Leading 28-13 in the third quarter of the Northern Division game against College of the Canyons, the Cerritos College football team seemed to be in good shape to hold on to at least a share of first place in the division. But after the Cougars scored 23 straight points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, the Falcons were on the verge of having their bid to defend their division title and a shot at the Southern California Regional Playoffs come to an end. But a late fourth quarter touchdown on a 15-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Brandon Denker (North Torrance HS) to freshman wide receiver Garrion Manning (Long Beach Wilson HS) with :42 second left sent the game into overtime. After both teams scored in the first series, sophomore running back Cory Westbrook (Long Beach Poly HS) punched the ball in from a yard out, and when the Falcon defense held, they picked up their third straight win, 48-42.
The victory, coupled with a 29-28 Allan Hancock College loss to Ventura College puts the Falcons in sole possession of the division with two games remaining. Cerritos will now travel to Bakersfield College (3-5, 0-3) for a 7:00 p.m. next Saturday.
In the second overtime, the Falcons came out on defense and pressured quarterback Tyler D'Amore on two straight plays, with sophomore Alanua Finau (Dominguez HS) recording a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry. After a completed pass, D'Amore was forced to throw into the end zone on fourth down after getting chased out of the pocket by Finau. Taking over possession, Westbrook accounted for all 25 yards on the game-winning drive and finished the night with 94 rushing yards and three touchdowns.
Cerritos almost didn't get a chance to send the game into overtime, if not for their final drive of regulation. After the Falcon defense held the Cougars to a 38-yard field goal by Jeff Flores with 2:48 remaining, they embarked on a 10-play, 57-yard drive to tie the game. Westbrook came on for sophomore Donald Livingston (Savanna HS) on the second play of the drive and carried the ball three straight times for 26 yards and on third-and-12 at the Cougars 27-yard line, picked up 10 yards for a manageable fourth down play. Denker was chased out of the pocket and scrambled for four yards before he found Manning for a 15-yard touchdown. An excessive celebration penalty made freshman kicker Richard Valencia's (Paramount HS) game-tying extra point a little more interesting.
In the first overtime, Denker opened with a 14-yard run, and after two unsuccessful plays, rushed into the end zone on third-and-nine for the team's first lead since early in the fourth quarter. The ensuing possession for College of the Canyons was rife with controversy, as Matt Bowen appeared to fumble the ball before reaching the end zone, but the officials ruled the play a touchdown, which set up the defensive stand and subsequent game-winning touchdown.
The Falcons opened up a 28-13 third quarter lead, which included a touchdown on a fake field goal attempt, as Denker (13-for-28, 140 yards, 3 TD) connected with sophomore tight end Clark Evans (Los Alamitos HS/University of Colorado), who was left uncovered. When the Cougars tied the game in the first quarter, Cerritos came right back with a six-play, 52-yard drive where Westbrook (16 carries, 94 yards) scored from seven yards out. Livingston wound up leading the team with 120 yards on the ground on 19 totes.
It was a 21-10 Cerritos lead in the second quarter, as the team capitalized on a Dwan Gill (Carson HS) interception, while Evans pulled in his second touchdown of the night on a fourth-and-one play. He was able to fight off Eric Finney and pull in a one-handed catch and then beat Finney into the end zone.
Finau, who finished the night with four tackles, also added five quarterback hurries, as well as 2 1/2 tackles for loss and a quarterback sack, with sophomore free safety Chris Metcalf (Compton HS) posting a team-high nine tackles. As a team, the Falcons had 13 quarterback hurries and nine quarterback hurries, with sophomore linebacker Jay Suai (Long Beach Millikan HS) recording six solo stops and freshman Kyle Peko (La Habra HS) finishing with three quarterback hurries and a tackle for loss.