California Lutheran University’s Kingsmen football team (5-1, 3-1 conference) took its first loss of the season in Saturday night’s Homecoming contest, falling 35-25 to the Chapman University Panthers (4-2, 4-0 conference).
According to CLU Sports, the Kingsmen beat the University of La Verne Leopards the weekend prior to Homecoming and made history as “the first Kingsmen [football] team to win its first five games since 1982.”
Junior offensive lineman Ryan Curtis said he felt pressure because of the team’s undefeated record, and because it was Homecoming weekend. Curtis said it was an “honor” to be able to play in such an important game and have alumni watching.
“It was definitely an honor of seeing all of [the alumni] come into the locker room, halftime, pregame, talking to us about the legends, what they used to do, how they used to win all the time,” Curtis said. “I felt, like, pride in being a Kingsman.”
The Kingsmen had a rough first quarter, falling behind the Panthers 22-7. Cal Lutheran scored its only points of the quarter when junior wide receiver TeNorris Merkel returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown.
However, Cal Lutheran was able to bring back its energy in the second quarter, as they scored 10 points and shut out the Chapman offense.
Head Coach Anthony Lugo said the energy from the stands got the players excited again despite the deficit.
“During that, you know, that tough first quarter, when we were down 15-nothing, you know, the fans stayed with us and you know, got us excited,” Lugo said.
The halftime show was an eventful one, as alumni from the cheer team joined current members on the field to perform, the dance team had male student volunteers join them for their performance, and the Hall of Fame class of 2025 was celebrated.
In the third quarter, the score was evened, as senior running back JD Sumlin rushed for a touchdown and Merkel caught a pass for a 2-point conversion, tying the game at 25 apiece. For Merkel, he said he found it important to feed off of each other’s energy as teammates.
The fourth quarter saw the Panthers put up 10 more points, which the Kingsmen were unable to respond, solidifying Cal Lutheran’s 35-25 loss.
“This is probably the fifth out of six games where, you know, we fought all the way till the fourth [quarter] and guys are stepping up and I’m just extremely proud of them,” Lugo said. “The fight, the grit that they showed, that’s something we talk about on the daily.”
According to Merkel, the fans don’t get to see “the hard work and dedication and the brotherhood [the Kingsmen] have,” behind the scenes.
Merkel said the Kingsmen will take the loss and grow from it as they return to practice and get back to work before their next game.
“It was a dog fight and [the Panthers] were just able to pull away and just close it out,” Merkel said. “That’s on us. We’ve just gotta lock in more, focus on the little details, and just come back stronger as a team.”
The Kingsmen will look to get back in the win column when they play the University of Redlands Bulldogs at home on Senior Night, Saturday, Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.
