LA VERNE, Calif. – Senior quarterback Jordan Hernandez threw for 110 yards and a touchdown while rushing for a career-high 73 yards to lead the University of La Verne to a season-opening 30-3 victory over Azusa Pacific on Saturday night at Ortmayer Field, spoiling the Cougars' long-awaited return to college football.

In a game dominated by defense for 3 quarters, Hernandez delivered the knockout blow early in the fourth. He connected with Jimmy Rumsey on a perfectly placed 23-yard touchdown pass to the back corner of the end zone with less than three minutes gone in the period, giving the Leopards a 16-3 advantage and their first touchdown of the contest.

La Verne quickly seized complete control after that. On Azusa Pacific's ensuing possession, Trevon Kenney intercepted a pass and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown. Tyler McCown added a 12-yard scoring run with 3:13 remaining to cap a 21-point fourth quarter and secure the Leopards' first win over Azusa Pacific since 1995.

Before the offensive explosion, the game was played in the trenches.

Azusa Pacific struggled to generate offense against a relentless La Verne defense, while the Leopards couldn't push the ball past the Cougar 10-yard line, having to settle for 3 Jacob Cuevas converted field goals of 23, 27 and 27 yards as La Verne built a 9-0 halftime lead.

The Cougars appeared to catch a break on the Leopards' opening possession of the second half when Cuevas mishandled a punt snap at the La Verne 1-yard line. However, the Leopard defense responded with a stellar goal-line stand, forcing Azusa Pacific to settle for a 20-yard field goal by Tyler Nolan, the Cougars' lone points of the evening.
That proved to be Azusa Pacific's only scoring opportunity of the game

The Cougars managed just 17 yards on their next 10 offensive plays, and once Hernandez found Rumsey for the game's first touchdown, any hopes of a comeback quickly faded.

Azusa Pacific finished with only 116 yards of total offense on 42 plays and converted just 1-of-13 third- and fourth-down opportunities. The Cougars also committed 10 penalties while fielding a roster of 103 players competing together in a game setting for the first time.

Defensively, Azusa Pacific was led by Kayvion Jones, who recorded a game-high 10 tackles and forced a fumble. Keanu Kuma added 9 tackles, including the game's lone sack of the night.

Hernandez's ability to escape pressure and extend plays proved particularly frustrating for the Cougar defense. La Verne converted 6-of-14 third-down attempts, including 5 conversions on drives that ultimately resulted in field goals.

Now 0-1, Azusa Pacific has a bye next week before returning to action on Sept. 19 at home against Whittier College, another program making its return to college football this season. The Poets opened their campaign Saturday with a 56-14 loss to Simpson.