Leopards Drop Conference Opener To Bulldogs
The University of La Verne football team opened conference play on the short end of a 51-24 verdict against the University of Redlands Saturday evening at Ted Runner Stadium.
The Bulldogs, ranked #21 nationally, led 34-17 at the half and scored the first 17 points of the second half to pull away and remain unbeaten (3-0, 0-1 SCIAC) on the year.
La Verne (0-3, 0-1 SCIAC) enjoyed its best scoring output of the season, but could not contain a Bulldog offense that produced 512 total yards in the contest.
Redlands took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a pair of Dan Selway touchdown passes, first to Daniel Allen from 2 yards out, and later to Brian Putman from 5 yards. The Leopards would slice the lead to 14-7 as Anthony Andre connected with Allen Daniels on a 38-yard touchdown pass just nine seconds into the second quarter.
The quick score was ominous as the two teams would produce 37 points in the 15 minutes before halftime. The Bulldogs would post 20 more points on a 1-yard scoring rush by Daylan Swedlow sandwiched between two Selway touchdown passes. The Leos would add a 35-yard field goal from Wesley Dean along with an Andre scoring pass of 1 yard to Cedric Ho cap a 7-play, 68-yard drive.
Redlands would take a 41-17 lead on Selway's fifth scoring pass of the night - a 12 yard toss to Brendan Barake to complete a 6-play, 91-yard scoring drive. The Bulldogs added a field goal and a punt return for a score.
The Leopards would complete the scoring as they marched 72 yards on 10 plays as Andre connected with Ho from 7 yards out with 6:06 remaining in the game.
Andre finished 29-of-45 through the air for 295 yards and 3 touchdowns with no interceptions. Daniels had 6 grabs for 105 yards and a score while Ho hauled in a game-high 11 passes for 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
For the Bulldogs, Selway was 22-of-32 for 323 yards. Putman had 11 grabs for a game-high 212 yards on the evening. Swedlow led all rushers with 54 yards on 16 carries.
The Leopards return home next weekend to host Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in conference action Saturday at Ortmayer Stadium. Kickoff is 1 pm.
