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09.30.06 -
Cerritos and Long Beach City college played a
competitive game Saturday night at Falcon
stadium. In the end, Long Beach City came away
victorious 35-28. |
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Photo
Gallery |
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It was like two heavyweight fighters
slugging it out in the first round of a title fight.
Both the Cerritos College and Long Beach City College
football teams took turns driving down the field in the
first quarter and landed shots that stunned their
opponent. After those few drives, the combatants took
time to feel each other out, looking to take advantage
of their opponent's mistake. Well, with the Falcons
ready to land a stunning blow, the tides were turned and
the Vikings capitalized on an interception in the end
zone and proceeded to drive the ball downfield for an
eventual game-winning touchdown in a 35-28 Mission
Conference victory for Long Beach City. The loss drops
Cerritos to 2-3 overall, and 0-3 on their new field,
while the Vikings improved to 3-2 on the season. With
the win, the Vikings also regained possession of the
Crosstown Cup, a perpetual trophy that is awarded to the
winner of the game. After their bye week, Cerritos will
open National Division play when they host Saddleback
College in the school's annual Homecoming Game at 7:00
p.m.
On two separate occasions in the
game, it looked as though the Falcons would score a
go-ahead touchdown, but freshman quarterback
Chad Manis
(Los Alamitos HS)
was picked off in the end zone. With the game knotted at
14-14 in the second quarter and Cerritos at the Long
Beach six-yard line, Manis was picked off by LBCC Ryan
Howard, who returned the ball 49 yards. Then, in the
fourth quarter, with the game tied at 28-28, Manis tried
to thread a pass from the nine-yard line to sophomore
wide receiver
Jerrad Nutt
(California HS),
he was intercepted for the second time, as Don Tupou
came up with the pick and brought it back 47 yards,.
This time, the Vikings went on to drive for the eventual
game-winning touchdown, as quarterback Josh Powell
connected with LaTroy Dinkins from 10 yards out for the
second time in the game with 3:25 left in the fourth
quarter.
Cerritos opened the game in fine
fashion, as freshman
Greg Moore
(Gardena HS)
brought back the opening kickoff 68 yards, which led to
a two-play, 30-yard drive that culminated with a 30-yard
touchdown pass to Nutt with only 1:17 burned off the
clock. However, the Vikings went on to score on their
next two drives to take a 14-7 lead, with a Cerritos
fumble on their first play after LBCC tied the game,
setting the stage for the second score. It was a 14-14
game when Cerritos came right back after the Vikings
went up, with Manis and Moore hooking up for a 35-yard
touchdown. On the play, Moore ran a stop and go play and
caught the pass in the back of the end zone in an
amazing individual effort.
Throughout the first half, the
Falcons were very effective on offense, as the offensive
line was doing a masterful job controlling the line of
scrimmage. Leading the way were sophomores
Brett Haagsma
(Valley Christian
HS),
Mark
Jean-Louis (Palm
Beach Gardens, FL)
and
Michael
Peralta (California
HS) along with freshmen
Mike Diaz
(Schurr HS),
Phillip Garcia
(Schurr HS)
and Cody
Fisher (Warren
HS), as they manhandled the Viking defensive
line. They made huge holes for sophomore running backs Rylon
Thomas (Valencia
HS) and
Ty'Rone
Jenkins (Long
Beach Poly HS), while Manis also had his
share of running room.
The tie was broken prior to halftime,
as Thomas used his stocky frame to run defenders over on
his way to some large gains. After a 14-yard run, Thomas
found the end zone with 1:23 left in the second quarter,
and used the Vikings Junior Fasavalu as a speed bump
along the way, as the bowled over him before getting
into the end zone.
In the second half, Long Beach City
struck twice in succession, first on a 51-yard touchdown
pass on a flea flicker and then capitalized on a
Cerritos turnover with Howard catching a 77-yard
touchdown pass. The lead didn't last long, as sophomore
Genoa Dill
(Compton HS)
proceeded to return the ensuing kickoff 95 yards for the
game-tying touchdown. It was the seventh-longest kickoff
return for touchdown in school history and second in his
career, as he brought back an 87-yarder against
Riverside College last season.
On the night, Cerritos racked up 390
yards of total offense, with 206 of it coming on the
ground. Thomas finished with 90 yards on 12 carries and
one touchdown, while Jenkins (7-68) and Manis (11-49)
also had good games. Through the air, Manis completed
10-of-19 passes for 184 yards and two scores, but it was
his two interceptions that loomed to be the largest
plays of the game. Moore pulled in three passes for 63
yards, while Nutt also caught three passes, but for 54
yards. On defense, sophomore linebacker
Aaron
Alonzo
(Mayfair HS)
had nine tackles, while sophomore defensive end
Jason Nutt
(California HS)
and sophomore safety
Terrell Cole
(Lakewood HS)
each added seven. |
