THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - Looking to end the season on a high note, the Cal Lutheran football team took it to the Leopards from La Verne in a 50-21 victory at William Rolland Stadium on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon.
Today's contest marked the final time 10 players would suit up for the Kingsmen and before the game, Randall Shumpert Jr., Bryce Fryan, Niko Valenzuela, Jhaylyn Hall, Trent Turner, Nikolas Kessler, Robert Foy, Vance Cramer, Anthony Monroe, and Jagade Snyder were honored at midfield with their families.
As the game got underway, the Kingsmen picked up where they left off last week after a 49-39 victory over Occidental, and they kept up their high-octane offense.
After being selected to the D3football.com Team of the Week for their performances last week, quarterback Nick Isham and tight end Connor Allen connected yet again in the first quarter for a 28-yard touchdown score to give CLU a 7-0 lead.
Diego Marquez converted a 29-yard field goal after a La Verne touchdown late in the first quarter to take a 10-7 lead at the end of the opening quarter.
In the second quarter, the Kingsmen kicked it into gear and outscored the Leopards 21-0 to take a 31-7 lead into the break. Isham connected with his go-to receiver Andrew Worthley for a 28-yard touchdown play after a 1-yard touchdown rush from Isaac Seymour and a critical 42-yard interception return for a touchdown from Eddie Flores. With the play, Flores made it two weeks in a row with an interception.
At the start of the third quarter, Isham connected once again with Worthley, this time for a touchdown throw of 25 yards and distanced the Kingsman from the Leopards with a 38-7 lead. Worthley now has eight touchdowns in the last three games, after hauling in three touchdown catches in his last two games.
Travis Sparks-Jackson gave everything he had to keep the Leopards in the game after he ran for 250 yards on just 13 rushing attempts. Sparks-Jackson added a 38-yard touchdown scamper in the third quarter and had a long run of 74-yards in the game.
Despite Sparks-Jackson's efforts for the Leopards, the Kingsmen had too much firepower offensively.
Isham finished the game 21-of-36 with 316 yards and four touchdowns and led the Violet and Gold with 66 rushing yards. Wide receiver Trever Wood had two big offensive plays making two catches for 68 yards. Sean Bellotti led the receivers with 87 yards on five catches and one touchdown and Kris Turner-Jackson had four explosive carries out of the backfield for 43 yards.
In the fourth quarter, Bellotti and Isham connected for a 20-yard touchdown and to cap off the scoring, Josh Heidemann blocked the Leopards punt into their own endzone. La Verne would recover the ball resulting in a Safety and the Kingsmen safely secured a 50-21 victory.
Defensively, Flores and Lucas Quinn registered interceptions in the game and Foy led the team with two sacks and seven tackles overall. In the game, the Kingsmen defense sacked the Leopards quarterback, Billy Livingston, six times in the game.
Cal Lutheran (4-5, 4-3 SCIAC) finishes the season with an identical record from last year and will return a majority of their players as they look to reclaim the top spot in the conference.
Box Score: CLU 50, LV 21
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