Homecoming heroics propel football to undefeated conference start

Photo courtesy of Larry Newman

Chapman football is on a hot streak. In commanding fashion, the Panthers delivered four quarters of masterful drives, energy and teamwork to defeat their rivals, the Redlands University Bulldogs, in a 27-0 win in this year's homecoming game on Oct. 4.

Led by new head coach Casey Shine, the Panthers’ offense, defense and special teams were firing on all cylinders leading to one of the most impressive performances by a Chapman football team to date.

How impressive, you might ask? Chapman's defense set two school records in the homecoming game. The first was for yards lost as they held the Bulldogs to only 71 total yards throughout the duration of the game. The second was for first downs, allowing Redlands only four first downs.

“We knew Redlands' offense was down a little bit this year, but they had some explosive plays against a team we lost to in the playoffs a couple of years ago, Whitworth,” Shine said. “It was definitely a team where we see a couple of chinks in the armor but they’re still talented enough to break off a few (points). The consistency all night of our defense just flying around was amazing to watch.” 

The offense took advantage of every opportunity the defense blessed them with, scoring four touchdowns, generating 404 total yards of offense, calling 73 plays and ending with a time of possession of 38 minutes and 58 seconds.

The first score was made by senior quarterback and business finance major Tyler Pacheco, when he ran it in for a one-yard touchdown after a drive of six plays and 46 yards down the field, making it 7-0 Chapman in the first quarter. 

When Chapman got the ball back on offense with six minutes and 54 seconds left in the second quarter, a 10 play, 80-yard drive ended when Pacheco sent a 21-yard pass to the back of the end zone to his go-to receiver, senior communication studies major Kade Zimmerman, over the heads of two defenders and planting two feet in bounds. 

After a quick celebration, the Panther defense took the field again. They weren't out there for long as junior defensive back and economics major Caleb Padrid intercepted the Redlands quarterback to get the ball back in Chapman's hands. 

It didn’t take long for Pacheco to capitalize on Padrid's effort when on the first play of the drive he sent a deep 40-yard ball down the sidelines to his guy Kade Zimmerman. With only one play, the Panthers offense was back off the field and now up 20-0 going into halftime, impressing the alumni in attendance.

Tyler Hartigan, a former noseguard for the Chapman University football team, spoke with The Panther about how nice it was to be able to be back out on Wilson Field watching his old team play.

“A lot of these guys I played with, there’s a lot of family here.” Hartigan said, “The culture coach Owens built, and now that Shine’s continuing, it’s just a family. You get to watch your brothers play on the field and see everyone come out here and shine.”

It didn’t take Chapman long into the second half to add to the score. On the second play of their drive, they ran a play Zimmerman called “homecoming,” where the quarterback hands it off to the running back, the running back steps up and tosses it back to the quarterback in hopes that a receiver has gotten open downfield.

When Pacheco got the ball tossed back to him by his running back, he found Zimmerman again wide open in the middle of the field for a 45-yard pass and easy touchdown. After an extra point scored by junior kicker and health sciences major Carson Nichols, the scoreboard read, Chapman: 27, Redlands: 0.

That was the final score of the game, as Chapman got revenge for their homecoming loss to Redlands two years ago. After the game, Zimmerman opened up about his experience with football, and how this last homecoming game was an incredibly special one for him. 

“This is my first game I felt like I really popped out and had a really good game in front of our home crowd. I had a couple (good games) last year during our away games but it was just super fun to be able to do that in front of my entire family,” he said.

Due to his stellar performance, Zimmerman was awarded Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) offensive player of the week, as well as winning the joint team award alongside Tyler Pacheco for offensive players of the game.

After the game, Shine told the Panther that winning his first homecoming game as head coach in a fashion like this was just amazing and that he couldn’t be more appreciative of the hard work his team has continued to put in week in and week out.

When asked about former head coach Bob Owens, Shine began beaming while talking about his old coworker and friend.

“I saw him before the game and he saw the guys — he loved it,” Shine said. “When I first came into Chapman, (Redlands) was our rival, and it’s been our rival. So he loved us pitching a shutout and dominating the game.” 

Shine continued: “It was his first homecoming game being up in the stands and being with the alumni so he had a ball, just telling stories and laughing the whole game. Obviously a lot of good things were happening on the field so just good feelings all around.”

The week after homecoming, the Panthers played another SCIAC rival in Pomona-Pitzer University. Expecting a tough game, the Panthers were eager to get out on the field and return one of the two losses handed to them by Pomona last year. 

And that’s exactly what they did.

In another four quarters of excellence, the Chapman Panthers held the Sagehens to only 10 points, and only trailed once in the entire game.

Kade Zimmerman’s younger brother, Tate Zimmerman, was awarded as SCIAC defensive player of the week for his defensive efforts, ending the game with an impressive nine solo and one assisted tackles for a total of 10 in the game. 

With a final score of 17-10, Chapman ended their losing streak against Pomona and cemented themselves at first place in the Surf Division with an overall record of 3-2 and an undefeated SCIAC record of 3-0.

As they look forward to this weekend, the Panthers gear up to take on another SCIAC rival in Cal Lutheran University, as they prepare for the game one thing remains clear: they’ll be going all gas, no brakes.