ULV falls to Menlo, 42-13
Campus Times
November 14, 1997
On an overcast night destined for football in Atherton, Calif., the
University of La Verne football team battled the elements, but came up short
against the Menlo Oaks, 42-13.
Although the Leopards had a long eight-hour bus ride to Conner Field,
they came out strong in the first quarter and held the Menlo offense from
scoring early in the game.
La Verne's tough defense gave its offense time to work as it completed
six plays for 41 yards on a late first quarter drive. In the series, sophomore
quarterback Gary Tessitore completed a 7-yard pass to sophomore running
back Kelii Gouveia in the end zone, with 3:29 left in the first, to give
the Leopards a 7-0 lead going into the second quarter.
The Oaks struck back at La Verne quickly and benefited from the speed
of their wide receivers, completing two passes for 83 yards and a touchdown
with 12:45 left. The Menlo touchdown came from the strong arm of quarterback
Jon DeVille, who passed for an impressive 426 yards on 29 completions, and
sailed 49 yards to wide receiver Dan Nguyen to tie the game at 7-7.
The Leopards would not strike back at the Oaks until early in the third
quarter. La Verne took the advantage of the equally strong Tessitore and
went for broke on a 72-yard bomb to junior wide receiver Kennith Shyne;
Shyne pulled the ball in for a touchdown and the Leopards took the lead,
13-7.
La Verne's luck turned for the worse on the point after touchdown as
a fired up defensive line broke through the offense to block an attempt
from senior kicker Tom Moreland.
The momentum stayed with Menlo as the third quarter progressed and DeVille
put his arm to work again, throwing a pass at 8:42 to wide receiver Gabe
Amey for the second Oaks touchdown of the game. An extra point from kicker
Gary Woody put Menlo on top 14-13.
Four minutes later, the Oaks stood tall again on offense and scored
on a drive of seven plays for 71 yards and a 2-yard rushing touchdown for
Menlo running back Sheva Branch to up the lead to 21-13.
La Verne continued to struggle on offense and managed only 38 yards
rushing, 121 yards passing equalling 159 total yards of offense on the day.
Menlo continued to pour on the lead as the third quarter progressed
and scored again on a 66-yard scamper by Nguyen with 38 seconds left.
The Oaks had the momentum and La Verne was down, 26-13. A completed
pass to wide receiver Michael Fields gave the Oaks the two-point conversion
and a 28-13 lead.
In the fourth, Menlo was in command down the stretch and scored on an
43-yard interception returned for a touchdown by defensive back Brian Fernandez
to put the Oaks ahead 36-13. Menlo put the finishing touches on the Leopards
with 2:30 left in the game, with a 43-yard rushing touchdown by running
back Brandon Brooke to place the final score at 42-13.
The Leopards are now 2-6 and will conclude the 1997 season tomorrow
at Redlands at 7:30 p.m.
