REDLANDS, Calif. – The University of Redlands football team (2-4, 2-2 SCIAC) posted their first shutout since 2013 when they beat Pomona-Pitzer 49-0 as they were a point away from matching that scoreline after taking down the University of La Verne (ULV), 48-0, Saturday night at Ted Runner Stadium.
The Bulldogs began the night with a three and out on defense thanks to a sack from Zaveon Jones (Edmonds, WA) on third down forcing a punt.
On the ensuing possession Redlands ran for 34 yards before seeing Mark Mitchell III (Fontana, CA) score from a yard out for the game's opening points.
Two possessions later Tobey Schmidt (Tustin, CA) ran it in from 41 yards out and Jorge Mejia (Hesperia, CA) converted the point after try (PAT) for a 14-0 U of R lead with :50 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
On their first possession of the second, Redlands went 81-yards on 16 plays, which ate up 7:50 off the clock and was capped off with a second Mitchell III rushing touchdown.
Following a short 1:57 drive by the Leopards, the Bulldogs received a quick strike with Schmidt faking a toss to the left before keeping the ball himself and finding Roshawn Lacy (Yorba Linda, CA) down the seam for a 55-yard score and a 28-0 Redlands lead, which they would hold going into the half.
Taylor Bowie (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA) began the second half with a 15-yard run. Schmidt then found Carter Leibham (Hartland, WI) for 19 yards and Nathaniel Barnes (Seattle, WA) for another 10. Facing 3rd and 2 at the ULV 18, Jakai Torres (Baltimore, MD) gained 10 yards, which set up Mitchell III for his third touchdown on the day, this one from eight yards out.
With one of their best offensive drives, ULV had it at the Redlands 30, but on a deep ball coming on 4th down, Enrique Ybanez III (Ontario, CA) intercepted the pass in the end zone to help maintain the shut out.
Four seconds into the fourth quarter another Leopard drive ended with an interception in the end zone as Jesse Vega (Fontana, CA) undercut a fade route to the corner, which kept ULV scoreless with a touchback.
The very next drive saw Schmidt connect with Leibham for a 30-yard connection on the left sideline. Now in Leopard territory, the Bulldogs ran the ball with Bowie for 12 yards down to the 20, and after a facemask moved it to the 10, Schmidt scrambled out of the pocket to his left before reversing course to the right where he got to the edge scoring a 10-yard rushing touchdown for a 42-0 lead.
With backup quarterback Keenan Jackson (Compton, CA) in the game, he handed it off to Matai Cervantes (El Centro, CA) for eight yards on two carries before finding John Brown (Los Angeles, CA) on a back shoulder ball for 26 yards on 3rd and 2.
After a couple of Tyler Adams (Paramount, CA) rushes, Jackson threw it back to Brown in one-on-one coverage, which he batted the ball to himself with one hand for a nine-yard touchdown and the final score of 48-0.
Schmidt had 206 yards and a touchdown thrown in the air, which was for 55 yards along with rushing for another two on the ground. Bowie led the team with 97 yards rushing, but Mitchell had three touchdowns on the night.
Offensively, the Bulldogs totaled 537 yards of offense with 295 rushing yards (5.3 yards per rush), 242 passing yards (12.7 yards per catch), and averaged 6.7 yards per play. They also only committed just one penalty all night and added 11 first downs. Another big shout out to the Bulldog offensive line, which controlled the line of scrimmage all night consisting of Angel Rosales (Oxnard, CA), Isaac Williams (San Bernardino, CA), Ricardo Cabrera (San Diego, CA), Ty Murga (Indio, CA), and Blayke Michael (Las Vegas, NV).
It was a fairly quiet night defensively outside of the two picks as Redlands got off the field quickly, which helped Redlands with the time of possession advantage of more than 25 minutes (42:47-17:13). They did hold La Verne to just 22 yards rushing (1.6 yards per rush), 190 passing yards, and eight first downs.
Anthony Hall (Seattle, WA) and Vega each had four tackles with Jones' sack being the lone tackle for a loss (TFL). Jones, Mosese Afemui (Maui, HI), Kareem Sy (Everett, WA), and Ybanez III also added a pass break up, while Adrian Silva (Bell Gardens, CA) and Jeremiah Blackmon (Los Angeles, CA) had two quarterback hurries.
Redlands will look to maintain their momentum as they travel to Whittier College next Saturday, October 24 for a 5:05 p.m. kickoff.
