Community College Roundup : Fullerton Stuns Defending National Champion Taft, 20-6

Saturday afternoon against defending national champion Taft, Fullerton College committed 20 penalties for 170 yards, made two crucial fumbles, lost its starting quarterback to an injury--and won .

Tough defense, the play of backup quarterback Mike Zorn, formerly the Hornets’ starter, and a critical penalty by the Cougars helped Fullerton score a stunning 20-6 Pac-9 victory before a crowd of 5,200 in Martin Memorial Stadium.

It was Taft’s first home loss in 26 games, dating back to 1980, and their first defeat in 13 games, dating back to last season when Golden West upset the Cougars. The victory moved Fullerton (3-1 in conference and 4-2 overall) into a first-place tie in the Pac-9 and dropped Taft (3-1-1, 4-1-1) into second.

Taft, ranked seventh in the nation and second in the Southland, had been averaging nearly 400 yards per game rushing. But the Hornets dominated the lines of scrimmage and limited the Cougars’ T-Bone attack to 171 yards on the ground.

For Coach Hal Sherbeck, the 195th win of his career was one to remember.

“This is one of our biggest victories ever,” he said after being carried off the field. “We showed so much pride, I’m a little choked up right now.

“We played a poor first half, but we didn’t hold anything back in the second half. What a great day to be a Hornet.”

Zorn, who replaced an injured Richard Williams late in the first half after Williams was knocked groggy, completed 8 of 13 attempts for 70 yards and directed all three Fullerton touchdown drives.

But the most important factor in the Hornets’ second win over Taft in three years was a Cougar penalty in the fourth quarter.

With the score tied, 6-6, early in the period, Fullerton took over at the Taft 33 when Nielson Acevedo recovered a fumble by Cougar quarterback Jason Phillips.

From there, Fullerton began moving backward. Two sacks of Zorn and a clipping penalty moved the Hornets to their own 20, where they were faced with fourth down and 57 yards to go. Gus Madrigal prepared to punt and got off the kick, but was hit solidly by Taft’s Eugene Lopez, who was called for roughing.

That gave Fullerton a first down at the Cougar 48, and the Hornets quickly capitalized. A pass from Zorn to Aaron Grimm gained 12 yards, and after five running plays, Fullerton moved to the 11. Then Dean Hankins, behind a great block by center John Katnik, ran up the middle into the end zone with 7:11 to play. Todd Reynolds’ extra point made it 13-6.

Katnik and the rest of the Fullerton offensive line opened gaping holes and helped the Hornets rush for 191 yards.

“They tried to be physical with us, but we overpowered them,” Katnik said. “We were more physical than they were.”

Fullerton forced Taft to punt on the Cougars’ ensuing possession. Then the Hornets drove 55 yards on 10 plays to put the game away.

A bootleg run by Zorn for 13 yards on a third-down play helped move the ball to the Taft seven, and Hankins again went right up the middle for his second touchdown with 1:23 to play, giving the Hornets a 20-6 lead.

At that point, Fullerton began to celebrate. But in the first half, the Hornets had little reason to.

The were cited for penalty after penalty and couldn’t sustain a drive. Early in the second quarter, Williams hit Thomas Poer for an apparent 46-yard scoring pass, but it was nullified by a holding call.

Another Fullerton mistake helped Taft score first. With 1:19 left in the half, Phil Garabedian fumbled a punt and Taft’s Brad Oden recovered at the Fullerton 40-yard line.

A 21-yard scramble by Phillips helped move the ball to the 10, and, on the next play, the freshman completed his only pass of the game, a touchdown to Andre Fields. Tim Brown, who had earlier missed a 37-yard field goal try, missed the extra-point attempt, too.

So Fullerton trailed, 6-0, at halftime. However, that only seemed to make the Hornets more determined to win. They came out an played with great intensity in the third quarter.

At first, it didn’t yield great results. The Hornets’ Frank Cozza recovered a Sean Gaskin fumble at the Taft 25 early in the third quarter, and the Hornets promptly drove to the Cougar 1. But, Taft put up a brilliant goal-line stand and the Hornets turned the ball over on downs.

On Fullerton’s next possession, however, it finally scored. Short passes by Zorn and the rushing of John Green, who had a game-high 124 yards on 27 carries, moved the ball to the 1, from where Green scored. When Reynolds missed the extra point, however, the score remained tied at 6-6.

Zorn didn’t speculate on whether he would return to the starting lineup next week, preferring to savor the moment.

“It feels very, very good to win a game like this, to be a part of it,” he said. “I was nervous when I first went in, but I was prepared to play. I’m glad I got the chance.”

Taft--Fields 10 pass from Phillips (kick failed)

Full--Green 1 run (kick failed)

Full--Hankins 11 run (Reynolds kick)

Full--Hankins 7 run (Reynolds kick)

Attendance--5,200