Determined Chapman Rallies to Beat Azusa Pacific, 32-26

Chapman, all big plays and domination the first five games of 1996, finished the season with some gutsy determination Saturday, rallying from a nine-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Azusa Pacific, 32-26.

The Panthers played a nearly flawless fourth quarter against a tough Azusa Pacific team, and came through with two key plays to decide it.

First, with 2 minutes 28 seconds left, Chapman quarterback Greg Hyland, passed 24 yards to tight end David Vaccaro for the go-ahead touchdown. Then after Azusa Pacific drove into Chapman territory in four plays, Panther defensive tackle Robert Nicholl ran down Azusa tailback Elijah Raphael, stripped the ball and recovered the fumble.

Chapman ran out the clock, putting a satisfying end to a disappointing season. “I have never been prouder of a football team,” Chapman Coach Ken Visser told his players afterward.

The season had begun with such promise--Chapman won its first five games by an average of 36 points and seemed to have a good shot at an NCAA Division III playoff spot.

Then it was discovered that two starters were playing a fifth year of college football, which eventually prompted Chapman to forfeit those victories. Then the Panthers lost to La Verne for the third consecutive season. Then they were hit by an injury epidemic, losing standout quarterback Curtis Robinson among others.

So Chapman (7-2, not including the forfeits) wasn’t nearly the same team Saturday that it once was. But then neither was Azusa Pacific (7-3). The past two years, Chapman pounded the Cougars, 59-19 and 45-9.

This time it looked as if Azusa might be able to run away with it. Raphael, a 5-foot-9, 190-pound transfer whom Chapman recruited, rushed for a career-high 211 yards and was a constant breakaway threat. But Chapman hung tough, even though it was having trouble on both sides of the ball.

Chapman had to resort to trickery for its first touchdown, a 26-yard pass from receiver Martrice Stephens to Ramsey Byrd after a reverse. A 60-yard run by Byrd and a school-record 53-yard field goal made it 19-15 at halftime.

After a scoreless third quarter, Azusa took a 26-17 lead on the first play of the fourth, a 19-yard touchdown pass from Bryan Lucas to Jay Mayo.

But after that Chapman took over, grinding out an 80-yard, 12-play drive. Ralph Langston carried nine times for 45 yards, including the final six to make it 26-24 with 8:30 left.

Chapman got the ball back two minutes later at its 35 and turned to Hyland to move the ball. After completing a 14-yard pass to Gabe Baltodano down to the Azusa 36, Hyland was hit hard and had to leave the game because of a shoulder stinger.

He returned two plays later, but eventually faced third and nine from the 24. Vaccaro ran a pattern over the middle and Hyland put the ball right into his hands in the end zone. Hyland also passed to Vaccaro for a two-point conversion, just before being hit by an Azusa rusher.

“Did you see him at the end of the game?” Visser asked. “He could barely walk off the field. He played with tremendous courage. I’m so proud of him.”

Hyland, a sophomore from Rosemead, said he was glad to put the proper punctuation on the Panthers’ season. “I think that was a good ending,” he said. “We went out on a positive note. We went through a lot of stuff, but that’s a good season for us no matter what happened.”