Community College Roundup : Cerritos Holds Off Fullerton Rally

For much of the second half Saturday night, Fullerton College appeared to be off its game against Cerritos.

Fullerton put on a furious late rally, but still fell 10 yards and 20 seconds short as Cerritos defeated the Hornets, 28-23, before 2,000 at Cerritos.

Cerritos had led, 22-17, at the half and increased its lead to 28-17 on an 11-yard pass from quarterback Sean McConnell to running back Shawn Jones with 5:18 left in the third quarter.

The teams then spent much of the next 10 minutes trading possessions between the 30-yard lines.

But Fullerton got back into the game on a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown by sophomore Nick-John Haiduc. The touchdown came with 5:47 left and served as a wake-up call for the slumbering Hornets.

The Fullerton defense then stopped Cerritos in three plays, forcing a punt. This time, Haiduc returned the ball 11 yards but fumbled it after being hit by three Cerritos players.

Cerritos recovered at the Fullerton 44, but again the drive lasted three plays before the Falcons punted. The ball shanked off the foot of Bob Jakubik and went out of bounds after only three yards.

Fullerton then started its final drive on its own 42 with 2:09 left.

Fullerton quarterback David Chisum completed a 14-yard pass to Mike Thomas to move the ball to the Cerritos 26 with 43 seconds left. But Chisum threw two incompletions and was sacked for an eight-yard loss.

On fourth and 18, Chisum completed an eight-yard pass to Richard Nelson but he was 10 yards short of a first down and Cerritos got the ball on downs with 20 seconds left.

Fullerton’s mistakes in the first half resulted in a 22-17 Cerritos lead.

Midway in the second quarter, the Fullerton defense stopped Cerritos on a third-down play, but was called for a late hit on McConnell. The 15-yard penalty kept the drive going and Cerritos later scored on a 26-yard pass from McConnell to Jones for a 19-10 Cerritos lead.

Fullerton used a double pass to close within two points, 19-17, with 7:02 left in the half.

Chisum threw in the flat to Nelson who then stopped and threw 49 yards to a wide-open Haiduc for the score.

Cerritos added a 32-yard field goal by D.J. Barker with seven seconds left for a 22-17 lead.

In the first quarter, Cerritos scored on a six-yard run by Jones for a 6-0 lead.

Fullerton came back to take a 7-6 lead on a 10-yard pass from Chisum to Haiduc with 6:20 left in the first quarter.

Fullerton had a chance to extend the lead after tackling punter Jakubik on his own 16.

The Fullerton drive soon stalled and the Hornets lined up for a 34-yard field-goal attempt that was blocked by Eric Barnes.

Marlin Haynes picked up the ball and returned it to the Fullerton 34.

Cerritos had a fourth and seven at the 31 and McConnell completed a 29-yard pass to Gary Stick. After an off-sides penalty, McConnell completed a seven-yard scoring pass to Gary Gull touchdown and a 12-7 Cerritos lead.

Jeff Andrews of Fullerton led all rushers with 122 yards in 25 carries.

Grossmont 17, Saddleback 7--Mistakes thwarted visiting Saddleback, which had four turnovers and numerous penalties.

One Saddleback turnover--Haywood Mathis’ interception of a John Barnes pass--was returned for a touchdown.

Saddleback’s only score came after Tad Weedman blocked a punt and Eric Merz recovered. Four plays later, Jeff Bailey scored with 2:27 left in third quarter to pull Saddleback within seven at 14-7.