ULV pulls rabbit out of its helmet

photo by Jennifer Contreras

Within a yard of the goal line, senior running back Travis Lerma (No. 4) drove the ball past freshman Tim Tanous of Occidental to score before being taken down. Lerma drove the ball a total of 69 yards during ULV's game against Occidental Saturday. Lerma led the team with two touchdowns, helping the Leopards take the game, 24-22. This win marks the first SCIAC victory for ULV since 2000. It also provides ULV with a winning record of 2-1 at home this season.

by Matt Paulson
Sports Editor

In front of more than 500 fans at Ortmayer Stadium, the University of La Verne football team earned its first Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference win in two years Saturday as the Leopards defeated Occidental College, 24-22.

The victory, in which head coach Don Morel used three fake punts and two fake field goals - more attempts than most teams will try in a season - is the Leopards' second straight and brings their final overall record to 3-5, ending at 1-4 in conference.

The loss drops the Tigers to 5-4 overall and 1-4 in the SCIAC.

"Certainly it was our best effort all year," Morel said.

In the opening quarter, neither team was able to put any points on the scoreboard, although the Leopards did manage to drive down to the Occidental 1-yard line, only to have a fake field goal stopped, resulting in a turnover on downs.

Early in the second quarter, the Leopards were faced with a fourth-and-one situation on their 45-yard line. Junior punter John Barnes took position to punt, but the ball was snapped to freshman Justin Wolfchief. Wolfchief gained ample yardage for the ULV first down as he rumbled 17 yards up the middle.

The Leopards were unable to capitalize on this fake, though. On the next play, ULV turned over the ball on fumble.

The ball traded hands a few more times before Occidental opened up the scoring with 9:46 remaining in the second quarter. Junior kicker Matt Bernstein split the uprights on a 24-yard try, making the score 3-0.

It would not take long for ULV to answer back.

After a Leopard personal foul on the ensuing kickoff, ULV was forced to start from its own 14-yard line.

Seven plays later, La Verne faced a fourth-and-five situation from the Leopards' own 35-yard line. On a gutsy move by Morel, the Leopards faked another punt. If the fake failed, ULV would reward Oxy with excellent field position.

The snap went to Barnes. Instead of punting, Barnes dumped the ball off to senior linebacker Ryan Gustafson on the left side. Gustafson was taken down right at the first down marker. After the ball was set, the referees brought out the chains for a measurement.

The referee signaled for a ULV first down; the fake was successful.

ULV continued to march down the field until facing a third-and-13. Morel called timeout.

After the timeout, senior quarterback Gabe Lujan took the snap. He fired the ball up the middle to junior tight end Adam Khawaja for the first down.

On the ensuing series, directly after an Oxy offside call, the ULV offensive line opened up a gaping hole for senior running back Travis Lerma, who scampered 30 yards nearly untouched up the middle for the Leopard touchdown.

After an Ian Britt extra point, the scoreboard showed a 7-3 ULV lead.

The Leopards carried this lead into halftime.

At the beginning of the third quarter, ULV kicked off. Britt sent a squib kick to junior Tiger Johnny Williams, who was taken down at the Oxy 29-yard line.

On the first play from scrimmage in the second half, senior quarterback Tyler Paopao handed the ball to junior running back Eduardo Borrego, who then broke free, got to the outside and carried the ball 71 yards for the touchdown.

The extra point was good, making the score 10-7 in favor of Oxy.

"We just came out flat," Morel said. "On the flip side, it seemed to get us fired up."

The ULV offense answered back on its next drive.

After an offside call on the Oxy kickoff, the re-kick was sent out of bounds and handed ULV field position at the Leopards' own 40-yard line.

The Leopards marched forward, helped by two big pass plays to freshman Joe Lovallo and a 21-yard run by Lujan on a huge hole opened up by the offensive line.

On a third-and-two from the Occidental 9-yard line, Lerma forced his way through Tiger defenders over the goal line, retaining the Leopard lead at 13-10.

During the extra point, one of the most bizarre plays of the year unfolded as the Tigers blocked the Britt attempt.

The Tigers picked up the ball inside the Leopard 20-yard line and carried it to about the 45-yard line. The Leopards then caught up with the Tiger ball carrier, and, as he was about to be tackled, the Tiger lateralled the ball to teammate junior Travis Neet. Neet then broke away from ULV pursuers and took the ball the rest of the way to the Leopard end zone.

Because the play resulted from a Leopard extra point attempt, the Tigers were awarded a two-point conversion, making the score 13-12.

Morel attributed the block to Oxy's "giant defensive line."

"They mashed us inside and on the edge (on the play)," he said. "There's nothing you can do."

The Leopards were forced to kick the ball off to the Tigers, even though the Tigers had just scored the two-point conversion.

On the kickoff, Neet, riding the adrenaline rush from the last play, took the ball 52 yards to the Leopard 43-yard line.

Just as the momentum seemed to be changing, the Leopard defense stood strong, as it stoned the Tiger offense, forcing a three-and-out drive.

On its next drive, the Oxy offense would manage three more points on a 36-yard Bernstein field goal, taking the lead at 15-13.

At the beginning of the fourth quarter, ULV answered back.

The Leopards had driven down to the Oxy 35-yard line.

Sophomore Jeff Williams, who led the Leopards in rushing with 133 yards on 26 carries Saturday, was handed the ball. Once again, the Leopard offensive line produced a hole big enough to drive a truck through. Williams hit it and carried the ball down to the Tiger 2-yard line.

Two plays later, Williams was given the opportunity to finish off the drive. He did just that, making the score 19-15 in favor of ULV.

On the two-point conversion, Lujan lobbed the ball into Wolfchief's hands for a successful attempt, increasing the Leopard lead to 21-15 with 11:58 remaining in the game.

On the ensuing drive, Oxy was forced to punt out of its own territory by the Leopard defense. A high snap on the play made the Oxy punter attempt to throw a pass out of desperation. It was incomplete, giving the Leopards the ball at the Tiger 39-yard line.

Four plays later, a fake field goal attempt was successful, giving the Leopards the first down, which eventually led to a Britt field goal. The score was 24-15 in favor of ULV.

Overall, ULV attempted three fake punts and two fake field goals. Four of these five attempts led to Leopard first downs.

"We felt like we needed to do that to win the game," Morel said. "In a game like that, you're going to do whatever you have to do to win the game."

On the following Oxy drive, the Tigers put together an impressive string of passes to lead to a touchdown.

"We traded yards for time," Morel said, talking about the Leopard defense giving the Tigers the middle of field, disallowing them to get out of bounds to stop the game clock.

"We could give up a score as long as they were taking time off the clock," he said.

The Tiger drive ate 2:51 off the game clock, leaving 2:05 in the game after the successful Tiger extra point, which made the score 24-22 in favor of ULV.

After a Leopard punt, the Tigers retained the ball at their own 22-yard line with 30 seconds left in the game. It was up to the Leopard defense to win the game.

With one second left, the Tigers had only advanced the ball 18 yards to their 40-yard line.

Paopao tried one last ditch effort on an attempted Hail Mary pass.

The ball never came near any Tiger receiver, though, as junior linebacker Phil Faulding hit Paopao right at his release, disrupting the flight of the pass that fell harmlessly out of bounds.

The game was over; ULV won its second straight by a score of 24-22.

"It was just awesome," Faulding said. "It means a lot to everybody on this team to win at home."

In this, the last game of the season, ULV football must bid adieu to its seniors. There is no better way to do this than with a victory.

"It's a nice way to end a roller coaster of a year," Lujan said.

"We had something to win for," freshman defensive back Jeff Magdaleno said.

"You can't say enough good things about (the seniors)," Morel said. "They did a great job hanging in here. They played their best football since 1999 in the last few weeks."

The undefeated final two weeks also "sets a foundation for next year," senior wide receiver Jason Reyes said.

"We have the nucleus for a very good football team," Morel said.

"(The finish) gives (us) a really good situation for next year," Magdaleno said. "We know we can do it now, and this gives us the drive to shoot for the title."

The ULV football team suffered nearly unmatched adversity late this season with the serious injury to senior quarterback Rollie Dykstra, which led to the cancellation of a game and a half.

"This team, we're like family, and we just kept on fighting together," Faulding said.