Boxscore

Something had to give when the University of La Verne hosted Pomona-Pitzer as both teams were in search of their first win of the season.

After sixty minutes regulation along with an additional three overtime periods, it was the Sagehens who would eventually prevail as they held off the Leopards 28-26 in front of 1,026 Homecoming fans Saturday at Ortmayer Stadium.

Both teams failed to score during the first two overtime periods, as the Leos and Hens combined to miss four field goal attempts during that span.  In the third overtime, the Sagehens faced fourth down and 17 yards to go when quarterback Jacob Caron connected with Robert McNitt for a 28-yard game to the Leopard 4-yard line.  Three plays later, Luke Sweeney's 2-yard touchdown run along with a Jacob Caron pass to Chris Thomas for the 2-point conversion gave the Hens a 28-20 advantage.

On the ensuing possession, La Verne quarterback Thomas Arguello threw a 22-yard pass to Matt Griffin to the Sagehen eight-yard line to convert a 3rd-and-15.  Two plays later, Arguello found Allen Daniels in the end zone to pull within two at 28-26.  On the two-point conversion attempt, Arguello's pass to Andrew Rubel fell short to end the game as the Hens earned their first triumph of the season.

La Verne overcame a 20-6 fourth-quarter deficit wth the help of both its offense and defense to force overtime.  First, the Leopards marched 47 yards on 6 plays to get within seven points.  The key play during the drive was a 24-yard pass play from Arguello to Matt Griffin to the Sagehen 11.  After two consecutive rush plays, the Leopards scored on a 2-yard run from Paul Koloa to close the margin to 20-13 with 7:50 remaining.

It didn't take long for La Verne to knot the contest, when on the hens' ensuing possession, Jimmy Morin picked off a Caron pass and rambled 35 yards for the score to pull the Leos even at 20-20 with 6:56 left in regulation.

The Leopard defense held the Sagehens and regained possession with 5:11 left at its 21-yard line.  La Verne methodically drove down the field, amassing 64 yards to reach the Pomona-Pitzer 15 before a holding penalty pushed the Leos back to the 24. 

La Verne was in position for the win, but Alex Miller's potential game-winning kick with two seconds left was blocked by the Hens to end regulation deadlocked. 

The kicking game was an adventure throughout the contest, as the two squads combined to miss five field goals in addition to a pair of extra point attempts.

Early on in the game it was Pomona-Pitzer (1-7, 1-4 SCIAC) who enjoyed a solid start, scoring on its first two possessions of the game to take a 13-0 first quarter advantage.  Caron accounted for both scores, with the first coming on a 3-yard touchdown run to cap an 11-play, 83-yard drive in 5:40 to put the Hens up 7-0.  On their next drive, the Sagehens marched 36 yards on four plays as Caron hooked up with receiver RJ Maki from 22 yards out to take a 13-point lead on the Leopards.

Held scoreless in the first half, La Verne's offense came to life after intermission, finding the end zone on its first possession of the third quarter.  Arguello fired a 38-yard scoring strike to Chad Lucas with 12:14 remaining in the period to close the gap to 13-6.

Late in the third, the Sagehens again extended its lead to 13 points after completing an eight-play, 79-yard drive in 4:06, culminating in a 1-yard plunge from Caron to seize a 20-6 cushion.

Caron finished with 221 yards passing, completing 21 of his 36 attempts with a pair of interceptions.  He also ran for 41 yards on the day.  Luke Sweeney, who came in averaging 100 yards per game, was held to 56 yards on 22 carries.  Robert McNitt collected 9 catches for a team-high 123 yards.

The Sagehens held the edge in time of possession with a 36:17-23:43 advantage over the Leopards. 

The Leopards (0-8, 0-5 SCIAC) also fell victim to penalties, amassing 18 in the game for 159 yards compared to five for the Hens totaling 45 yards.

For La Verne, Arguello passed for 320 yards against the Hens on 31-of-49 passing, collecting two touchdowns with one interception.  Arguello also rushed for a game-high 83 yards.

Griffin led all receivers with game highs of 13 receptions for 187 yards for the afternoon.  Lucas also registered double-digit catches on the day with 10 receptions for 68 yards.

On defense, La Verne's Wardell Campbell recorded a game-high 10 tackles while both Morin and Donald Mull each posted 9 tackles each.

The Leopards will conclude their 2010 campaign next week when they travel to Whittier to face the Poets for a 1:00 pm start.