Karina Rodriguez
Sports Editor
The La Verne Leopards lost to the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags, 5-0, in the pouring rain Saturday on Zinda Field at the Claremont Colleges.
Despite a flash flood warning, the game continued on, but this resulted in a muddy playing field as Zinda Field is a grass field, not turf.
Head coach Richard Sanchez had mixed feelings on the game.
“I’m proud of our guys and their efforts but effort without success is still failure,” he said.
Sanchez said that while La Verne only had one conference victory against Pomona-Pitzer, he believes the team has changed in comparison to previous years.
“This is a different team even though results didn’t show that, but they will in the future,” Sanchez said. “Our culture has changed and the tide is a little bit closer in terms of toughness, intelligence, discipline and effort.”
During the first quarter, senior linebacker Jonathan Scott successfully blocked junior running back Cooper Nixon and sophomore running back Jake Son of CMS to prevent the Stags from advancing.
“I filled the gaps, ran to the ball, found the ball and did my job,” Scott said. “I gave it my all, 110%.”
In La Verne’s first possession of the second quarter, at first and 10, junior running back Tyler McCown rushed for three yards. McCown then rushed once again but gained zero yards to eventually lose a yard in the following play.
After several similar series on both sides, the first half ended scoreless.
Junior wide receiver Jimmy Rumsey caught the third quarter kickoff from CMS sophomore kicker Dylan Sherman and returned the ball 12 yards.
“I secured the ball whenever I had the ball and I wasn’t letting them taking it out,” Rumsey said.
With 5:31 on the clock, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps senior kicker Samuel Brewer hit a field goal for the first score of the game, putting the Stags up, 3-0.
With the third quarter wrapping up, La Verne junior defensive back Jomar Brown recovered a fumbled ball from CMS to return it 32 yards.
“I just saw the ball on the ground and I picked it up and I just saw green grass,” Brown said.
The fourth quarter remained scoreless until the last minutes. With 1:57 to go in the game, CMS scored a safety to bring the final score to 5-0.
“It’s a little sad, playing with some of my senior friends and the outcome wasn’t what we wanted,” Rumsey said.
The Leopards ended their season with a record of 1-8 overall and 1-7 in the Southern California Intercollegiate Conference.
Brown said he now will shift his focus on becoming better in the offseason.
“I just want to continue to elevate myself, God willing,” Brown said. “It starts in the weight room and work even harder for the upcoming fall.”
Karina Rodriguez can be reached at karina.rodriguez3@laverne.edu.
Karina Rodriguez is a senior journalism major with a concentration in broadcast journalism, and editor-in-chief of the Campus Times. She has previously served as sports editor, social media editor, arts editor and a staff writer.
