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For the first three quarters, it
looked as though the Cerritos College football team may
be shut out for the first time since a 33-0 loss to
Fullerton College back in 1988, or 193 games ago. But,
on the first play of the fourth quarter, freshman
back-up quarterback
AJ Toscano
(El Rancho HS)
connected with sophomore wide receiver
Cory Rhoane
(Gahr HS)
on a 77-yard pass for a touchdown to keep the
non-shutout streak alive. However, at the time of the
touchdown, the Falcons were trailing 42-0 to Saddleback
College, the #2-rated team in the country. With reserves
in for both teams, Cerritos did go on to score 21 fourth
quarter points, but suffered a 49-21 loss. With the
setback, Cerritos drops to 2-4 on the season and 0-1 in
the Mission Conference National Division, while the
Gauchos improved to 6-0 and 1-0. The loss was also the
fourth consecutive at home on the team's new surface.
Next Saturday, the Falcons will look to right the ship
when they face Golden West College in a 6:00 p.m. game
at LeBard Stadium on the campus of Orange Coast College.
For the first three quarters, the
Falcons had trouble stopping one of the best offenses in
the state, as the Gauchos scored five rushing touchdowns
and reached the end zone on a fumble recovery. There was
no stopping running back Andrew Nakihei, who ran for 170
yards and four touchdowns, while PT Gates added 66
rushing yards and two scores of his own. It was the same
for the offense, as Cerritos was limited to under 100
yards by halftime and didn't move the ball with any
effectiveness until the outcome had been decided.
In the fourth quarter alone, freshman
running back
Marquiese Reed
(Gardena HS)
was a superstar, rushing for 107 yards on five carries,
including 74 yards on four straight carries that
culminated in a seven-yard touchdown pass from sophomore
quarterback
Mike Roy
(La Serna HS)
to freshman wide receiver
Ryan Pettys
(Los Alamitos HS)
with 2:45 remaining in the game. In the second half,
Toscano came on for freshman quarterback
Chad Manis
(Los Alamitos HS),
who struggled while he was in the game, completing just
2-of-11 passes for 22 yards and was sacked three times.
On the other hand, Toscano completed 5-of-7 passes for
77 yards and two touchdowns for 101 yards. His other
scoring strike was a four-yard shovel pass to Reed on
their first drive after the long touchdown.
Defensively, freshman defensive back
Hilton Dawson
(Dominguez HS)
and sophomore defensive back
Terrell Cole
(Lakewood HS)
each collected eight tackles, with Cole also forcing a
fumble and recovering it. Additionally, sophomore safety
Dean Laing
(Mayfair HS)
had six solo tackles. The Falcons allowed 307 yards on
the ground and 475 total yards, while they collected 205
yards rushing and 311 total yards on the night. |
