Photo by Chris Mora
1) Both teams will look to get their ground game going again after suffering tough losses last Saturday. La Verne was held to a season-low 40 yards rushing in a 30-7 defeat to Chapman while the Stags totaled negative yardage (-3) in a 23-17 loss to Redlands.
La Verne's leading rusher Dallas Parent was limited to just 37 rushing yards last weekend after exploding for 298 yards and four touchdowns against Occidenal the week prior. He is averaging 146.5 yards per game and has scored 10 touchdowns.
The Stags sport a two-headed ground attack led by freshmen Garret Cheadle and Christian Curcio. Cheadle has totaled 355 yards and six touchdowns while Curcio has compiled 348 yards and two scores. The duo is combining for 129 yards per game.
2) Alex Arellano has 121 career receptions and is just two receptions away from tying La Verne's all-time receptions record currently held by Rick Romeo, who hauled in 123 passes from 1980-83.
Arellano also currently sits fifth in all-time receiving yards with 1,560. He needs 533 yards in the remaining three games to become the all-time leader (Maurice Harper, 2,092).
3) Claremont-Mudd-Scripps quarterback Trey Reynolds is completing just 45.5 percent of his passes in the Stags' last three games and has thrown one touchdown to three interceptions. He was also sacked eight times in the last two games.
The Leopards did a good job of getting to the quarterback and into the offensive backfield last week. La Verne notched four sacks against the Panthers and recorded a total of 10 tackles for loss. Israel Macias had two sacks in that game and Austin Brown had one.
4) La Verne has to do a better job of protecting the ball, especially in and near the red zone. The Leopards committed two critical turnovers against Chapman, a lost fumble at the opponent's 15-yard line and and an interception at the opponent's 22-yard line.
5) Claremont-Mudd-Scripps cornerback Victor Bunce was a 2015 D3football.com All-American and the Leopards will have to account for him on special teams as well as on offense. Bunce has returned two punts for touchdowns this year and is averaging 16.1 yards per punt return.
He also has 32 tackles, a fumble recovery and an interception on the season.
