Cajon's Chapman twins soar toward stardom, lifted by role models

Three-star defensive backs Asaad and Ahamad blanket the west side, deflect the strife and follow a path carved by their mom and late stepdad.

SAN BERNARDINO – Cajon High School’s Thursday walk-through ends under a hot San Bernardino sun.

Cowboys coach Nick Rogers tells the players they must stop bringing non-football players into the team room. It just causes problems, he says. Now the Cowboys are restless and looking forward to a team meal.

“C’mon locker room, locker room,” a middle-aged equipment man yells from the middle of Cowboy Stadium. “Go change. Hey, let’s go. Hey, you guys, put your stuff up. I’m not gonna say it again. I been sayin’ it all day. C’mon, I ain’t waitin’ on ya.”

This is the loosely organized bedlam of the Cajon Cowboys, winners of six consecutive Citrus Belt League titles and 33 consecutive league games. The Cowboys (2-0) play at Aquinas (1-2) on Thursday. 

Cajon’s celebrated Chapman twins – Asaad and Ahamad – consider this an escape from the strife and drama of the city’s impoverished west side where they live.

“We grew up out here,” said Asaad, a three-star defensive back like his brother. “It’s bad. We’ve had a lot of relatives do bad things. My mom was the first one to go to college and graduate. So she’s the reason why we’re here right now.”

Thanks to the twins’ adoptive mom, Karyn Chapman-Battle, and their late stepfather Gregory Battle, the twins are on the cusp of football glory, scholarships, and all the world has to offer.

Chapman twins Asaad and Ahamad, are 3-star defensive backs at Cajon High School. Photo: John Murphy

BLANKET COVERAGE

“Check out my Week 2 highlights,” writes Asaad, directing viewers to hudl clips of Cajon’s victory against Orange Vista of Perris.

A flaming circle appears around Asaad at safety while his brother Ahamad vies with two stacked receivers near the line of scrimmage.

Ahamad blankets his man, while Asaad follows suit and swats a pass away.

No sweat.

Asaad is the older of the two by 20 minutes. He is also slightly bigger at 6-3, 190 than Ahamad’s 6-3, 175.

It bugs Ahamad when people don’t understand the twins aren’t exactly alike.

“We’re actually different,” he said. (Asaad) isn’t mean, but he likes to be alone. I’m chattier and like to talk to everyone.”

The Chapmans jointly own scholarship offers to San Diego State, Northern Arizona University, Washington State and Nevada.

Asaad and Ahamad Chapman each have secured four college offers and more are expected. Photo: John Murphy

ROLE MODELS

Last Thursday’s walk-through done; Rogers steers the twins toward the team room to be interviewed. Rogers has been Cajon’s coach since 2014 and the twins like him.

“He’s shown me football but he’s also teaching us how to be disciplined and how to be a team leader,” Asaad said. “Sophomore year I wasn’t doing very well in school, but Rogers got me on the right path.”

The twins plop down on a leather couch in the team room. They’re funny. When asked to pose for a photo, they immediately grab the collars of their jerseys for their standard twins’ football pose.

Karyn Chapman-Battle adopted the twins when they were 21 days old. She said her brother’s girlfriend was unable to care for them and their younger sister, Allanhi. Allanhi turned 16 last week.

“I tell them it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Karyn said. “It’s part of their story.”

The twins have 13 siblings in all, some of whom they know well and others not.

Karyn escaped the streets to earn a master’s degree in accounting. She owns her own business and a home on the west side. She was influenced by her mother’s friend, the late Joyce Randolph, who was an entrepreneur and a home owner.

The twins thought of Joyce as their grandma and called her “Play Mama.”

But one of the twins’ greatest role models was stepdad Gregory Battle.

He died of cancer shortly before Cajon’s regular season win last year against Citrus Valley.

NOT ALONE

Gregory Battle loved football and started a team on the west side, the San Bernardino Hawks.

“They struggled but he always made a way for the kids to have something because they had nothing,” Asaad said.

The twins didn’t like Gregory at first. Gregory was a former military man, and that took some getting used to.

“When he was my boyfriend, the boys would sneak around listening to our conversations,” Karyn said. “They made up different pranks to try to get rid of him like putting a can of paint on top of a door.”

But eventually Gregory won them over with his love of football, fishing trips, and other fatherly touches. Now they scroll LLP (Long Live, Pop) on the bottom of the long white shirts that they wear under their jerseys.

Gregory had something for the twins, too. They each got engraved medals referencing Isaiah 41:10: “Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

“I didn’t have any offers, but Greg said, ‘They’re coming.’” Asaad said. “Everything he said turned out to be true. It was sad because he couldn’t be here to see it happen, but I know he’s up there and he’s happy. And I’m so happy that my mom chose him as a role model for us.”