photo by Adam Omernik
University of La Verne quarterback Brian Guerrero (No. 9) made two touchdown passes in the first half of Saturday’s game against Redlands, to take an early 14-0 lead. The Bulldogs were able to capitalize on Leopards’ special teams mistakes and came back to end the half at 21-14, with ULV up by a touchdown. Guerrero also rushed for a touchdown in the loss for the Leopards.
In a game that could have put the University of La Verne on top in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, the Leopards literally let the game slip from their hands as they fell, 37-31, to the defending SCIAC champions, University of Redlands, Saturday at Ortmayer Stadium.
The Leopards dominated every facet of the game, but the turnovers were the difference. ULV out-gained Redlands on offense, 585 yards to 381, and ran 33 more plays.
“We’re doing good things in this program,” head coach Don Morel said. “We turned the ball over too many times, but one play doesn’t win or lose a game. We had opportunities to win, we just didn’t seal the victory.”
The key to the outcome was the Leopard turnovers late in the game. Leopard quarterback Brian Guerrero threw two costly interceptions in the red zone late in the fourth quarter, resulting in 10 Bulldog points.
“We broke down as a team,” Guerrero said. “They didn’t do anything better than we did. We just beat ourselves this time.”
Stepping up big for the Leopards once again was their signal-caller Guerrero, who completed 22 passes on 37 attempts for 382 yards and two touchdowns as well as one rushing touchdown.
Also contributing to the Leopard attack was wide receiver David Catchings, who caught seven balls for 145 yards and one score.
Wide-out Michael Raffee also had seven catches for 134 yards and one touchdown.
“Collectively, we came back as hard as we could,” Guerrero said. “I think we’ve learned that we are never out of the game.”
Defensively, the Leopards shut down the Bulldog offense for three plus quarters, but then fell apart, allowing 23 fourth-quarter points, three of which were in Leopard territory.
“We gave a tremendous effort throughout the game,” Morel said. “We never quit. We made a first half comeback and nearly pulled off a miraculous comeback at the end of the game.”
Offensively the Leopards came out strong, starting the game with Raffee catching a 17-yard strike from Guerrero putting the Leopards ahead 7-0.
The Leopards increased their lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter with a 59-yard touchdown pass from Guerrero to Catchings, putting the Bulldogs in a tough situation early.
Both teams traded punches in the second quarter resulting in a 21-14 half-time lead for the Leopards.
In the third period, the three points came off the leg of Leopard kicker Dave Rinderknecht from 30 yards out giving the Leopards a 24-14 lead.
“It was a tough loss,” center Mike Myers said. “We have to bounce back and eliminate the mistakes and overcome our next opponent.”
With the loss, the Leopards fall to 2-3 overall, 2-1 in SCIAC play with four games remaining.
The Leopards are back in action at 1 p.m. tomorrow when they travel to Thousand Oaks to face Cal Lutheran University in a SCIAC game.
Jonathan Corral can be reached at jcorral@ulv.edu.