Arturo Gomez Molina
Staff Writer
A timely interception in the fourth quarter led La Verne to a narrow 28-27 win over Cal Lutheran Saturday at Ortmayer Stadium.
The win gave La Verne a 1-0 start in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
“They’re a tough team and we expected this to be a tough game,” head coach Chris Krich said. “We need to keep our faith and look for opportunities. It’s about every play and every moment.”
The Leopards forced two turnovers in the first quarter, but were not able to capitalize on either, the Kingsmen struck first to take a 7-0 lead.
As the second quarter began, the Leopards came back to rush for 29 yards between junior quarterback Josh Evans and senior running back Michael Medina.
With 9:58 to go in the second quarter, Evans found senior wide receiver Russell Boucher for their first touchdown while junior kicker Eric Rembecky added the extra point to tie the game 7-7.
“We practiced our mismatches all week,” Boucher said. “We took advantage at the right time to come back and get on the board. We remembered what happened during the Whitworth game and made sure not to make the same mistakes.”
After a 53-yard return, Cal Lutheran rushed for 28 yards to get them to the Leopard’s 25.
Although the Leopards pushed back, the Kingsmen passed for 58 yards over two possessions to score two more touchdowns and take a 20-7 lead.
Evans rushed for 29 yards in the Leopards’ next possession to get them into scoring position. Evans completed a 25-yard pass to Boucher for a touchdown with less than two minutes on the clock, cutting the lead to 20-14 going into halftime.
The Leopards’ defense came out strong in the third quarter; not allowing Cal Lutheran to get any further than the 30-yard line. Both teams pushed back and forth for 13 scoreless minutes in the third quarter.
An interception and penalty against the Leopards got the Kingsmen in scoring position and they were able to take a 27-14 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
La Verne’s defense held strong as the fourth quarter began, shutting down Cal Lutheran’s passing game.
A penalty for holding pushed Cal Lutheran back to their own 15-yard line for a second down and 19 situation.
The Kingsmen went for a short pass but Leopard sophomore defensive back Torii Hilbert was there to intercept it and run it back for a 20-yard pick-six making it a 27-20 game.
“I prepared myself and I got me one,” said Hilbert. “I knew they had just one play left to try and make a return, so I put myself where I needed to be to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Hilbert’s play closed to gap but the Kingsmen still led 27-21 after Rembecky’s extra point.
The Leopards’ defense came through with two sacks in the next possession, totalling an 11-yard loss for the Kingsmen and putting the Leopards only 15 yards away from the end-zone.
A 15-yard rush from senior running back Michael Medina and an extra point by Rembecky gave La Verne their first lead of the game, 28-27.
With more than 10 minutes left, the Leopards were not out of the woods just yet. But the defense stopped the Kingsmen for the rest of the game, giving La Verne the win.
“They slept on us,” Evans said. “We just wanted it more and pushed as hard as we could every second of the game.”
Next, the Leopards will travel to Redlands to face the Bulldogs at 7 p.m. Saturday at Ted Runner Stadium.
Arturo Gomez Molina can be reached at arturo.molina@laverne.edu.
