COLLEGE DIVISION NOTEBOOK / MARTIN BECK : Division III Coaches, Division I Hype

If you need proof that football coaches are the same at any level, look no further than Chapman’s Ken Visser and La Verne’s Don Morel.

As they prepare their teams for a season-opening NCAA Division III matchup at 1 p.m. Saturday at La Verne, both are talking up the opponent in ways that would make Lou Holtz proud.

“To be quite honest their skill level is much better than ours,” Morel said. “We are going to have to play a great game to beat Chapman.

“They have a talent-rich roster. Certainly the speed factor scares us. They could run around us and now it appears they will run over us also.”

Visser responds: “They are rated above us in every poll in the nation, they’ve had five more practice days than us and it’s their home game. How he has deduced from that that we are the favorite, I have no idea but that would be typical of a head coach.”

Visser can point to La Verne’s eight returning starters from an offense that was ranked eighth in the nation in scoring offense (38.6 points per game), helping the Leopards to an undefeated regular season last year.

Morel can point to a Chapman team that was 10th in the nation in scoring (37.8), has a similar amount of starters returning and appears to have gotten better.

Of course, the reality probably lies somewhere between the extremes. Last year, three points separated the teams, with La Verne hanging on to a 36-33 victory in Orange.

This year’s matchup looks to be just as attractive.

In Sports Illustrated’s Division III preseason poll, La Verne was ranked No. 16 and Chapman No. 25. Both teams have outstanding quarterbacks. La Verne ‘s Ryan Campuzano, a two-time All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection, completed 61% of his passes for 1,624 yards and 13 touchdowns. Chapman’s Curtis Robinson, playing almost the entire season with an injured shoulder, rushed for 469 yards and eight touchdowns and passed for 719 yards and nine touchdowns.

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Injury report: Chapman suffered a blow when Tyrone Vickers, a 6-foot-2, 220-pound tailback, injured his knee in a scrimmage with Ventura College Saturday. Vickers, who last played at Cerritos College in 1989, was expected to share time in the backfield with Darnell Morgan, the Panthers’ leading rusher last season. There is a chance the injury will knock out Vickers for the season.

Jason Long, a safety from Fullerton College and Esperanza High, sprained his ankle and knee in the scrimmage and is day to day, Visser said.

Morel said his team has the usual bumps and bruises, but should be at full strength for Saturday.

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The Southern California College men’s soccer team put memories of a frustrating 1994 season quickly in their place, opening this season with a 2-1 victory over UC Irvine Saturday.

Last season, the Vanguards finished 7-10-2 and ended a streak of five years of playing in the postseason.

“It isn’t that we played poorly, it’s we didn’t have the extra experience to win the close ones,” Coach Dave McLeish said.

Against Irvine Saturday, the Vanguards came through when it was necessary, scoring late in the first half to tie it and with a minute remaining in the game to win it.

“We played well, created some chances and put two of them away,” McLeish said.

Chuy Miramontes, a sophomore from Sunny Hills High, scored each goal. The first came off a crossing pass from Jon Molanex that left Miramontes 15 yards out one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

Then, with time winding down in the game, Sam Nokura stole the ball from an Irvine defender and slipped a pass across to Miramontes who caught the goalkeeper off his line. His shot from about 25 yards hit the crossbar and bounced down and in.

McLeish is hopeful that this season will continue to be fruitful for the Vanguards. He says his team should be able to control play against many opponents because of strong play from center halfbacks Kevin Villar and new addition Martin Lipens, whose father played professionally in Germany.

Notes

Chapman has three new assistant football coaches this season. Scott Norton, a former Cal State Northridge assistant, is coaching the offensive line; Ward Van Pelt, formerly of Fullerton College and Tustin High, is coaching the defensive line, and Robert Hill, a former La Verne player, is coaching the wide receivers. . . . Michael Cunningham, a midfielder on the Chapman women’s soccer team, scored three goals Wednesday in the Panthers’ opener against Biola. Cunningham is a junior from Cypress College and Sunny Hills High. Chapman led, 6-0, at the half. . . . Mary Holl, Concordia athletic director and women’s volleyball coach, has taken a year’s sabbatical to complete her doctorate in institutional management at Pepperdine. Softball Coach Curt Cattau is athletic director while Holl is gone. George Carey, an assistant for two seasons with the volleyball team, is the interim head coach. Holl, who coached the Eagles for 10 seasons, doesn’t plan to return to coach the volleyball program when she returns. . . . Southern California College has hired Beth Renkoski as its sports information director. Renkoski, an assistant coach for the softball team, replaces Pat Guillen, who was hired by Cal State Dominguez Hills this summer.