SMALL COLLEGES / LONNIE WHITE : Opponents Gunning for La Verne Football Team

The football players at the University of La Verne discovered Saturday what it’s like to be the team to beat.

After winning their second consecutive Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title last year with a 9-0 record, the Leopards were invited to the Division III playoffs for the first time in the school’s 104-year history.

They lost to St. John’s of Minnesota in those playoffs, 52-12, but their Southern California opponents certainly know who they are.

And Saturday, facing a fired-up Chapman team, La Verne trailed at the end of the first quarter, 21-0, and was behind, 34-15, early in the second half.

“We knew that we were down by a lot, but the team’s attitude was always positive,” running back Anthony Jones said. “Going into the game, we knew that bad things could happen from fumbles to dropped passes to sacks. We just happened to have all of them happen to us early in the game.”

First-year Coach Don Morel, who replaced Rex Huigens at the end of last season, encouraged his team to play through mistakes. The Leopards listened.

With Jones gaining 181 yards and scoring two touchdowns in a school-record 41 carries, La Verne, ranked 16th nationally by Sports Illustrated, rallied to defeat the Panthers, 35-34, at Chapman. It was the Leopards’ 13th consecutive regular-season victory.

“The game was just a great example of how nobody on this team quits,” said Morel, formerly the Leopards’ offensive coordinator. “We made mistakes and fell behind, but we kept playing until we eventually won the game.”

Jones, who transferred from Redlands at the end of last season, carried the ball nine times in the Leopards’ game-winning drive, scoring on an 11-yard run with 4:20 remaining.

“I wasn’t aware that he had carried the ball that much until after the game,” Morel said. “He was very strong at the end of the game. We’re just thrilled to have him.”

Jones was surprised too.

“It definitely was the most I’ve ever carried in my career,” he said. “It really didn’t seem like that much because I didn’t break any long runs. We kept chipping away and being very consistent.”

Getting to carry the ball was the main reason Jones transferred. After rushing for 1,047 yards and 11 touchdowns as a sophomore, he gained 908 yards and scored six touchdowns last season as a junior at Redlands.

“Basically, I wasn’t happy at Redlands, and the only real option that I had was to transfer to La Verne,” said Jones, a 5-foot-11, 205-pound senior from Chaffey High in Ontario. “People just didn’t want a guy who would have only one season to play. I also knew that I would have a chance to step in and play a key role.”

With All-SCIAC running back Darren MacLellan graduated, Jones knew that he would have to play a big role in a veteran offense led by three-year starting quarterback Ryan Campuzano.

“I knew that I’d have to prove myself,” he said. “I just didn’t know that it would be that much.”

Small College Notes

Rosie Wegrich, Cal Poly Pomona women’s volleyball coach, won her 400th match last week with a three-game sweep over Chico State, 15-6, 15-12, 15-4. The Broncos, who are 4-1 overall and ranked 14th, will conduct a nine-team tournament this weekend, featuring three rated teams, fifth-ranked Cal State Los Angeles, seventh-ranked Hawaii Hilo and the Broncos.