COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOOTBALL : El Camino Wins Game Stopped by Brawl

Although the game itself was ugly, El Camino emerged from it looking pretty as a picture.

The community-college football bowl picture that is.

The Warriors ended their regular season Saturday night by defeating host Long Beach, 29-17, in front of 900 Veterans Stadium fans. Should Cerritos lose this Saturday, El Camino will likely play at Orange Coast College the following week.

In a game slowed by 252 penalty yards, El Camino (6-4 overall, 5-3 in Mission Conference) received three touchdown passes from quarterback Jerry Singleton and 126 rushing yards from tailback Mark Harper, who secured the victory with a fourth-quarter scoring run.

The game ended prematurely when the squads engaged in a wild brawl that spread over the entire field and involved coaches, players and spectators.

Harper’s 12-yard scoring run answered a score by stubborn Long Beach (1-8, 1-6), which had crawled to within 22-17 with three minutes to play.

After trailing early, El Camino rallied with three touchdowns for a 22-7 halftime lead.

Long Beach grabbed the lead with an 11-play, 80-yard drive that ended with Chris Shockley’s four-yard scoring run.

The Warriors responded with a scoring drive set up by Latario Rachel’s 26-yard kickoff return. Singleton passed 20 yards to Demetrius Boykins, but the extra-point attempt was blocked.

Pernell Williams fielded the ensuing kickoff near the one-yard line, stumbled and fell in the end zone for a safety that provided El Camino an 8-7 edge.

Late in the first half, Singleton threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Boykins, then teamed up with Rachel on a 27-yard score with 28 seconds left.

The Warriors’ final score was set up by Singleton’s 44-yard pass to Rachel, who had three catches for 83 yards. Boykins finished the evening with five receptions for 60 yards.