Football looks toward tough season
Campus Times
September 13, 1996
Leopard coaches and players take to the field practicing technique for
the upcoming season where they hope to maintain their undefeated status.
Junior wide receiver Ervie Barnes avoids being tackled during an offensive
drill.
Fall is finally here. The smell of fresh cut grass, and the hint of a slight
breeze can only mean one thing-it is perfect weather for football. But according
to head football coach Don Morel, the weather is the last thing on the Leopards'
minds.
A new season and a new start is what Morel and his team have longed for
since last year's announcement that they did not make the Division III playoffs.
"It was disappointing, but we definitely have no bad feelings about
last year," said Morel.
The team will prove they have moved on when they take the field tomorrow
against a well-conditioned Azusa Pacific University team.
According to Morel, the team will carry a "one game at a time"
attitude through the season and this philosophy will begin with Azusa.
Incidentally, the Leopards will not have an easy time, with the addition
of Sonoma State to their schedule on Sept. 28 and only three home games
on their roster.
"We will play as hard as we can and let the cards fall where they might,"
said Morel.
The University of La Verne squad returns this season after going 9-0 for
the second year in a row last year, and outscoring opponents 410-141. The
Leopards also must start this season without one of the best quarterbacks
in La Verne history, Ryan Campuzano.
"Ryan is one of the toughest players I have ever had to replace,"
said Morel.
Another player they will miss in the backfield this year is running back
Anthony Jones, a transfer from Redlands last year and team leader for the
Leopards.
Although two key players are gone from the La Verne offense, the coaching
staff has high hopes for their two young quarterbacks, junior Ryan Hawkins,
a transfer from Azusa Pacific University, and sophomore James Free, a transfer
from Citrus College.
The team also looks to over-power opponents with the size of its offensive
line, which is mostly underclassmen.
Although the young players appear to be strong, the returning players look
to lead this team to another undefeated season.
All-American seniors, center Andy Moran and running back Anthony Rice, as
well as Scott Poskitt, Trey Fultz, Carl Caston, Anthony Russo, and Brian
Zavala hope to lead this team, not only to a winning record, but a Southern
California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) Championship in November.
"This year's team has worked very hard in camp, both mentally and physically,"
said Morel.
One concern last year was the lack of influential press coverage received
by the committee. Things might be different this year. They recently got
a visit from Los Angeles Times reporter Bill Plaschke, who published his
article in the Times on Sept. 1.
Plaschke wrote about last years disappointing news that the Leopards did
not make the Division III Playoffs, and how the players and Morel took the
news.
Plaschke's theme in the article explains that no one seemed to mind being
snubbed from last year's playoffs and that ULV showed good character in
the way the University and football players handled the situation.
The coaching staff consists of Morel and assistants Kirk Harmon, Dale Bunn,
Mike Riggs, John Yegge, Jim Langley, Steve Blair, and Bill Zernickow have
high hopes for this year's team and its abilities.
The Leopards will take on Azusa Pacific tomorrow in its first away game,
and end its season at home against Redlands on Nov. 16.
"It's going to be a very high athletic explosive game," said junior
quarterback Joe Glass, about the Azusa Pacific season opener.
Most agree that the team is prepared for Saturday's 6 p.m. game in which
they hope all their hard work will pay off.
"We have real high expectations because this is one of the most talented
teams ever," said freshman Andrew Woolsey.
But even with high hopes, they will take the humble attitude of one game
at a time as described by Glass.
"We are taking it one game at a time. We can't think about the championships
when we haven't even played our first game yet," said Glass.
So with the idea of not necessarily making championships in the back of
their head the Leopards take it step by step and game by game.
Other key match ups for La Verne include Sonoma State at Rohnet Park on
Sept. 28, and Chapman College on Oct. 26 in the City of Orange.