Team Report: Chapman Panthers
Make no mistake based on Chapman’s second-round playoff exit in 2020. The Panthers were undeniably one of the best three or four teams in Class 3A, and had it not been for the buzzsaw that was Daniel last fall, maybe…
Access all of Prep Redzone
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingMake no mistake based on Chapman’s second-round playoff exit in 2020.
The Panthers were undeniably one of the best three or four teams in Class 3A, and had it not been for the buzzsaw that was Daniel last fall, maybe coach Harris Cabaniss’ team would have had a different end result. Even with three big-time departures from the Class of 2021, Chapman will very likely spend the majority of of the upcoming season among the top of the state rankings again and have every shot of even more playoff success.
A big reason why is plenty of returning offensive firepower that all has a chance at a spot in the the NCAA Division-II (or higher) ranks.
Quarterback Drew Settle (6-foot-3, 175 pounds) threw for 1,651 yards and 18 touchdowns in eight games last fall. He completed 62 percent of his passes and was picked off just four times. The true pocket passer certainly has some high-end targets.
Receivers D.J. Black (6-foot-1, 170 pounds), Walt Waddell (6-foot-5, 200 pounds) and Tim McClurkin (6-foot, 170 pounds) area high-school quarterback’s dream trio. They each had at least 29 receptions, combined for 95 total and hauled in 1,380 yards and 17 touchdowns. Black led the way with 10 of those scores, but how they all feed off each other is the bigger takeaway heading into their senior seasons.
Paving the way for the flashy side of things that led Chapman to score at least 35 points in all but one game last year was a stout offensive line. Four of them are set to return. Nick Cox (6-foot-2, 235) Sam Moloa (6-foot-2, 270 pounds), Dylan Moody (6-foot, 280) and Dylan Fortner (6-foot-2, 220 pounds) will round out an offense that doesn’t seem to have many holes.
And while the Panthers’ defense will have to replace some of its best players – it’ll be a work in progress, at least to start the year – Chapman does have an additional weapon in kicker/punter Ricky Montalvo that will help stave off some of those depletions.
As a junior, Montalvo started to show some development in the punting game, reaching a long of 56 yards. He was also three-of-four on field goals with a 45 yarder and connected on 39 of his 41 PATs.