Victory Thrown to Kingsmen

Thanks to three interceptions by Cal Lutheran cornerback Anthony Sullivan and key fumble recoveries by Sean McGaughey and Ricardo Robinson, Cal Lutheran ended a seven-year losing streak against La Verne with a 34-7 victory in a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game Saturday at Ortmayer Stadium.

“I’ve never had a game like this in my life,” said Sullivan, a sophomore who has six interceptions this year.

“They just kept throwing them my way,” he said. “I didn’t really have to work too hard for any of them.”

Two of Sullivan’s interceptions led to 10 Cal Lutheran points, and the Kingsmen also scored touchdowns after each of La Verne’s lost fumbles. Cal Lutheran scored 24 points as a result of turnovers, a switch from earlier games in which the Kingsmen (2-3, 1-1) were hurt by mistakes.

“The defense set it up for us,” said Cal Lutheran receiver Tim Kirksey, who had seven catches for 133 yards and two touchdowns. “Whenever we’ve been on the better side of the turnovers, we’ve played well and we’ve won the game.”

Kirksey’s scoring receptions of 25 and 36 yards came from quarterback Derek Brown, who replaced Zack Hernandez in the first quarter after he took a hard hit and experienced memory loss. Brown, a senior transfer from Cal State Northridge, completed 16 of 28 for 199 yards with the two touchdowns. He also had two passes intercepted.

“We couldn’t help but be successful with the way the defense was getting us the ball and setting us up,” Brown said.

La Verne (2-3, 2-2) led, 7-3, when the Leopards lost the ball for the first time on an Ordell Williams fumble at the start of the second quarter. McGaughey recovered at the Cal Lutheran 13 and the Kingsmen drove 87 yards in six plays, scoring on a 25-yard catch by Kirksey with 12:42 to go in the half.

The score was set up by a 20-yard run by Dorian Stitt (53 yards and two touchdowns in 12 carries) and a 36-yard reception by Kirksey that moved the ball into Leopard territory.

On La Verne’s ensuing possession, Sullivan made his first interception and returned it 34 yards to set up a 14-yard scoring run by Stitt. That made it 17-7 with 10:19 left in the half.

Robinson’s recovery of Andrew Woolsey’s fumble at the La Verne one-yard line on a punt return three minutes later led to a Stitt’s second touchdown and a 24-7 advantage.

The Kingsmen then forced the Leopards to punt and followed with a 36-yard scoring strike from Brown to Kirksey to cap a five-play, 54-yard drive with 3:03 to play in the first half.