Chapman Football Game Notes (Azusa Pacific)
A First Time for Everything
Prior to Chapman's season-opening 16-14 win over
Whitworth, Chapman had been winless in the series. Chapman now has
a 1-4 record against Whitworth dating back to 1994.
Game-Winning Kicks
Junior K Mauricio
Alfonso's game-winning field goal against Whitworth
with seven seconds remaining marked the third time in school
history that Chapman had won a game with a field goal in the final
10 seconds. The last time Chapman won with a last-second field goal
was in 2003 as the Panthers defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 17-14
on the road. The only other game-winning field goal for the
Panthers at Ernie Chapman Stadium came in 2001 on a 51-yard field
goal from Matt Deter with 5 seconds remaining to defeat Azusa
Pacific 27-25.
A Rare Come-From-Behind Win Over Whitworth
In addition to beating Whitworth for the first time in
school history and kicking a game-winning field goal, Chapman did
something else against Whitworth that has not happened very often:
The Panthers came from behind to get the win. Chapman is now
21-60-1 when an opponent scores first, 14-59 when trailing after
the first quarter, 10-65 when trailing at halftime and 6-71 when
trailing after three quarters.
Career-High for Visciglia
Senior QB Bret
Visciglia set a career-high in completions against
Whitworth going 23-of-34 for 192 yards and a touchdown. His
previous high for completions was 21 against Menlo College in his
first-career start for Chapman in 2010.
A Good Sign for the Offense
The Panthers ran for 116 yards against Whitworth and
averaged four yards per carry. Freshman RB Jeremiah
McKibbins led the way for the Panthers with 55 yards
on 13 carries. Chapman had a 4-3 record last season in games that
they ran for 100 yards or more.
Defense Doing its Part
The last time Chapman's defense held an opponent to 14
points or less was a 17-14 road win against La Verne in the 2009
season finale. Leading the way for the defense against Whitworth
was junior LB Mike
Mehlhaff who had nine tackles, two tackles for loss
and one sack. Sophomore LB Anthony
Ferraro had seven tackles, four tackles for loss and
two sacks and was named to the D3football.com Team of the Week for
his efforts against Whitworth. Ferraro currently leads the nation
in tackles for loss and is tied for third in sacks, while the
defense is 11th overall with four sacks total.
Azusa Pacific in 2011
The Cougars are off to a 2-1 start and boast a No.14 ranking in the
latest NAIA Coaches Top-25 Poll with their lone loss coming to FCS
University of San Diego 42-40. Azusa Pacific's two victories have
been blowouts over Division III foes La Verne (65-14) and Whittier
(51-3). The Cougars are averaging 52 points and 540 yards of total
offense per game which rank first and second in NAIA, respectively.
Its defense hasn't been too bad either, limiting opponents to 19.7
points and 322 yards of total offense. The Cougars' run defense has
been especially strong, limiting opposing ball carriers to 2.6
yards per rush.
Cougars Running Wild
Of Azusa Pacific's 1,620 yards of total offense in three
games this season, 1,114 have been on the ground. The Cougars are
averaging 371.3 yards per game rushing which ranks second in NAIA
and 8.3 yards per carry. Leading the running attack is dual-threat
senior QB John van den Raadt at 113.7 yards per game followed by
junior RB Johnell Murphy who averages 99.7 yards. The Cougars have
six ball carriers averaging 25-or-more yards per game. Last season
Azusa Pacific won 35-17 over Chapman and ran all over Chapman's
defense, totaling 403 yards on 46 carries for a total of 8.8 yards
per rush. Chapman trailed 21-17 at halftime, containing van den
Raadt for the most part, but in the second half he got loose for
touchdown runs of 50 and 77 yards to break the game open. He ran
for 162 yards against Chapman in 2010 while Murphy ran for 206
yards.
Chapman vs. Azusa Pacific
Azusa leads the all-time series 7-5, having won the last four
games dating back to 2002. In 2001, Chapman defeated Azusa 27-25 on
the aforementioned game-winning 51-yard field goal by Matt
Deter.
Support Coach to Cure MD
Coach Owens and his staff are among more than 500
universities joining forces this week to support the Coach
to Cure MD program which raises awareness and money to
fund research for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the most prolific
lethal genetic disorder of childhood. On Saturday, Chapman's
coaching staff, along with many members of the American Football
Coaches Association (AFCA) will be wearing patches on their sleeves
to raise awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
To donate $5 to Coach to Cure MD, text the word "Cure" to 90999.
You can also visit coachtocuremd.org to make a donation. The
Chapman coaching staff, Coach to Cure MD and the AFCA would like to
thank you for support.
Chapman Football on Air
For the fifth straight year, Chapman has partnered with the
school's on-campus radio station, Chapman Radio, to broadcast all
nine Panthers' football games in 2011 streaming live on the
internet at http://www.chapmanradio.com/sports. A rotation of
on-air student talent will provide play-by-play and commentary for
every down of Chapman football.
For complete game notes click here.
Sports Information Assistant