Big Second Half Carries Glendale to Easy Victory Over Pierce, 35-22

Blending a power running game with the pinpoint passing of quarterback Marco Arcipreste, Glendale College broke a halftime deadlock with four touchdowns and went on to a 35-22 Western State Conference victory over host Pierce on Saturday night.

The score was tied, 7-7, before Glendale (3-2, 3-1 in conference play) put on the afterburners.

Arcipreste finished the game with 16 completions in 24 attempts for 208 yards and one touchdown. He also scored on runs of one and three yards.

Glendale tailback Bobby Webster carried 35 times for 173 yards and scored two touchdowns, and fullback Wes Bender gained 98 yards in 14 carries.

Pierce (2-3, 2-2), attempting to win three consecutive games and go over the .500 mark for the first time since 1985, was hampered by the loss of running back LaShante Parker, who injured his ankle in the second period after gaining 72 yards in 13 carries.

The Brahmas made things interesting in the fourth period. Quarterback Jamie Grossman threw touchdown passes of 17 and 27 yards to Carnel Culver.

Culver had three touchdown catches in all and finished with seven receptions for 97 yards.

Grossman completed 16 of 29 for 179 yards and three touchdowns but threw a pass that was intercepted by Derrick Mitchell on a last-ditch Brahma drive in the fourth period.

Pierce had closed to within 28-22 on the two touchdown passes to Culver and got the ball back with less than four minutes to play.

Grossman completed a 13-yard pass to Culver to the Pierce 34 but two plays later Mitchell intervened.

Glendale outgained Pierce in total yardage, 475-250.

Both teams’ defenses bent but broke just once in the first half.

Glendale scored first, taking over at its own one-yard line after stopping Grossman on a fourth-and-goal run from the three.

Mixing their plays well, the Vaqueros used 12 plays to reach the Pierce end zone, Webster scoring on a seven-yard sweep.

Martin Boskovich added the point-after and Glendale led, 7-0, with 1 minute 19 seconds remaining in the first period.

The Vaqueros tried a fake punt on fourth down midway through the second quarter, but Felix Gordon was dumped for an eight-yard loss by Anania Hufunga and LaShawn Marshall, and Pierce took over at midfield.

Five plays later, Grossman tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Culver, who had beaten Keith Franklin on a corner pattern. Steve Szekely added the point-after to tie the score.

Grossman had a productive first half, completing nine of 14 for 96 yards and a touchdown.

Bender, the former Brahma who scored three touchdowns against Pierce in Glendale’s 43-18 win last year, gave his ex-teammates problems again, rushing for 76 yards in eight first-half carries.

Arcipreste connected on his first six passes.