Junior College Football: Falcons edge Rustlers

On a night when attempting to push the other football team around wasn’t going to render much satisfaction, the one play on which someone broke loose was the story.

After being blanked in the first half and trailing, 3-0, visiting Cerritos College made its biggest play on its first offensive snap of the second half Saturday.

Sophomore quarterback Nick Mitchell flipped to freshman receiver Stacy Chukwumezie for a 94-yard touchdown bomb that finalized the scoring in the Falcons’ 7-3 nonconference win over Golden West at Orange Coast College.

Golden West (1-3), which has lost three straight, failed to reach the Cerritos red zone on its 11 possessions.

The Rustlers’ lone score came on a 47-yard field goal by Quinton Conoway with 1:04 left in the first half.

From that point on, Golden West did not penetrate farther than the Cerritos 49-yard line, virtually wasting another strong defensive performance by a unit that is now allowing a mere 13.8 points per game this season.

“Defense played great,” said Golden West Coach Nick Mitchell, who said he was not altogether disappointed with his offense.

“Other than the Glendale game [a 33-0 win to open the season], the offense may have played the best it has played,” Mitchell said.

Golden West was lacking starting tailback Gabe Ford (ankle sprain), and sophomore receiver Zimari Manning, an All-American as a freshman, also remained sidelined after spraining his knee in the first half against Glendale.

“We just don’t have a guy who can make [an explosive play],” Mitchell said.

The Rustlers’ defense limited explosiveness on all but the long scoring pass.

Aside from the touchdown bomb, Cerritos had only one play that gained more than 16 yards (a 35-yard run credited on a would-be 93-yard touchdown nullified by a block in the back late in the fourth quarter).

Golden West defenders stopped Cerritos at or behind the line of scrimmage 16 times, including five sacks.

The Rustlers turned Cerritos away the second and only time it reached the red zone, midway through the third quarter. After the Falcons converted a third-and-five pass to the Golden West 20-yard line, a holding call and a sack helped back them up, forcing a 46-yard field-goal attempt that Adrian Saldana missed wide left.

The Golden West defense almost produced a scoring play of its own on Cerritos’ ensuing possession, when sophomore cornerback Kory Garcia broke on a short route in the flat and had a pick-six in his sights. But having darted into the passing lane with such acceleration, Garcia actually overran Mitchell’s pass and could not pull it in as he reached behind his hip for the ball.

Golden West had its final possession extended by a roughing-the-punter penalty that gave the Rustlers a first down at its own 45-yard line with 6:38 left.

But after a run and a short pass brought up third-and-four, an incomplete pass prompted a punt. And the Rustlers never saw the ball again, as Cerritos (2-2) ran out the clock to record its second straight victory.

Golden West had just one penalty, a holding call on a kickoff return.

Cerritos was flagged 11 times for 87 penalty yards.

Sophomore quarterback Adam Vance, once thought to be out for the season with an injured elbow, returned and started for the first time since the season-opener. He completed 15 of 22 passes for 114 yards, though no completion gained more than 17.

Golden West produced just 27 rushing yards and on 19 of the Rustlers’ 25 running attempts, they were stopped for two or fewer yards. On those 19 plays, including three sacks, Golden West produced minus-12 yards.

Freshman Lavonte Tolliver, filling in for Ford, had 42 yards on 17 rushing attempts.

Sophomore receiver Quinn McElfresh had six receptions for 61 yards for the Rustlers, who play at Long Beach (3-1), ranked No. 6 in the state, on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Cerritos had 139 rushing yards and 168 through the air, as Mitchell completed 13 of 21.

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SCORE BY QUARTERS

Cerritos 0 – 0 – 7 – 0 – 7

GWC 0 – 3 – 0 – 0 – 3

SECOND QUARTER

GWC – Conoway 47 FG, 1:04.

THIRD QUARTER

Cer – Chukwumezie 94 pass from Mitchell (Saldana kick), 11:19.

INDIVIDUAL RUSHING

Cer – Holmes, 19-103.

GWC – Tolliver, 17-42.

INDIVIDUAL PASSING

Cer – Mitchell, 13-21-0, 168, 1 TD.

GWC – Vance, 15-22-1, 114.

INDIVIDUAL RECEIVING

Cer – Chukwumezie, 4-111, 1 TD.

GWC – McElfresh, 6-61.