Football Faces Poets for Second Time

Photo by Emily Alvarez

Story by Sebastián Abdón Ibarra, Sports Information Student Assistant

LA VERNE, CA — For the second time this season the University of La Verne football team faces off against the Whittier College Poets. The first meeting could not have gone better for the Leos as they shut out the Poets 42-0 in the season opener.

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Another quality performance against the same Whittier squad could provide the Leopards with the spark they need to close out the rest of the season strong.

It has been a rough season this year for Whittier as they rank last in the SCIAC in the majority of significant statistical categories. However, La Verne should not take the Poets' struggles as an invitation to relax. If the Leos execute as they are cable of on both sides of the ball, they should walk away with the result they want.

Offensively, the Leopards should have no problem after previously putting up over 500 yards against Whittier in week one. The Poets allow the most points in the conference with 55 a game and give up close to 550 yards per game. Their secondary also struggles to create turnovers as they only have two interceptions all year. The La Verne passing attack led by Tyrone Williams Jr. and Nathaniel Sagastume should have a good day at the office. Williams threw for 165 yards and a touchdown in the first game in just one half of work. Sagastume was the second leading receiver with 94 yards, right behind Spencer Pool with 107 yards and a touchdown.

However, a strength of this Whittier team is their pass rush as they are tied for fourth in the conference with 13 sacks. Keep a lookout for Nicholas Hanamaikai who leads the Poets in sacks. A balanced offensive approach in order to keep Whittier's defense honest with the run game will also be important. Luckily for Abel Cueva and the rest of La Verne's running backs, Whittier also gives up 266.8 rushing yards per game. In their first meeting, Cueva was able to run for 78 yards on just seven carries.

On the ground, the Poets average less than 1.5 yards per carry, and their passing offense only averages 152.5 yards a game with 11 interceptions. This gives Derek Shay, Khary Sanders, and Austin Marin the opportunity to stuff the running lanes and get after the quarterback. The Leos only have five sacks on the year but this game could be a great opportunity to get those numbers up.

Linebackers Tyler Le and Derek Guzman need to help the defensive line in eliminating Whittier's running game to make the Poets one-dimensional. If the Leos can accomplish this, then it will allow KJ Macatiag, Mason Montanez, and Raymond Moronez to make plays in the secondary and create turnovers just like in their first meeting when La Verne picked off Whittier's quarterback three times.

Saturday's game is set for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff at Whittier.