Pierce Wins for 1st Time in Nearly 3 Years

Tylyn Cook and Chad Zeigler are Pierce College teammates from opposite ends of the high school spectrum.

Cook, a defensive back, played on El Camino Real teams that compiled a record of 0-21-2 during his varsity career.

Zeigler, on the other hand, played on Canyon teams that won 2 Southern Section championships in 3 years and compiled a record of 38-2.

Saturday night at Pierce Stadium, the players ended their mutual suffering with the Brahmas as Pierce renounced its winless start this season with a historic 42-6 thrashing of West Los Angeles.

The win was Pierce’s first since Dec. 8, 1985, when the Brahmas recorded a 27-14 victory over Moorpark in the Brahma Bowl. After the season, the school dropped the football program in the wake of Los Angeles Community College District budget cuts.

“You gotta believe this is sweet,” Cook said. “You gotta believe this is something great. If ever there was a chance to turn around a season, this was it.”

Zeigler, whose 51-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Ronnie Lopez in the first quarter gave the Brahmas a lead that was never challenged, was equally pleased to get on the winning track.

“I wasn’t used to that,” Zeigler said in reference to the Brahmas’ 0-5 start. “It’s pretty nice to finally win.”

The victory did more than simply improve Pierce’s record to 1-5 overall and 1-4 in the Western State Conference.

The newly aligned 12-team WSC is structured with 2 divisions. This game was the Brahmas’ Southern Division opener, so the win not only gives Pierce a share of the division lead but ostensibly puts the Brahmas in the hunt for a division title and possible berth in the WSC’s postseason bowl.

“We were wondering if we were ever going to get it,” Pierce Coach Bob Enger said in reference to a win. “Our kids are getting better. I think we have the possibility of upsetting someone else down the road.”

The night wasn’t a total loss for West L.A. (0-6, 0-5), which also is fielding a team for the first time since 1985.

When running back Myron Phillips scored on a 16-yard touchdown run with 4:35 left in the first half, he ended a streak in which the Oilers had been outscored, 209-0, in their past 4 games.

The night, however, belonged to Pierce. Lopez completed 5 of 12 passes for 139 yards and 3 touchdowns, including strikes of 48 and 15 yards to Arthur Collins.

Backup quarterback Paul Bonner scored on runs of 5 and 24 yards and running back John Griffin gained 87 yards in 15 carries and scored a touchdown.

On Pierce’s first possession, after a fumble recovery on the Brahma 2, Griffin ran the ball 4 times to the Pierce 49. On the next play, Lopez faked a handoff into the line and threw a long pass down the left sideline to Zeigler for a 51-yard scoring play with 10:22 left in the first quarter.

Lopez and Collins teamed for the Brahmas’ next touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. Once again, Lopez used a play-action fake to suck in the Oiler defense, then hit a wide-open Collins with a 48-yard pass that capped a 77-yard, 8-play drive.

Griffin rambled in from 2 yards with 9:02 left in the half to put Pierce ahead, 21-0.