Chapman Scores 31 Points in Row to Win 11th in a Row

The Chapman football team could use a challenge and briefly Saturday night Chico State appeared to be the team to provide it. But the Panthers quickly reverted to their norm, scoring 31 consecutive points on the way to a 44-15 victory in front of 3,205 at Chapman.

It was Chapman’s 11th consecutive victory over two seasons, including a 10-7 victory over Chico State last year. That narrow margin--Chico State missed a field-goal attempt in the final minute that would have tied the score--provided evidence that Saturday’s game would be close. That and the fact Chico State is a NCAA Division II program and Chapman is Division III.

However, divisions made no difference in this game. Chapman made its usual big plays on offense and overwhelmed Chico State on defense, forcing six turnovers and holding the Wildcats to 204 total yards.

Defensive tackle Robert Nicholl was all over the Chico State backfield. Nicholl, a 25-year-old former Mater Dei standout, had four sacks and recovered a fumble.

Nicholl said the bye week gave the Panthers more time to prepare, by game time they felt as if they knew what Chico State was going to do before it did it. “We practiced two weeks for these guys,” Nicholl said. “We just had them down.

“It was great. I haven’t had this much fun in a game since high school.”

At first, however, Chico State was having all of the fun. After stopping the Panthers on three plays of their first series, Chico State punt returner Michael Eberhardt caught Mario Acosta’s punt at the 10-yard line and blazed for a 90-yard touchdown, giving the Wildcats (2-3) a 7-0 lead.

Chapman immediately bounced back, scoring on a seven-play, 80-yard drive. Morgan got outside and gained 13 and 21 yards on his first two carries, moving the ball to the Chico 32. Three more Chapman rushes moved the ball to the three, but a Chapman holding penalty nullified an apparent Robinson touchdown. Chico State was called for offsides, moving the ball to the eight, and Darnell Rubin scored on a reverse.

Chapman ended the half with two quick touchdowns. The first, set up by Nicholl’s fumble recovery at the Chico 28-yard line, was a four-yard run by Morgan. The second, set up by Rubin’s 59-yard punt return, was a 24-yard pass from Curtis Robinson to Martrice Stevens.

That gave Chapman a 21-7 halftime lead. In the second half, Stevens caught another touchdown pass from Robinson (39 yards) and Rubin, who finished with 29 all-purpose yards, had a 56-yard reverse for a touchdown.

Morgan, who averaged 186 yards rushing in the first two games, was held to 94 yards, only his second time under 100 yards in two seasons. Last year, Chico State limited him to two yards.

Chico State again played close attention to Morgan, but was done in by the rest of the Panthers. And what about that divisional difference? Chico State Coach Rob Tomlinson didn’t see any. “Chapman is as good as any Division II team that we are going to play,” Tomlinson said. “They are faster than most of the teams we play. Then you’ve got a guy like Darnell Morgan who is definitely a Division I-type player. We know him well.”