Pierce Upends East L.A. in a Battle of Air Attacks, 38-24

Pierce and East Los Angeles colleges returned Saturday night to the site where, four years earlier, both had jump-started football programs that had been forced on a two-year hiatus because of budget cuts.

It wasn’t difficult to determine which program has come further in the past four years.

The Brahmas, playing efficient, error-free football, rolled to a 38-24 victory in a nonconference opener at Pierce, offsetting a fine performance by East L.A. quarterback Juan Gomez.

Gomez threw for 347 yards and one touchdown, completing 22 of 42 passes. Pierce allowed 430 passing yards but held the Huskies to minus-six yards rushing.

Brahma quarterback Ceasar Parra completed six of 13 for 188 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for a touchdown.

Pierce led, 21-18, at halftime, then broke the game open with two quick touchdowns in the third period. Parra threw 21 yards to Dan Alexander for one of the scores.

Parra also threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Xavier Foreman in the second quarter.

Both teams struck for big plays in the first half.

East L.A. faked a kick on its first series and punter Francisco Ortega threw to a wide-open Aaron Price, who went 83 yards for a touchdown.

Parra countered on the Brahmas’ first possession, hooking up with Foreman on a 61-yard pass play that moved the ball to the East L.A. 18. Three plays later, Parra bootlegged four yards for a touchdown and Fernando Garcia’s kick tied the score, 7-7.

It took East L.A. two plays to retake the lead as Gomez gave a shovel pass to David Isiah, and the 5-foot-9 receiver got loose on a 66-yard touchdown run.

East L.A. added two more points early in the second period when a pass from center sailed over Pierce punter Garcia’s head for a safety.

The Brahmas closed to within 15-13 when Parra’s play-action fake to Ken Herbs froze the Huskie secondary, allowing Parra to toss a 45-yard touchdown pass to Foreman. Parra threw incomplete on the two-point conversion attempt.

In the only sustained drive of the first half, East L.A. marched from its 21 to the Pierce 17 in nine plays before settling for Ortega’s 35-yard field goal, boosting its lead to 18-13.

Pierce took the lead for the first time on the ensuing kickoff when David Doyle shot up the middle for a 95-yard return.