FOOTBALL: Tigers Prevail Over Leopards
Christian Winnewisser accounted for each of La Verne's four second-half touchdowns (Tracy Maple photo)
The University of La Verne could not overcome a strong first-half performance by Occidental College as the visiting Tigers defeated the Leopards 40-27 in SCIAC action Saturday at Ortmayer Stadium.
Occidental took a commanding 34-0 lead into intermission before La Verne responded with 27 second-half points - including 21 in the final quarter - on the Leopards' final home game of the 2008 campaign.
Nearly everything went right for the 20th ranked Tigers (6-0, 3-0 SCIAC) in the opening 30 minutes as they amassed 318 yards and 12 first downs on offense while only yielding 47 yards for the Leopards. Oxy scored a pair of touchdowns in the first quarter and added three touchdowns and a field goal in the second quarter to grab a commanding lead at the break.
The Leopard offense finally came to life in the second half, posting 352 yards in the final 30 minutes of action en route to four touchdowns. Quarterback Christian Winnewisser came off the bench to spark the Leopard attack by passing for 303 yards while accounting for each of the four La Verne scores.
Winnewisser got La Verne on the board midway through the third quarter on a 17-yard pass to Kenneth Chapman to cap an 8-play, 80-yard drive. The Leopards (1-5, 1-3) scored on consecutive drives early in the fourth on a 15-yard scoring pass to Winnewisser to John Ausman along with a 1-yard rush from Winnewisser to close the deficit to 40-20 with 11:41 remaining. Winnewisser's fourth touchdown occurred in the final minute on a 36-yard scoring toss to Andrew Rubel to provide the game's final score.
Oxy quarterback Justin Goltz led the way for the Tigers, passing for 313 yards on the day, including 247 in the first half. Goltz connected with receiver Chris Washington for three scores. Washington caught 9 passes for 175 yards. Randall Hook paced the Tiger ground game with 95 yards on 16 carries.
Leopard receiver Phi Van Le caught 5 passes for a team-high 83 yards while fellow senior Charles had 8 grabs for 52 yards.
La Verne hits the road next week to begin a three-game road swing. The Leopards face Whittier next Saturday for a 7 pm kickoff.
