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09.15.07
- Cerritos was unable to overcome penalties
during a three-overtime loss to Golden West
College Saturday night at Falcon Stadium. |
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Photo Gallery |
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It has usually been said that to find out how a football
team is going to play during the season, it will show by
the third game of the year. If that rule were to hold
true, then the Cerritos College football team would need
to make some big strides if they are going to improve on
their performance Saturday night. The Falcons, off to
their first 2-0 start since 2002, dropped a 22-20
Mission Conference crossover game to Golden West College
(2-1) in three overtimes. The Falcons (2-1), who turned
the ball over four times, were also victimized by
penalties throughout the game. If the team is going to
turn the corner, they will have to do so against their
cross-town rival Long Beach City College next Saturday
night at Falcon Stadium. The game will also decide the
residence of the Crosstown Cup for the next year.
After neither team was able to score
in the first two overtimes (Golden West missed two field
goals and Cerritos missed one), the Falcons were able to
reach the end zone when sophomore quarterback
AJ Toscano
(El Rancho HS) connected with sophomore wide
receiver
Ryan Pettys (Los Alamitos HS) on a
third-and-11 play. But, with the rule stating that teams
must go for two starting the third overtime, Cerritos
lined up for the two-point conversion. After Toscano was
unable to find an open receiver, he scrambled and
appeared to score. But, the Falcons were called for
holding and the ball was moved back to the 13-yard line.
Toscano then threw an incomplete pass.
For the
Rustlers, they took over the ball and picked up a first
down after two plays. After running back Anthony
Carlisle was dropped for a one-yard loss, quarterback
Les Obie found a wide open Dan Delahoussaye in the end
zone for a touchdown. Obie then threw a swing pass to
Noel Clarke to convert the two-point conversion and win
the game.
Both teams
struggled to move the ball downfield, while the Falcons
had trouble holding onto the ball in the first half.
Cerritos lost three fumbles in the first half, including
a crucial one deep in Golden West territory. Late in the
second quarter, Cerritos drove down to the Rustler
three-yard line after Toscano connected on three first
down passes. However, freshman fullback
Junior
Tivao (Paramount HS) had the ball
stripped on first and goal at the three-yard line, with
49 seconds left, with Wayne Glisson recovering the ball
for Golden West.
The Rustlers
opened the scoring on the night after Sean Baker
recovered a blocked Cerritos punt in the end zone with
12:59 left in the first half. However, the Falcons tied
the game on their opening drive of the second half, as
Toscano hit freshman
Ronnie
Goforth (Mayfair HS) from six yards out
on third-and-goal. The Falcons took the lead when
sophomore linebacker
Michael Terry
(Bell Gardens HS) picked off Obie at the Rustler
41-yard line and went in the end zone untouched. Terry,
who finished with 10 tackles and three tackles for loss,
stepped in front of the sideline pass for the score.
On their next
drive, Golden West went the length of the field, with
Carlisle carrying the ball on eight of the team’s 12
plays and scored from 10 yards out with 6:33 remaining.
Regulation ended with Falcon sophomore cornerback
BG Walters
(Dwyer (FL) HS/Allan Hancock HS) leaping high
over Chris Hernandez in the end zone for an interception
to thwart a last-second scoring opportunity.
The Rustlers
out-gained Cerritos on the night, 282-200, with Carlisle
accounting for 125 yards on the ground. Neither
quarterbacks had a good night, with Toscano completing
15-of-31 passes for 137 yards, two touchdowns and an
interception. Obie finished throwing for 121 yards on
18-of-26 passing with two interceptions. Defensively,
sophomore linebacker
Kupono Kaawa
(Santa Fe HS) led the team with 14 tackles, while
Tivao (13 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss) and sophomore
cornerback
Davion
Mauldin (Cimarron Memorial (NV) HS/Minot (ND)
State) added 12 tackles. |
