FOOTBALL: Leopards Suffer Road Setback At CMS
The University of La Verne suffered its second straight SCIAC defeat as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps reeled off 30 unanswered points to secure a 44-14 triumph over the Leopards Satruday at Zinda Field in Claremont.
La Verne outgained the Stags 305-274 on offense but could not overcome five turnovers and one blocked field goal which resulted in 27 points for CMS.
CMS capitalized on the first Leopard miscue on a 52-yard interception return by Daniel Piccotio to grab a 7-0 lead at 12:37 in the first quarter. The Leopards responded with a 13-play, 80-yard drive culminating in a 29-yard pass from Anthony Andre to Charles Lacy to knot the contest at 7-7.
The Stags answered with a 1-yard run by Michael Hirokawa capping a 12-play, 58-yard drive to reclaim the lead at 14-7. CMS next got on the board by virtue of its special teams when Ashton Clarke returned a blocked field goal attempt 70 yards for a score to take a 21-7 lead. CMS would score twice more in the second quarter on a touchdown and a field goal to take a 31-7 advantage into intermission.
A turnover led to the game's only third quarter score when CMS picked off a La Verne pass and began possession at the Leopard 18-yard line. Two plays later, Mike McNeese plunged in from a yard out to boost the Stag margin to 37-7.
La Verne reached the end zone midway through the fourth quarter when Andre connected with Jerome Chapelle for a 20-yard touchdown pass to cap a 6-play, 71-yard drive. Andre finished the game with 220 yards on 23-of-41 passing. Kenneth Chapman and Phi Van Le each had five grabs with Chapman totaling 52 receptions yards while Van Le adding 45.
CMS's Andrew Doyle led all receivers with 95 yards on 6 catches while D.J. Lillard tallied a game-high 87 rushing yards on 25 carries.
The Leopards return home to face Pomona-Pitzer next Saturday at Ortmayer Stadium for a 1 pm kickoff.
