fey's stellar Week 1 landed him on the defensive national leaderboard. His career-high 12 tackles against Menlo made him Division III's Independents leader in tackles.  Fey is also tied for fifth in all of Division III football in tackles for a loss. Senior DE Bob Burton is ranked No. 10 in Division III for tackles for a loss.

Burton's Revenge
Speaking of Burton, the senior's one-year hiatus for a film project didn't seem to have any affect on his ability to break through the offensive line in Week 1. The sizeable Burton (6-6, 240) shook off the rust quickly to the tune of nine tackles. Three of those were behind the line of scrimmage, including one sack, three QB hurries and a fumble recovery.

Adranly Cracks the Top-10
Junior punter Jimmy Adranly picked up right where he left off last season. Adranly averaged 42.6 yards per punt which was the ninth best in the nation in Week 1. This comes on the heels of a No. 12 ranking in punting in 2009, averaging 40 yards per punt. The junior punted 10 times against Menlo, including two 50-plus yarders. His longest traveled 55 yards matching his career-best.

Kick Return Unit Gets the Boot
The 2009 national leader in kick returns, Chapman was stopped cold by Menlo two weeks ago. The Panthers, who averaged over 27 yards per return last year, were held to just 15.5 yards per return against the Oaks - good for No. 198 in Division III.

Giving Football a Shot
Chapman's sophomore QB Brian Kirwan is giving football a shot after a three-year stint as a minor league baseball starting pitcher in the Minnesota Twins organization. Kirwan was an 11th round pick and reached as high as Class-A Beloit in the Midwest League in 2008. While Kirwan took the baseball route out of high school, he is not a stranger to the football field as he was an All-CIF quarterback in at Del Mar High School.

Chapman vs. Azusa Pacific
Azusa Pacific is off to its first 3-0 start since 2004. That year was also the last time Azusa came to Orange to face the Panthers.  Azusa controlled that game 30-3. Azusa maintains a 6-5 series edge against Chapman.  After winning the first four games of the series (1994-97), the Panthers lost six out of the next seven games between 1998 and 2004. This game renews the Chapman-Azusa football series after a six-year hiatus.

Remembering 2001
The Chapman-APU series will be remembered (around Chapman anyway) for arguably one of the two greatest finishes in Panther history. On Nov. 3, 2001, the Panthers and Cougars had the lead change hands four times in the final quarter with Azusa taking a 25-24 lead on a touchdown with 1:17 to play. Chapman's final drive ended with a 51-yard field goal by Matt Deter with 5 seconds left and the Panthers defeated APU 27-25. It is Chapman's only win against the Cougars since 1997.

Azusa Pacific in 2010
Azusa enters Saturday's game ranked No. 17 in the NAIA Coaches Poll. This is the highest APU has been ranked in four years and deservedly so. All the Cougars have done is average 49 points per game, including racking up 56 against the University of La Verne. Their 3-0 record also includes a 42-14 win over Division I (FCS) San Diego.

Scouting Menlo
Chapman will be challenged to stop Azusa Pacific QB John van den Raadt, who is the third-leading rushing quarterback in all of college football trailing only Michigan's Heisman hopeful, Denard Robinson and Nebraska's standout freshman Taylor Martinez.

Panthers On Air
For the fourth straight year, Chapman University Athletics will partner with the school's on-campus radio station, Chapman Radio, to broadcast the Panthers' football games in 2010 streaming live on the internet at www.chapmanradio.com/sports. A rotation of on-air student talent will provide play-by-play and commentary for every down of Chapman football. Tune in 15 minutes before the scheduled kickoff.

Complete game notes: http://www.chapmanathletics.com/sports/fball/2010-11/files/CU_Football_Game_Notes_0925.pdf