La Verne Just Manages to Halt Chapman’s Last-Minute Bid for a Victory

Chapman quarterback Curtis Robinson’s pass was intercepted at the goal line with 50 seconds remaining as La Verne held on for a 36-33 nonconference victory over the Panthers Saturday at Chapman.

The way things were going, few would have figured this game would come down to a defensive play. With five second-half lead changes, one would expect the last team with the ball to win.

And with Robinson leading a drive from the Chapman 34 to the La Verne 17, the Panthers appeared to be in good shape. Earlier in the drive, Robinson nearly completed a 43-yard scoring pass to Terrance Green, but the pass was knocked away.

That might have been a sign of things to come.

On second and eight for the 17, Robinson rolled out and looked for Oscar Ford in the end zone, but defensive back Kurt Von Fossen picked it off. La Verne took over at the four-yard line and ran out the clock.

Chapman, which looked overmatched in the first few minutes of the game, took the lead three times in the second half, only to have La Verne rally. The Leopards took the lead for good on a 10-yard run by Darren MacLellan with 3 minutes 29 seconds left in the game.

“We played hard on defense,” Chapman Coach Ken Visser said. “We may not have had great stats. We didn’t always stop them when we needed to, but we played very hard.”

That’s small consolation for the Panthers (4-2-1) and cause for celebration for La Verne (7-0), which improved its chances of getting an NCAA Division III playoff bid.

The victory was an emotional one for La Verne defensive lineman Tyrone Youngblood. Youngblood, an All-Southern Section selection at Marina High and All-Mission Conference at Orange Coast College, made an impressive return to Orange County.

Youngblood, a 6-foot-2 258-pound senior, sacked Robinson once early in the game and generally mucked up the Panthers first few series.

I thought after we scored I thought we were going to take it easily,” Youngblood said. “But they sure gave us a game.”

La Verne took leads of 7-0 and 14-7 with an offense that was on a roll.

After a short punt by Mario Acosta, the Leopards took over at the Chapman 39. Five plays later, quarterback Ryan Campuzano scored from six yards on a naked bootleg.

Chapman even the score when Campuzano was sacked by Kenison Poching and Michael Simmons and Toney Eggleston picked up the fumble and ran 52 yards for a touchdown.

After La Verne went ahead 14-7, Chapman finally got its offense going. Ford gained 40 yards on a 54-yard drive and Darnell Morgan scored on a 14-yard screen play.

Chapman took a 21-14 lead on its first possession of the second half when Aaron Meschuk finished a 49-yard drive with an eight-yard run.

La Verne receiver Anthony Rice, drawing one-on-one coverage from Simmons, a linebacker, caught a touchdown pass from Campuzano to the score with 10:02 left in the third quarter.

Chapman then scored again, taking 6:38 to drive 60 yards in 12 plays. Green scored on a four-yard lob from Robinson. Bill Hamlin missed his first extra point of the season, making it 27-21.