SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On a hot Saturday afternoon at Royal Stadium, the tandem of quarterback Drew Settle and receiver DJ Black powered the Panthers to a 48-24 victory over Broome.
The win clinched the Region III-3A championship for Chapman and also marked the fourth region title overall in as many seasons for the Panthers. In the first quarter, Chapman’s opening drive appeared to stall out at midfield, but a fake punt gave the Panther’s offense new life. They capitalized on the opportunity as Settle dropped back and found DJ Black across the middle for a fifteen yard touchdown, staking Chapman to a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. On two of their next three possessions, the Settle to Black connection struck for two more scores, on strikes from 66 and 65 yards, respectively, for a 28-6 Chapman advantage midway through the second quarter. Black had a huge day for the Panthers, finishing with seven receptions for 259 yards and four touchdowns. “Oh, man. (D.J.) stretches the field for us,” Chapman head coach Harry Cabiness remarked. “Being able to move a guy like him around on the field really causes problems for opposing defenses. Anybody that can stretch the field for us is going to make us pretty special.” Late in the first half, Broome had moved the football inside the Panthers’ 35 yard line, but an Andrew Melton interception in the end zone turned the Centurions away. The turnover resulted in a nine yard touchdown from Settle to Derrick Miller with nine seconds left before intermission. Settle threw for 333 yards and five touchdowns, while Miller rushed for 120 yards and a score to go along with his touchdown grab. Defensive lineman Abraham Fyfe also recovered a Broome fumble and took it in for a touchdown. “Like I told these guys at the beginning of the season,” Cabiness stated. “There wasn’t a whole lot of people that thought we’d win a region championship this year, from coaches to players, with as much as we lost (to graduation) and everything.” “That’s a true testament to these guys and these coaches on what they’ve put in to give us another opportunity to put up another banner in the rafters.” Chapman (5-0, 5-0 Region 3-3A) will await to see what is next, as their previously scheduled opponent (Clover) had to pause varsity football activities as a precautionary measure surrounding an illness-related situation. Currently, the Panthers are also scheduled to play a non-region road game against Wahalla on November 6th. -Justin Mathis |
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