With time running out in the fourth quarter and College of the Canyons driving deep into their territory, Cerritos College freshman defensive back Chris Metcalf (Compton HS) stripped the ball from Cougar wide receiver Alex Fagerstrom after his reception. Sophomore defensive back Kamar Morrison (Inglewood HS) recovered the ball at the Falcon 16-yard line with 1:19 left on the clock to secure a 31-24 National Division Northern Conference win for Cerritos Saturday night at Cougar Stadium. The victory improved the Falcons record to 6-2 overall and 2-1 in the conference, while Canyons dropped to 5-3 and 2-1.
Next Saturday at Falcon Stadium, Cerritos will get their chance to put themselves in first place when they host Bakersfield College, who's 3-0 and 7-1. The Falcons are currently in a three-way tie for second place with two games remaining.
The Falcons broke a 24-24 tie with 4:05 remaining in the fourth quarter after the defense held the Cougars to a punt from their own three-yard line. A 29-yard punt by Christian Nastros was returned to the Cougar 13-yard line by freshman Silver Viafanua (Long Beach Millikan HS). Four rushes by sophomore Daveon Barner (Long Beach Poly HS)/Long Beach City College) accounted for the game-winning touchdown. But not until College of the Canyons was through putting a scare into Cerritos.
Quarterback Justin Arias scrambled for 12 yards on the first play of their ensuing drive. A Falcon penalty, followed by a sack from sophomore Jake Peppard (La Habra HS) and Dominick Sierra (La Habra HS) slowed the drive, until a third down conversion kept the ball moving. Sophomore Tyrone Taylor (Narbonne HS) appeared to have picked off Arias, but a Cerritos penalty negated the interception. A pair of completions preceded the strip by Metcalf, who led the team with eight tackles, while Morrison ended the drive when he recovered the fumble.
Trailing 16-5 at halftime, the Falcons scored 19 unanswered points in the third quarter. The comeback started with Barner punching the ball in from a yard out with 10:26 left in the third quarter. Cerritos was aided by a personal foul penalty against the Cougars on third and nine. Later in the quarter, sophomore Jaron Hytche (Mater Dei HS/Santa Ana College) scored from three yards out, while the team went for a two-point conversion and missed for the second time in a row. On that scoring drive, Cerritos was once again aided by a Canyons personal foul penalty, with the second score giving the team a 17-16 advantage.
It was 24-16 when sophomore quarterback Kane Wilson (El Dorado HS) connected with freshman Lindsey Anderson (Serra HS) from 25 yards out on a third and goal play. Cerritos was called for a pass interference call on the play before, which pushed the ball back.
Canyons tied the game with 12:21 remaining, as Arias found a streaking Ryan Zirbel across the middle for a 22-yard touchdown. The Falcons looked to break the tie on their next possession, but Antwan Smith intercepted Wilson at the Cougar 10-yard line to end the drive. It was the second interception on the night for Smith.
On the night, Hytche (16 carries, 70 yards) and Barner (21 carries, 68 yards) led the ground attack, while Wilson (19-for-29, 235 yards, TD, 2 INT) completed four passes to both sophomore tight end Lucas Mealy (St. John Bosco HS) and sophomore wide receiver Dion Curry (West HS). Anderson finished with 78 receiving yards on three catches, with sophomore wide receiver Darryl Jenkins (Los Alamitos HS) also catching three passes.
In addition to the eight stops by Metcalf, sophomore linebacker David Lopez (Garfield HS) also finished with eight, along with a tackle for loss and quarterback hurry. Freshman linebacker Keshaun Malone (Gardena HS) chased Arias around all night and finished with four quarterback hurries and four tackles, with Morrison checking in with seven tackles.