Hannah Burton
Staff Writer
The La Verne football team faced non-conference opponent Whitworth for its home opener Saturday at Ortmayer Stadium.
The Pirates made a comeback in the second half to take the 48-42 victory over the Leopards.
“That game could have gone either way,” head coach Chris Krich said. “That’s a top 25 team and we’re obviously not happy we didn’t win.”
“It’s a situation where we at least kind of have an idea where we’re at and where we need to get to, and we still have conference to be able to have those opportunities to reach our goals,” he said.
La Verne’s record drops to 0-2 overall and has not yet begun Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play.
In his second career start, sophomore Josh Evans gained 239 yards on 14 carries. He accounted for 385 yards of total offense and five touchdowns. Evans put the team on the board in the first quarter with a 45-yard scoring run, turning the 11-0 disadvantage into 11-7. His performance earned him a spot on the D3football.com Team of the Week.
Sophomore wide receiver Brandon Long scored a touchdown in the second quarter and tightened the difference, making it 18-13.The Leopards gained another touchdown and with a two-point conversion pass to senior wide receiver Alex Arellano put the home team up, 21-18.
With 16 seconds left in the second quarter, senior running back Dallas Parent rushed for an 11-yard touchdown. By the end of the quarter, the team was gaining on Whitworth, 32-28.
“This game was a lot better than our last,” Parent said. “We finally figured out what we can be so it has given us a lot of confidence even though we didn’t win. We’re going to learn a lot going into conference.”
In the second half, Evans scored two touchdowns, including a 90-yard rush, to tie the game 42-42. However, Whitworth finished the fourth quarter with two additional touchdowns, leading to their victory.
Senior wide receiver Russell Boucher said that penalties and fumbles cost the team a winning game.
La Verne had two penalties and two fumbles, one lost. Evans said that it is the little things that the team needs to work on and everything will come together.
“We made a couple mistakes, and when our guys make mistakes the best part I love about our team is the fact that they come together as one,” Krich said. “They don’t get mad at each other, they pick each other up, they do things the right way.”
“We don’t hold our head down or anything along those lines, we just flush it and get going and get on to the next play. There’s nothing we can do about the last play so we gotta get ready to go,” he said.
After another bye week, the team will begin its SCIAC schedule against the Cal Lutheran Kingsmen at 7 p.m. Oct. 1 at William Rolland Stadium in Thousand Oaks.
Hannah Burton can be reached at hannah.burton@laverne.edu.
