Wild Second Half Topples Chapman : College football: La Verne mounts a major comeback to win, 35-34.

It was billed as an evenly matched game between two of the nation’s leading NCAA Division III football teams.

For a while, however, it looked as though it was going to be a season-opening runaway for Chapman, which built a surprising lead of 21 points in the first quarter.

But the fireworks were just beginning.

La Verne rebounded to stay close at halftime, then won, 35-34, Saturday in Ortmayer Stadium in front of an estimated 2,000 fans on two fourth-quarter touchdowns by quarterback Ryan Campuzano and running back Anthony Jones.

“I was real worried when we got up like that,” Chapman Coach Ken Visser said. “I know that those kinds of early leads don’t always hold up. I don’t want to say it was a letdown, but I do think a tiny bit of complacency started to hit.”

And Visser is sorry the game was the first of the season. La Verne, unbeaten in the regular season last year, including a 36-33 victory over Chapman, was ranked No. 16 in Sports Illustrated’s preseason poll. Chapman was No. 25.

“I wish we could have played it later,” Visser said. “But I said it before the game and I still believe it now: Those five extra days they had to practice under their league’s rules was a big advantage. But La Verne is a tough team to beat any time. They do a super job.”

The game had the look of a season opener from a mistake standpoint, especially for Chapman. The Panthers had four fumbles and quarterback Curtis Robinson had two passes intercepted. Chapman also had 111 yards in penalties to La Verne’s 59.

Chapman’s regular fullback, Aaron Meschuk, also was out because of an ankle injury. A fumble set up the first of La Verne’s two fourth-quarter touchdowns, cutting Chapman’s lead to 34-29. Campuzano scored from five yards with 13:06 left in the game after the Leopards took over on the Chapman 18. La Verne drove 64 yards for the winning touchdown with 4:20 left. Jones went the final 11 yards.

Chapman had a good opportunity a possession later after Oscar Ford’s 64-yard kickoff return, but two key passes failed. La Verne took over and ran down the clock, leaving Chapman deep in its territory for the final minute.

Junior running back Taliv Traylor scored two of Chapman’s three first-quarter touchdowns on runs of 28 and 61 yards, with Darnell Morgan getting the other from 20 yards in a 116-yard, two-touchdown day.

La Verne’s Carl Caston intercepted a Robinson pass and ran it back 50 yards for a touchdown early in the second quarter. Another fumble led to La Verne’s second touchdown when Jones scored from the five. Gabe Baltodano gave Chapman a second-quarter touchdown on a 32-yard run, but LaVerne cut it to 27-15 at halftime on Juan Contreras’ 37-yard field goal.

La Verne Coach Don Morel said he didn’t make any major changes at halftime. “I think Robinson is a fine quarterback, but I thought the difference in the game in the second half was Campuzano,” he said. “He ran the offense really well time after time.”

Campuzano was six of 18 for 144 yards and a third-quarter touchdown. Jones had 181 yards rushing in a school-record 41 carries. Robinson was six of 14 for 54 yards passing.