Fullerton Reverts to Its Winning Form, 35-28

Turnabout has been more than fair play for opponents of Fullerton College this season.

The Hornets, one of the winningest community college teams in the state, just haven’t been themselves lately. Except for a 54-9 trashing of Orange Coast, the Hornets have struggled.

So the Hornets’ 35-28 victory over El Camino Saturday night was a throwback to the glorious Fullerton past.

The victory, in front of a Murdock Stadium crowd of 1,500, was typical Hornet football. Fullerton ran a bruising ground game and struck swiftly with its passing.

Yet the game was anything but swift as it took three hours and five minutes to complete. It featured 68 passes--31 by Fullerton and 37 by El Camino.

It was a game Fullerton desperately needed to win in order to begin to right a season gone wrong.

Fullerton has had just one losing season--1963--in the 24 years Hal Sherbeck has been the coach.

Sherbeck was worried about the Hornets’ inability to mount a sustained drive. But the way the Hornets moved the ball against the Warriors, one would have to believe that Sherbeck didn’t lose any sleep worrying about his offense Saturday.

The Hornets survived a wild third quarter that saw El Camino rally from a 21-7 deficit to narrow the lead to 28-21 with 10:52 left in the third quarter.

Actually, all the scoring in that period came during a four-minute span to begin the second half.

The first touchdown came with 12:53 left in the third quarter. Quarterback Ron Barber, who split time with Craig Kennedy, hit running back Chris Voegler with a 55-yard pass and Fullerton led, 21-14.

The second Score came on a third-and-10 at the Hornet 20. Quarterback Richard Williams, who completed 12 of 19 passes for 257 yards and 2 touchdowns in relief of starter Mike Zorn, found receiver Aaron Grimm coming across the middle at the Hornet 40. Grimm shook off a tackler near midfield, then sprinted down the left sideline for an 80-yard touchdown.

Kennedy found Tony Nettles for a 43-yard bomb to complete the scoring barrage and leave Fullerton with a 28-21 lead.