COLLEGE DIVISION / LONNIE WHITE : La Verne’s Perfect Record Isn’t Enough

The NCAA Division III football playoffs began last Saturday with eight first-round games.

The best team from the West Coast, however, was not involved in any of them.

With a 31-21 victory over Cal Lutheran two weeks ago, La Verne finished the regular season 9-0.

But the Leopards were not one of the four teams picked to represent the West Region by NCAA officials, who chose four Midwestern teams--Wisconsin La Crosse and Central College of Iowa, both 10-0, Concordia of Minnesota (8-1-1) and Wisconsin River Falls (8-2).

“We did what we had to do on the field and they cannot take that from us,” La Verne’s first-year coach, Don Morel, said. “This is the best team that ever played in the [Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference].”

The Leopards’ biggest problem was that no matter how many points they scored or yards they gained, the NCAA did not forget La Verne’s showing in last season’s playoffs.

La Verne lost to St. John’s of Minnesota, 52-12, in the Leopards’ first Division III playoff appearance in the school’s 104-year history.

In winning their third consecutive SCIAC title this season, the Leopards dominated, leading the nation with averages of 46 points and 459 yards a game. They allowed opponents only 15 points and 233 a game.

The Leopards had several outstanding players, including:

--Running back Anthony Jones, a senior, who led the nation in scoring with 19 touchdowns and 118 points. Jones led the SCIAC in rushing with a school single-season record 1,453 yards while averaging 7.3 yards a carry.

--Wingback Anthony Rice, who used his versatility to finish second behind Jones in the SCIAC in scoring with 16 touchdowns and 95 points. Rice led the team with 32 catches for 374 yards and a touchdown, and rushed for 899 yards and 15 touchdowns while averaging 8.8 yards a carry.

--Quarterback Ryan Campuzano, a senior, who led the Leopards to 21 consecutive regular-season victories. Campuzano completed 74 of 144 passes for 1,026 yards and seven touchdowns.

--Kicker Juan Contrera, who led the SCIAC in kicking with eight field goals and 46 points after touchdowns for 70 total points.

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For the third consecutive year, the Cal State Los Angeles women’s volleyball team was beaten by Cal State Bakersfield in the NCAA Division II Southwest Regional playoffs. On Saturday night, the Eagles lost, 7-15, 15-10, 15-5, 15-11, at CSLA, finishing the season with a 20-6 overall record.

In CSLA’s semifinal victory over Grand Canyon last Friday, senior Andrea Ferchaw set a school-record and tied a Division II tournament record with 44 kills.

Seniors Adriana Huerta, Kaili Kimura and Ferchaw were named to the all-regional team.

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College Division Notes

The Cal Lutheran women’s volleyball team defeated host John Carroll of Cleveland, 11-15, 15-8, 15-4, 15-11, in the Division III quarterfinals to advance to this weekend’s national finals. Cal Lutheran is 26-2 overall after finishing 12-0 in the SCIAC. . . . Azusa Pacific’s Eric Wattree was named MVP of the Azusa Pacific Tip-Off basketball tournament last weekend after scoring 20 points in the Cougars’ 91-73 title victory over Christian Heritage.

Jermaine Stewart was named MVP of The Master’s tournament after scoring 23 points to lead CSLA to an 81-68 victory over The Master’s in last Saturday’s final. Stewart had 21 to lead the Eagles past Hawaii Pacific in the the first round of the tournament last Friday, 76-66.

In women’s basketball, sophomore Jessica Eggleston scored a game-high 21 points and tournament MVP Tyeast Brown had 15 as Cal Poly Pomona won its Bronco Classic with a double-overtime victory over St. Thomas of Minnesota, 77-76. . . . Whittier College football Coach Kirk Hoza was fired after a 1-8 record, 0-6 in the SCIAC. In his two seasons with the Poets, Hoza had a 2-16 overall record, 1-11 in the conference.