Harbor Has Its Hands Full Edging Out Pierce, 21-13

After dropping its first two games this season to highly rated teams, Harbor College entered Saturday night’s contest poised to feast on small and inexperienced Pierce College, which is fielding a team of mostly freshman after the school’s two-year layoff from football.

Instead, Harbor had its hands full in squeezing out a 21-13 win at home.

In fact, with little more than seven minutes left, the Seahawks were clinging to a 14-13 lead and were having trouble moving the ball.

Pierce moved to within one point of Harbor when George Konstantinopoulos kicked a 32-yard field goal with 7:35 left. On the ensuing kickoff, however, Harbor ran a reverse with Ricky Moore handing off to Donovan Moore at the 8-yard line. Moore brought it up to the Harbor 40. Seahawk quarterback Ed Lopez hit Marcel Bridges on a 19-yard pass, then engineered a seven-play touchdown drive climaxed by a 14-year dash by Moore.

It was the first win for Harbor, which lost to defending state champion El Camino and perennial junior college power Taft in its first two outings.

Pierce (0-2) played well, considering the circumstances. Budget cuts forced the school to cancel football after the 1986 season.

Pierce’s first score was the result of sloppy ball handling by Harbor tailback Moore. He fumbled a hand-off on the first play from scrimmage, giving Pierce the ball on the Harbor 35. Six plays later, Pierce quarterback Ronnie Lopez dove one yard for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.

In the middle of the first quarter, Pierce was forced to punt from its own 13-yard line. Harbor set up on its 34, and two plays later Ed Lopez hit a wide-open Marcel Bridges for a 46-yard touchdown pass.