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09.02.06 - Cerritos
unveiled their new turf Saturday evening
before competition with Moorpark. Falcons were
defeated 17-14. |
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Photo Gallery |
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With very little pomp and
circumstance, the Cerritos College football team
unveiled their new turf in front of a very appreciative
crowd in their 2006 home opener on Saturday night
against Moorpark College. All of the players and coaches
from both teams were excited to experience the new
texture of the field, as workers took care of the
finishing touches not long before the start of the game.
After all of the dust, or
chopped rubber pellets, had settled, the Falcons found
themselves on the wrong end of a 17-14 non-conference
decision. Next up for Cerritos (0-1) will be a 1:00 p.m.
contest at West Los Angeles College (0-1) on Saturday.
After falling behind 10-0,
the Falcons scored the next 14 points to take a
short-lived lead in the fourth quarter. Sophomore
running back
Ty’Rone
Jenkins (Long Beach Poly HS) went up and
over from a yard out with 9:15 left in the fourth
quarter and after freshman kicker
Matt
Striuksma (Valley Christian HS) booted
the extra point, Cerritos led, 14-10.
On the drive, freshman
quarterback
Chad Manis (Los Alamitos HS) connected
with sophomore wide receiver
Cory Rhoane
(Gahr HS) three times to account for 46 of the 77
yards on the drive.
However, it took Moorpark a
mere 2:48 to regain the lead, as quarterback Cam Merrill
connected with Conrad Meadows from 16 yards out to cap
the drive. Meadows was 5-for-5 for 67 yards on the
drive, while Felipe Macias converted the extra point for
a 17-14 Raider lead.
Cerritos did make one last
run and Striuksma did get a chance to tie the game with
a 37-yard field goal attempt with :59 seconds left, but
his kick fell just short. Earlier in the game, Striuksma
was just wide right on a 42-yard attempt. The drive was
kept alive by sophomore running back
Rylon Thomas
(Valencia HS), who carried the ball five times on
the drive for 21 yards, with three of those carries
converting first downs on third down plays.
On the night, Thomas led all
rushers with 86 yards on 26 carries, while Thomas scored
the first touchdown of the season, a six-yard run up the
middle in the second quarter. Manis finished with 143
yards on 13-of-27 passing, with Rhoane pulling in seven
passes for 94 yards. For the Raiders, they moved the
ball downfield through the air, as Merrill completed
15-of-21 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns, while
his third quarter replacement, Kyle Blum, threw for 98
yards on 8-of-10 passing, but was taken out after he
fumbled twice on one drive.
Defensively, Cerritos
recovered three Moorpark fumbles and picked off one
pass, but were only able to convert one of those
turnovers into points. Sophomore linebackers
Aaron Alonzo
(Mayfair HS) and
Michael
Higgins (Downey HS) each finished with
seven stops, as did sophomore defensive back
Arlando Bryant
(Long Beach Jordan HS). Sophomore defensive
tackle
Will Martinez (Downey HS) had two solo
tackles, two tackles for loss, forced a fumble and
partially blocked a field goal attempt. Sophomore
cornerback
Terrence Newman (Gahr HS) recorded the
lone interception. |
