East L. A. Comeback Shocks Pierce

Santiago Alvarez hit Kevin Owens with a 17-yard touchdown pass with 1 minute 30 seconds to play, lifting East Los Angeles College to an improbable 32-31 nonconference win over host Pierce on Saturday night.

Holding a seemingly comfortable 31-20 lead with seven minutes remaining, Pierce watched helplessly as Alvarez completed his third and fourth touchdown passes of the game to lead the Huskies to victory.

Alvarez, a freshman who passed for 4,019 yards last season at Franklin High, completed 29 of 44 passes for 371 yards against Pierce.

After the final touchdown, Pierce got the ball back two times. On the first possession, quarterback Jamie Grossman was intercepted at the East L.A. nine-yard line and on the second series, Derek Chernow’s 42-yard field-goal attempt was blocked as time ran out.

The Pierce loss put a damper on freshman LaShante Parker’s collegiate debut.

Parker, a standout at Palmdale High last season, gained 117 yards in 19 carries and scored Pierce’s first two touchdowns.

The Brahmas jumped to a 13-0 lead in the game’s first 3 1/2 minutes before wilting down the stretch.

Parker returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown and, after the Brahmas forced East L.A. to punt, Pierce drove 83 yards in four plays for another score.

Parker went the final 31 yards on a draw play, but it was tight end Scott Wheeler’s 49-yard reception and run that keyed the drive.

In what would be a rare sight, Chernow converted a point after. Pierce missed four of five conversion attempts (three kicks, two two-point attempts) and it came back to haunt the Brahmas.

Pierce took a 25-7 lead on Grossman’s 22-yard touchdown pass to Jay Rich with 37 seconds left in the half, then put on a clinic on how not to play defense.

Pinned on their own 23-yard line, the Huskies proceeded to march 77 yards in five plays. Pierce aided the East L.A. drive with a personal foul after a 15-yard run by Larry Espinosa, then gave up two touchdowns in the last 12 seconds, although only one of them counted.

The first score came on a first-down play from the Pierce 26. Alvarez completed a pass to Carl Gilliam at the 12-yard line, and Gilliam bounced off Brahma defensive back Carlton Bowen and waltzed into the end zone as time expired. A personal foul nullified the score, however.

No matter: Alvarez connected on a 45-yard Hail Mary pass to Owens on the next play.