October 2008 Archives

When the University of Redlands lost to Occidental three weeks ago, hopes of a playoff bid appeared bleak. It might be natural to suffer a letdown, but the Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) have lived up to their billing, beating two foes by a combined 101-14. Next up is a 1 p.m. contest Saturday at Pomona-Pitzer (2-4, 1-2).

"I have been proud of this team because that does show a lot of character," Bulldogs Coach Mike Maynard said. "That was a huge, disappointing loss but it shows nothing can keep us down."

Pitzer coach Roger Caron has been impressed with the way the Bulldogs regrouped after their loss.

"They're going out and playing to the bitter end and letting things play out," he said. "That's a tribute to their kids and coaching staff that they have played that well after such a big letdown."

This is yet another game that looks like a mismatch. The Bulldogs got back in the American Football Coaches Association poll at No. 25. More importantly they are ranked seventh in the West Region.

Redlands is ranked second in the country in total defense. Senior end Brock Arndt is tied for second nationally in both sacks and tackles for loss.

While the Sagehens have not fared well overall, they do boast a passing attack that ranks first in the SCIAC and 26th nationally.

Sophomore quarterback Jacob Caron, the coach's son, is the catalyst. He has the two top receivers in the conference in senior Kevin Kelly and sophomore R.J. Maki.
Maynard said he plans to mix up his defenses to try and keep Caron off balance.

"He's a very good quarterback and his receivers are solid," Maynard said. "He's very savy. He's a coach's son so they talk about coverages over the dinner table."

Caron knows that they key to that passing will whether or not the smaller offensive line can withstand a bigger, more physical defensive front.

Redlands will dress 100 while Pitzer, which also has smaller players physically, will dress 40.

"We're going to have to go out and play way over our heads," Caron said.
In SCIAC play elsewhere La Verne (1-5, 1-3) will be at Whittier (1-5, 1-2) and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (2-4) will play nonconference foe Chapman (3-3).

On the community college front, Chaffey (4-3, 1-2) will host Riverside (2-6, 0-4) at 1 p.m. and San Bernardino Valley (0-7, 0-4) hosts first-place Southwestern (5-2, 4-0).

Division III's only team ranked in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Varsity Top 20, No. 13 University of Redlands, moved up one spot in this week's men's rankings, according to a press release from the CWPA.

After a nail biting win over Pomona-Pitzer Colleges by a 6-5 final and a decisive 11-5 triumph over Occidental College, the Bulldogs jumped Santa Clara University for the 13th-place spot in the national poll.

The team also received a unanimous vote as the top squad in Division III, an honor that the maroon and gray has had the entirety of the season.

Redlands (18-7, 3-0 SCIAC) plays against Chapman University in Orange at 3 p.m. this afternoon and will travel to Caltech later in the evening to take on the Beavers at 7 p.m.

The University of Redlands men's soccer team picked up its second national ranking of the season with a No. 23 berth in the Oct. 28 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll, supplementing its preseason ranking of No. 8, which it received back on Aug. 12.

Currently, the team is riding a 12-match winning streak and is undefeated in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC). The latest victim of the men's soccer team's run was Occidental College as the Tigers fell at the hands of Redlands 5-1.

The last time the Bulldogs lost a match was on Sept. 10 when they fell to Chapman University in Orange by a 1-0 final.

No. 23 Redlands (13-4-1) hosts Cal Lutheran University Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Farquhar Field. Prior to the start of the game, the team will recognize its seniors in a pregame ceremony.

After an eight-month hiatus from competition, the University of Redlands men's and women's swimming & diving teams kicked off their seasons on Saturday hosting the UR Swim Invite at the Thompson Aquatic Center.

Redlands, Pomona-Pitzer Colleges, Occidental College, Chapman University and Grand Canyon University (AZ) joined up to compete in a five-team invite, and Redlands and Pomona-Pitzer won the men's and women's meets, respectively.

The Bulldog women amassed 521 points throughout the invitational and won by nearly 200 points. Pomona-Pitzer took second with 328.

On the men's side, it was a three-team race for first, and Pomona-Pitzer ended up taking the first-place laurels with 383 points. Redlands settled for second with 357 points while Grand Canyon nabbed the third-place spot (343).

Sophomore Kelley Cooper (San Antonio, TX) starred on the women's side, finishing second in the 200 freestyle with a 2:02.22 time, first in the 200 butterfly (2:16.96) and third in the 200 individual medley (2:18.13).

The depth at breaststroke proved to be in full force for the Bulldogs as sophomore Tory Haynes (Valley Center, CA) took first in the 200 breaststroke (2:38.46) and third in the 100 breaststroke (1:15.10).

Competing in her first meet for Redlands after transferring from Colorado College, sophomore Kat McIntosh (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) showed no signs of being intimidated by the pressure of Division III swimming in southern California as she placed third in the 100 freestyle with a 57.05 time, second in the 100 butterfly with a 1:02.33 standard and third in the 50 freestyle (26.12).

Also placing in the top four in their respective events for the Redlands women were senior Hillary Nicholson (Santa Cruz, CA) in the 200 backstroke (2:18.73, second), junior Melanie Loo (Waipahu, HI) in the 200 butterfly (2:17.98, second), sophomore Jo Navarro (Chandler, AZ) in the 200 butterfly (2:29.45, fourth), freshman Jenny Bates (Littleton, CO) in the 200 breaststroke (2:47.09, fourth), sophomore Kayla Desai (Lakewood, CO) and junior Danielle Caver (Highland, CA) in the 500 freestyle (5:42.38, tied for fourth) and freshman McKenzie Nakamura (Kenmore, WA) in the 100 butterfly (1:02.98, fourth) and the 200 individual medley (2:16.33, second).

In the final event of the meet, the 200 freestyle relay, the quartet of freshman Jaime Nippert (Gresham, OR), junior Leah Egbert (Antioch, CA), Caver and freshman K.C. Hughes (Gig Harbor, WA) edged the Redlands "B" relay, winning with a time of 1:47.21.

 Despite having most of its top swimmers in the heat of water polo season and therefore not competing at the time, the men's team yielded some solid showings throughout the meet.

The team's distance ace, sophomore Alec Alders (Los Angeles, CA), was a double-event winner, taking the 200 freestyle in a 1:49.87 time and the 500 freestyle in a 4:55.65 standard.

Making their debuts at the college level, freshman Steve Zarian (Superior, CO) and freshman Will Houser (Woodinville, WA) each displayed the raw talent that was added to the 2008-09 squad. Houser starred in the 100 breaststroke (1:05.73) and the 200 breaststroke (2:23.74) and placed fourth and third, respectively, in those events. Taking on the sprint freestyle events, Zarian fared well covering the 200 freestyle in 1:51.57 (third), the 100 freestyle in 50.62 (third) and the 50 freestyle in 23.27 (fifth).

Freshman Jesse Lieberman (Princeton, NJ) supplied swift performances in the butterfly events, placing second in the 200 butterfly (2:09.09) and third in the 100 butterfly (55.43).

The other male swimmers that placed in the top four were junior Marc Hicks (Granada Hills, CA) in the 500 freestyle (5:08.95, second), sophomore Sonny Morin (Seattle, WA) in the 200 butterfly (2:22.08, fourth) and junior Sheldon Gruendl (Danville, CA) in the 500 freestyle (5:10.84, fourth) and the 200 freestyle (1:53.07, fourth).

Redlands competes in its first dual meet next Saturday morning, Nov. 1, as it takes on Cal Baptist University in Riverside at 10:30 a.m.

The University of Redlands football team was back to form on Saturday as it handled Whittier 53-14. Coach Mike Maynard said it was good to see his team bounce back from a loss to Occidental the previous week that seriously damaged its playoff hopes.

"We needed to go out and play well and get over what was ailing us," he said. "Our focus was on getting back to playing Bulldog football and I think we did that."

The Bulldogs (4-1, 2-1) were superior in all facets of the game but were especially impressive on defense. They ranked first nationally against the run and second in overall defense before being throttled by Occidental.

But the Bulldogs were stellar in all aspects Saturday. They intercepted six passes with senior Conor Drake returning two for touchdowns and freshman Chris Yeakey running back another. The other three were recorded by Mike Nicolini, Josh Herrera and Eddie Stamm.

Maynard said he thought that might be a school record but further review showed it was tied for second. Redlands had eight in a 1980 game against La Verne and six against Pomona-Pitzer in 2002.

The Bulldogs were also solid against the run, giving up just 69 yards and holding the SCIAC's leading rusher Anthony Pomponio to 34 on 20 carries. He was kept in check even with backups playing much of the second half.

Maynard said he thought about making personnel changes but opted not do to so.

"We just wanted to go out and play better defense. We are what we are and we just wanted to get better," he said.

Maynard cleared his bench early with backup quarterback Dylan Barrera seeing action for the first time. He went from being third-string to backup when starter Dan Selway was injured.

Few players get to leave a mark on an athletic program. Senior forward Ross Schunk will do that at the University of Redlands.

The Portland, Ore., native set the school's all-time career scoring record with a goal in the Bulldogs 4-2 win over the University of La Verne Saturday. That goal gave Schunck 126 points for his career, besting the 125 of Adam Acosta who graduated in 2005.

Earlier this season Schunk broke Acosta's career goals mark of 50. He has a team-high 12 goals and one assist this season in helping the Bulldogs (10-4-1, 9-0-1) to first place in the SCIAC.

Following Saturday's match, Redlands coach Ralph Perez handed the new career point record holder the ball that he scored the goal with in a short postgame recognition ceremony at the middle of the pitch.

The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps women and Occidental men came out on top at the SCIAC Multi-Dual Meet Saturday at La Mirada Park.

The Athenas (7-0) were led by individual winner Evelyn Ross (22:15.86) and second-place finsiher Julia Rigby (22:20.42). Sophomore Ashley Scott (23:23.35) and senior Kathleen Harris (23:23.81) finished sixth and seventh.

The Sagehens claimed fourth through sixth places with Anna Scharfen (22:47.93), Maddy Kieselhorst (23:11.99) and Rose Haag (23:17.31).

Pitzer was without its top runner Alicia Freese who has been sidelined with a stress fracture the last three weeks. Coach Kirk Reynolds isn't sure when she will be able to run.

On the men's side Eric Kleinasser (26:11.26) of Occidental took individual honors.

Pitzer (6-1) was second and CMS third (5-2) in the team competition. Senior Torrey Olson of Pitzer was second (26:16.14) with junior teammate Brian Gillis fourth (26:36.38). The best finish for CMS was the sixth by junor Florian Scheulen (26:52.75)

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The No. 15 University of Redlands men's water polo team (16-7, 1-0 SCIAC) won its first conference game of the year, handling Cal Lutheran University by a 10-6 final on Oct. 18.

Junior center Brendan Meaney (Palm Desert, CA) paced the team offensively, netting three goals. Also contributing goals in the Bulldogs' victory were junior utility player Jim Kehrig (Danville, CA) and sophomore defender Andrew Smith-Jones (Annapolis, MD), who notched two apiece, and senior driver Andrew Becskehazy (Miami, FL), junior utility player Ryan Floersch (San Jose, CA) and sophomore center Miran Terzic (Palm Desert, CA), each of whom scored one goal.

In goal, senior goalkeeper Teddy Trowbridge (Mercer Island, WA) nabbed six saves for the Bulldogs.

Matt Heagy and Wes Lewis led the Kingsmen in scoring with two goals apiece while Jordan Bouey manned the net on the defensive side with 11 saves.

Redlands continues on with Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) play on Saturday when it faces off against Occidental College at 11 a.m. at Eagle Rock.

A schedule replete with formidable opponents at the SoCal Water Polo Tournament from Oct. 11-12 was rewarded as the University of Redlands men's water polo team jumped one spot to the No. 15 ranking in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA).

Redlands, a consensus No. 1 among Division III institutions, won against No. 14 St. Francis College (NY) over the weekend, solidifying an upward move in the rankings. The Bulldogs lost to No. 5 Pepperdine University and No. 9 UC Irvine, and it narrowly lost to No. 12 Princeton University (NJ) in a sudden-death overtime period in the SoCal Water Polo Tournament as well.

No other Division III institution is ranked in the Varsity Top 20 poll.

This Saturday, Oct. 18, the Bulldogs (15-7) start their Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) slate with an away game against Cal Lutheran University at 11 a.m.

The Claremont-Mudd-Scripps volleyball team went into last weekend's Leopard Invitiational with nothing to lose and everything to gain and gain they did.

The Athenas upset No. 1 ranked Juniata, Penn. 3-2 (27-25, 17-25, 27-25, 18-25, 15-6) on Saturday. That was part of a weekend that saw them play the top three teams in the country. They lost to No. 2 Emory (Ga.) 3-1 (25-23, 25-23, 17-25 25-23) and No. 3 La Verne 3-0 (25-23, 25-12, 25-21).

"We looked at it as a great opportunity to showcase our skills," said CMS coach Dianna Graves, in her 10th year heading the program. "How often do you get a chance to play the top three teams in the country? It was great competition and we rose to the occasion."

Graves didn't think her team's win was a case of the more highly touted opponent not respecting her team.

"I don't think it was a matter of them looking past us," she said. "They had played the two really emotional matches against La Verne and Emory. It's hard to come back a third time so soon."

Graves credited senior setter Alex Harrison and senior middle blocker Helena Bottemiller for being the steadying influences the younger players rallied around.

Senior libero Greer Donley and freshman outside hitter Emily Hudson represented the Athenas (14-9, 5-2) on the all-tournament team. Senior Brianna Gonzales and junior Crista Jones of La Verne (14-2, 7-0) were also selected.

In 16 of the last 20 years either Occidental or Redlands has won or shared the SCIAC title. So when the teams square off at Ted Runner Stadium at 7 Saturday, it will be a pretty meaningful game despite coming early in the SCIAC schedule.

"Obviously it is a huge game," Bulldogs coach Mike Maynard said. "It's so early that even if you win it, you're not home free. But historically these are two teams that have always been in the hunt."

Occidental counterpart Dale Widolff agrees.

"It's like a one-game single elimination tournament. Last week CMS was our first round. This week it's Redlands for our second round."

The game pits the teams who have been the most successful in the last two decades with the Bulldogs having 10 SCIAC titles in the last 20 years and the Tigers six, including back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006.

It also pits the two most veteran coaches with Widolff in his 27th year and Maynard in his 21st.

Both teams are 3-0 overall with impressive wins in their SCIAC openers last week. Occidental trounced Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 38-0 and Redlands beat La Verne 37-7.

Redlands played a day game last week while Occidental played at night so both veteran coaches took advantage of the opportunity to scout the other in person rather than rely on film.

Junior quarterback Steve Smith now directs the offense with reigning SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year Dan Selway (broken foot) sidelined.

Smith went 13-for-24 for 156 yards in a steady rain last week in his debut as the starter. He threw one touchdown and two interceptions, one of which was brought back 60 yards for a score.

Widolff isn't expecting less of a battle because Selway is out. All he needs to do is think back to last year.

"We lost to Cal Lu last year when they were going with a backup," he said. "Good teams still win with a backup. Average or below average teams are the ones that struggle."

Selway will be joined on the sideline by all-conference noseguard Mitchell Crocco who tore the ACL in his right knee last week against La Verne. The news was a little better elsewhere as the ankle injury to end Josh Cunningham was not as severe as first feared. He was on crutches at the end of the game last week but could see playing time. Senior Tyler Sutton is likely to see increased playing time in Crocco's absence.

"That's why we carry a lot of players," Maynard said. "During the course of a season you have injuries. The other guys have to be ready to step up."

Widolff expects the Bulldogs to overcome those injuries.

"They may not always have the best 22 players, but they always have the best 44," he said. "They have tremendous depth and they are more capable of overcoming those than most other teams."

 l

LA VERNE -- Bob Dyer, the University of La Verne public address football announcer, walked around the track some 30 minutes before a recent SCIAC game against the University of Redlands en route to the press box.

He stopped and picked up a scrap of paper, then placed it in a nearby trash receptacle.

"I do that because of Ort. He always did that, never left trash on the ground," said Dyer, in his 19th year as the voice of the Leopards.

Ort as in Roland Ortmayer, who headed the Leopard football program for 43 years, parts of six decades. He was an institution at the school and the community that the stadium was named in his honor when he retired in 1991.

Ortmayer, 91, passed away Thursday morning. He had a bout of pneumonia in August and his health had declined ever since. He had been under hospice care at Hillcrest Homes in La Verne the past several weeks.

Ortmayer, born in College Park, Md., on Aug. 22, 1917, was not known for his success on the field. His teams were 182-193-8, sharing the SCIAC title twice but never winning one outright. The program did not produce a professional player.

Ortmayer was more about teaching life lessons than wins and losses on the football field.

Rex Huigens played quarterback from 1967 to 1969, assisted Ortmayer for 25 years, then took over the program from him in 1991. He remembers calling his own plays, something unheard of even today for a college quarterback.

"He thought if you prepare all week the way you were supposed to, you should be able to handle it," Huigens said. "He was about more than just football," said Huigens. He was about molding people, not just football players. I'm a better person because I played for him and worked with him."

Ortmayer's coaching style was unlike any other. It had to be for Sports Illustrated to devote several pages on a Division III coach, as it did in a Sept. 4, 1989 profile by Douglas S. Looney.

Ortmayer didn't believe in playbooks because they stifled creativity and limited a player's ability to improvise.

He didn't believe in studying game film, especially of the opponent. He didn't endorse weight training because it wasted energy. He didn't actively recruit players but never cut one either.

He didn't make practices mandatory and didn't have a curfew.

He never cursed.

He believed in the hands-on approach, even if it meant he had to chalk the field himself or do his team's laundry.

He also had an adventurous side too, teaching a class called "When Lewis and Clark Met the Mountains," that included a four-week camping junket to Montana in which he took students kayaking, rafting and canoeing.

He also taught climbing and repelling.

"It wasn't unusual to walk around campus and see him repelling down the side of a building," said Don Morel, who played defensive end for Ortmayer from 1983 to 1986 and served as head coach from 1995 to 2006.  "That was Ort. What he taught transcended the football field. He taught values and life experiences."

Ortmayer also left a lasting impression on his peers. Occidental's Dale Widolff, in his 27th year, is the dean of coaches in the SCIAC and recalls many close contests against Ortmayer's teams.

"He always had the right perspective on college football," said Widolff. "I always considered him and Frank Serrao (former Redlands coach from 1964-1983) the moral compass of coaches. There are a lot of situations that come up when I think, 'What would those guys do?' "

Widolff also said he saw a human side of the coach even in the heat of competition.

"I really remember two games against them. One we kicked a 49-yard field goal on the last play to beat them by two and he came over to shake my hand. He was truly happy for me. The other they beat us 52-51 in double overtime and he felt really bad for me, more so than he felt good for his team."

Redlands coach Mike Maynard is the only other coach in the SCIAC whose tenure coincided with Ortmayer.

"He always appeared to be this laid- back guy and I think people often mistook that for his teams not being intense or ready to play. I never bought that for a minute," he said. "They were always prepared and were ready to play."

Ortmayer was preceded in death by wife Cornelia and son David, who died in 1953 from an accidental drowning at the age of 6. Cornelia was as much a fixture at the university as her husband. The concession stand, Corni's Corner, is named after her.

Ortmayer is survived by sister Marilee Franke of Madison, Wis., and two daughters, Suzi Bowles of Belfgrade, Mont., and Corlan Harrison of Upland, along with four grandchildren and two great grand children.

Funeral arrangements are pending. The school's plans to honor the icon will likely be announced next week.

University of Redlands junior center Brendan Meaney was named Western Water Polo Association Player of the Week honor for his 11-goal showing at the UC Santa Cruz Slugfest from Sept. 27-28.

Helping the Bulldogs obtain a No. 15 ranking in the Collegiate Water Polo Association (CWPA) Varsity Top 20, Meaney supplied three assists, three steals, four ejections drawn and five field blocks en route to a 3-1 showing at the invitational, the big wins being over No. 20 U.S. Air Force Academy and No. 13 Santa Clara.

On the season, he has netted 40 goals in helping the Bulldogs to a 14-4 record.

Redlands will compete in the Southern California Invitational this weekend. The event includes Division I teams such as USC, UCLA, Stanford, Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount.

The University of La Verne volleyball team has a big weekend coming up. The No. 3 Leopards (12-0) will host a four-team tournament Friday and Saturday that will feature local foe Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (12-7), as well as No. 1 Juniata, Penn. (17-1) and No. 2 Emory, Ga. (19-3).

"I can't wait," Leopards coach Don Flora said. "It's not often you get to play the top two teams in the country on the same weekend."

On Friday the Athenas will play Emory at 4 p.m. while La Verne playes Juniata at 7 p.m.

Then on Saturday La Verne and CMS will play at 11 a.m. The rest of the schedule will pit Juniata against Emory at 1:30 p.m., CMS against Juniata at 4 p.m. and La Verne against Emory at 6 p.m.

There is no admission charge for spectatots.

No Dan Selway. No problem.

The University of Redlands got off to a good start in the Steve Smith era, turning back the University of La Verne 37-7 Saturday in the SCIAC opener for both teams in a steady drizzle at Ortmayer Stadium.

The Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0), ranked nationally in three polls, were playing their first game since losing Selway to a broken foot two weeks ago.

Smith, a junior, made his debut as the starting quarterback and went 13-for-24 for 156 yards with one touchdown pass and two interceptions. He was aided by a rushing attack that totaled 319 yards.

"He was hot and cold," Redlands coach Mike Maynard said of Smith. "When he was pressuring and overanalyzing he became a little too mechanical. When he was in the flow and got in a rhythm he did good things."

Fortunately for the Bulldogs, the offense isn't totally dependent on the passing game. Zack Schafer rambled for 175 on 16 carries, highlighted by touchdown runs of 15 and 36 yards while Jeff Stewart powered his way to 130 yards on 22 tries.

The third prong of the three-headed monster, fullback Tom Romaine, caught an 8-yard scoring pass.

"We wanted to come out here with the same game plan," Smith said of his new responsibility. "We didn't want to go conservative at all. We have a good line and good backs, so one injury isn't enough to slow us down."

The Leopards (0-3) stuck with the Bulldogs early, blocking a field goal try on Redlands first possession and holding them to a 37-yarder by Joe MacMillan minutes later.

But Redlands found the end zone on its third try, capping a nine-play drive with the 8-yard pass from Smith to fullback Tom Romaine, a two-point conversion making it 11-0.

La Verne got the ball back after an interception by Branamier Courtney. It went the distance only to have a 19-yard scoring toss from Anthony Andre to Phi Van Le nullified by a holding. It proved costly as La Verne got nothing when a field goal try by Wesley Dean was blocked by Mike Nicolini.

The Bulldogs upped their lead to 18-0 and were driving for more in the closing minute of the half but a Smith offering was picked off and run back 60 yards by Rocky Keawekane, cutting the deficit to 18-7.

The Bulldogs put the game away in the third quarter.

But Leopards coach Andy Ankeny hardly sounded like a coach on the short end of the stick.

"We played hard. We played physical. We had some mental mistakes and some turnovers but we did a lot of positive things in the course of the game that we can build on as a program."

Andre threw for 118 yards but was picked off three times and was hurried by the Bulldogs defense all night. Van Le was the Leopards top reciever, catching six for 78 yards.

The Leopards managed just 31 yards on the ground on the nation's top-ranked rushing defense.

The win did not come without a cost as the Bulldogs lost two defensive linemen with what Maynard said are season-ending injuries. Noseguard Mitchell Crocco tore an ACL in his right knee in the second quarter while end Josh Cunningham sustained a broken ankle.

Next week the Bulldogs host Occidental at 7 p.m. while La Verne plays at Claremont-Mudd Scripps, also at 7 p.m.

Starting quarterback or no starting quarterback, the University of Redlands is still a formidable foe. That seems to be the prevailing thought among coaches in the SCIAC.

Conference play begins today and the Bulldogs (2-0) will trek to Ortmayer Stadium for a 1 p.m. showdown against the University of La Verne (0-2).

The Bulldogs will be without junior quarterback Dan Selway who earned SCIAC Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2007 but sustained a broken foot in a win over Whitworth (Wash.) two weeks ago.

He threw for 489 yards and five touchdowns in the first two games. His spot now goes to junior Steve Smith with freshman Dylan Barrera elevated to backup status. Smith did see some mop-up duty in the first two games. He also played the entire second half of Redlands' playoff game last year at St. Johns (Minn.).

"They're a good program and they're deep at every position," second-year Leopards coach Andy Ankeny said of the Bulldogs. "We don't shy away from tough competition. We want to play them at their best because there's no better way to find out where your progam is. We wish he (Selway) was in there but don't expect less of a game because he isn't."

The Bulldogs were idle last week, giving Smith an extra week to prepare. Redlands coach Mike Maynard said his team won't alter its game plan even though it has the luxury of a three-pronged rushing attack ignited by seniors - Tom Romaine, Zack Schafer and Jeff Stewart.

"We do what we do. We're not going to change anything, he said. "He has been here so he knows the offense. He has had a good week of practice and we have all the confidence in the world in him."

Selway was also the Bulldogs' punter. Maynard said freshman Wes Norris and senior Kraig Kraning are battling for that job.

The biggest factor in the game will likely be how the La Verne running game fares against a Redlands defense that ranks first nationally against the run.

The Leopards have managed just 101 yards total in two games on 75 tries with their leading rusher being freshman Curtis Puli with 61 yards.

The Bulldogs, led by senior defensive end Brock Arndt and freshman linebacker Ian Skuss, have held their first two opponents to minus-24 yards.

"We can't let our quarterback sit back there and get tattoed," Ankeny said. "Our young pups are going to have to hold up. That's obviously a big factor. If we can do that we have a chance."

Redlands is averaging 452 yards offense. The La Verne defense, led by senior linebacker Jason Carpenter, is giving up and average 453.

While the game looks one-sided on paper, Maynard is leary of the Leopards.

"They're a hungry team and it's the conference opener so they're going to be ready," said Maynard, who was at La Verne's game last week against Willamette (Ore.). "They have made a lot of progress even though it may not show in th win column. We're expecting a battle."

The other SCIAC teams will also be in action. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (1-1) will be at Occidental (2-0) to play a team it nearly upset a year ago. Pomona-Pitzer (1-1) will be at Chapman (1-1) for its final nonconference tuneup. Both the Stags and Sagehens are coming off byes.

Area community colleges will also be in action. Chaffey (3-1) will host Cerritos (3-1) in its National Division Central Conference opener at 6 p.m.

In American Division Mountain Conference play San Bernardino Valley (0-4) will be at San Diego Mesa (1-3) at 6 p.m. and Victor Valley (1-3) will host Golden West (2-2) at 1 p.m.