Cougars beat Leopards, 23-14
Campus Times
October 24, 1997
Sophomore quarterback Gary Tessitore, who also played wide receiver,
is pursued by APU junior defensive end Oscar Burgueno, looks for an opening
in the Saturday game against Azusa Pacific University. The Leopards played
a hard battle but lost 23-14. ULV has a bye week and will play Chapman on
Nov. 1 for Homecoming. The Leopards have a 2-4 record.
Grappling with defeat for the past two weeks, the University of La Verne
entered Ortmayer Stadium on Saturday with a new set of goals.
Head coach Don Morel said they would try to eliminate turnovers, have
a solid defense and to do well in the special teams. However, the Leopards
ended the day in a 23-14 loss against the Azusa Pacific Cougars, leaving
them 2-4 overall.
The Leopards presented a strong running game, rushing for 180 yards.
But turnovers still remain a persistent problem for the Leopards. ULV committed
four turnovers throughout the game against Azusa Pacific.
"We continued to make turnovers that just kill us," said Morel.
Overall, Morel is "very pleased" with the effort of the team
and feels that it competed much better than in the Cal Lutheran game the
previous week.
Azusa Pacific made its presence known on the scoreboard in the first
quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run by Bryan Lucas of APU.
Junior Brent Meier started at quarterback for the Leopards, while sophomore
Gary Tessitore was playing an unusual combination of both wide receiver
and his usual quarterback position.
"Whatever helps the team out," said Tessitore about his dual
positions. Tessitore has had some trouble with a dislocated shoulder.
Meier suffered difficulty in La Verne's backfield as he was sacked twice
throughout the game, once in the opening minutes of first quarter.
Although ULV presented a strong running game, they had difficulty getting
their passing game off to a good start.
"We did a lot better running than we usually do," said senior
wide receiver Liron Wilson. "Running like we wanted, but we couldn't
get our passing off."
La Verne only attempted 16 passes and completed six. Azusa Pacific doubled
that amount.
Concentrating more on their running game, ULV's junior running back
Ordell Williams plowed through the Cougars defense to score a 6-yard run
for the first touchdown of the in the second quarter. The kick by senior
Tom Moreland tied the score at 7-7.
The Leopards could not seem to get it together when on a replayed kick,
junior Stephen Brane was called for roughing the kicker, giving APU an automatic
first down and assessing a personal foul to La Verne.
Although the rule book may have put a damper on ULV's game, Davis was
determined to bring the spirits back up.
Leaping up from almost nowhere, Davis intercepted the ball and sprinted
for a total of 31-yards. The Cougars could not stop him, although they did
surprise him coming from almost nowhere near the end of the play.
"They tried to strip the ball from me on the 1-yard line,"
said Davis.
With 9:19 on the clock, it looked to be promising for ULV with the score
tied at 14-14.
However, APU had a much stronger passing game and it showed in the third
quarter as they continuously pushed for a touchdown. APU ran the longest
play of the game, a 58-yard pass play that neared them closer and closer
to the endzone.
The Leopards tightened their defense. Sophomore quarterback Bryan Lucas
of APU attempted to pass the ball to junior wide receiver Jon Daniels when
La Verne's senior defensive back, Derick Dedeaux, prevented it on the coverage.
APU ended up going for the field goal instead bumping them up, 17-14
against La Verne going into the fourth quarter.
In the last few seconds of the game, La Verne turned over the ball once
again to Azusa. APU's defensive back Scott Thomas intercepted a Meier pass
and ran it back for a 50-yard touchdown return, ending the game at 23-14.
La Verne's next game is Homecoming against Chapman on Nov. 1 at 1 p.m.
