The University of Redlands football team battled it out with the University of La Verne Leopards in an important Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) under the lights of Ted Runner Stadium during Homecoming on Saturday night. Amidst a gritty and physical competition, the Bulldogs out-gained the opponents on offense, put up their most points of the season, and overcame two 14-point deficits. Despite leaving it all on the field, Redlands came up just shy in a 42-49 decision.
Trailing 14-28 with just over a minute to go in the first half, the Maroon and Gray stepped up to move the ball 60 yards on six plays to cut the deficit to seven. Senior quarterback Kevin Russell (Lacey, WA) found some open space on a pair of carries, before hitting junior wide receiver Yoshio Hasegawa (Seattle, WA) on an 11-yard strike. The biggest gain of the drive came on 26-yard reception by junior wide receiver Kevin Johnson to the La Verne 13-yard line. On the final play of the half, Russell found sophomore wide receiver Alex Andrighetto (Portola Valley, CA) for a 13-yard touchdown. After senior kicker Sean Murray (Phoenix, AZ) split the uprights, the Bulldogs made it a one-score game.
Redlands scored on back-to-back possessions, while the Bulldog defense kept La Verne off the scoreboard in the third period. With a Murray field goal from 31-yards out and a 12-play scoring drive, Redlands took the lead for the first time at 31-28. Russell got things rolling during the touchdown series when he found Hasegawa on a 25-yard reception, but senior running back Curtis Tanquary (San Jose, CA) provided key yardage on the ground, including a five-yard jaunt into the end zone.
The Bulldogs capped off the positive third frame with a huge defensive takeaway, as senior defensive back Colin Spencer(Olivet, MI) reeled in his second pick of the game. He returned this one 52 yards to set up a 24-yard field goal by Murray for Redlands' 34-28 lead.
After La Verne answered with a touchdown to start the fourth quarter, Redlands took advantage of junior running back Devin Appleton's (San Jose, CA) 70-yard kick-off return by converting a touchdown two plays later. Russell creatively moved his way downfield on a 19-yard carry to the house, before finding sophomore wide receiver Cole Blackburn (Sammamish, WA) on the two-point conversion.
Unfortunately, the efficient drive allowed La Verne enough time to score twice and steal the victory.
Russell and company did their best to advance the ball in the final minute, but the Hail Mary pass from the Leopards' 37-yard line missed the mark, resulting in the tough loss.
Redlands racked up 420 yards of offense, which was 10 more than La Verne. The Bulldogs also did it in 11 fewer plays for a gain of 6.2 yards per attempt.
Russell finished the night with a 17-for-32 performance with two scores and 229 yards. His top target was Blackburn for 83 yards on six catches.
Appleton carried the ball 10 times for 89 yards, while Tanquary supplied 62 yards on the ground.
Junior linebacker Justin Lantz (Corona, CA) led the Bulldog defense with 13 tackles, while sophomore linebacker Mitch Shepherd (Seattle, WA) supplied 12, including one for a loss of seven yards.
Redlands (2-4, 2-2 SCIAC) strives to get back in the win column on Saturday, October 31, when it hosts Whittier College for Senior Day at 1 p.m.