Glendale Community College football registers first victory

GLENDALE — Seven weeks of frustration ceased for the Glendale Community College football team Saturday.

After losses both lopsided and close, Glendale finally basked in victory on sun splashed Sartoris Field after a 25-3 American Metro Conference win against Pasadena City College.

A mild celebration took place between many of the Glendale players and coach John Rome.

“We were able to stay fresh and we were able to keep our offense on the field a lot longer compared to previous games,” Rome said. “Our defense came in and did the job. We got the turnovers when we needed and it’s great to finally get a win.

“We had a lot of short-field possessions and you take them anyway you can. This was the kind of effort we thought we could see if they could play smart. They did that.”

Glendale (1-6, 1-2 in conference) forced five turnovers to turn back Pasadena (3-4, 1-2) for the first time since 1988. Glendale improved to 14-34-1 all time against Pasadena and snapped an eight-game losing streak against the Lancers.

Owners of a slim 6-3 lead late in the third quarter, the Vaqueros took over the game with 19 points on three touchdowns over the final 17 minutes of the game to pull away and into the win column.

The Vaqueros, who have struggled throughout the campaign on offense, got an excellent performance from running back Torrance Brumfield, who rushed for 153 yards and a touchdown in 37 carries.

“We found a way to get the job done,” Brumfield said. “We’ve played through some tough times, but we feel like we’ve played well these last two games.

“We just needed to continue believing in ourselves and staying together. We were able to show that today.”

Quarterback David Arriaga completed six of 14 passes for 42 yards and rushed for 55 yards in nine carries. Arriaga had two total touchdowns.

Glendale began the scoring when Michael Selsor converted a 20-yard field goal with 8:31 left in the first quarter.

Pasadena knotted it at 3 on a 43-yard field goal by Enrique Lozano with 22.8 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

John Brown blocked a punt and recovered the ball at the Pasadena 27-yard line. It paved the way for Glendale, which received an 18-yard field goal from Selsor to take a 6-3 lead with 3:38 left in the first half.

A six-yard touchdown run off a boot leg by Arriaga gave the Vaqueros a 12-3 lead with 1:12 to go in the third quarter.

Glendale’s Payton Lowry-Sanders then sacked Jesse Hanckel and forced a fumble. The ball was recovered by Glendale’s Justin Smith at the Pasadena 21-yard line with 31.7 seconds left. The turnover aided Glendale, which got a two-yard touchdown reception from Solomon Nwanko from Arriaga with 12:21 remaining in the fourth quarter to make it 18-3.

Brumfield closed out the scoring on a 23-yard run with 7:30 left in the game.

Glendale’s Mondo Jackson and Marcus Cosby each recovered a fumble for the Vaqueros in the first half. Sylvester Robinson had an interception for the Vaqueros in the first quarter, as the defense proved dependable as it has for much of the season.

“We know that’s been a strong part of our game for most of the season,” said Glendale linebacker Anthony Parker, who finished with four tackles. “The coaches have gotten us prepared, but it’s up to us to go out there and do it.

“We knew what Pasadena liked to do offensively and we were able to get to the running backs quickly.”

Glendale will compete in a conference home game against El Camino-Compton at 1 p.m. Saturday. Glendale will close out the regular season with conference road contests against L.A. Southwest and East L.A. on Nov. 5 and 12, respectively.