Glendale Community College football hopes to keep excitement going
There’s a feeling of excitement less than a week removed from one of the more important wins of the last few years for the Glendale Community College football team.
The Vaqueros banished a 17-game home losing streak that spanned three years last Saturday after opening the season with a 35-7 win over Compton College at Sartoris Field.
“It was real good last week,” Glendale sophomore wide receiver D’Angelo Blake said. “To come out and win something at home in our backyard was special. We didn’t do that last year.”
Glendale hits the road Saturday as it travels to San Bernardino Valley College (1-0) for a 6 p.m. tilt looking for rare consecutive victories.
From a historical standpoint, 2009 proved a standard-setting year for Glendale as its last home victory prior to last weekend was a 41-27 triumph over Moorpark on Nov. 7, 2009.
That season, the Vaqueros also last accomplished something this year’s group is trying to match — open the season with back-to-back wins. The 2009 squad won its first three games of the season before finishing 4-6.
As for last Saturday, one of the biggest question marks heading into the contest revolved around freshman quarterback Sean Murphy, who was making his collegiate debut.
The Valencia High alumnus had his moments, completing 16 of 37 passes (43.2% completion rate) for 253 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to receiver Isaiah Bernard.
“It’s not always easy for a freshman quarterback starting out, but he did well,” Blake said of Murphy. “He didn’t commit any turnovers, which is most important.”
A big portion of the offensive load was eased by the backfield as seven ball-carriers, led by a team-high 67 yards from La Salle High graduate Amir Evans, combined for 146 yards and one touchdown in 36 carries (4.1 yards per rush).
“The line did a great job giving the offense time and pushing around Compton’s line,” Murphy said, “but a lot of credit goes to our defense.”
Glendale’s defensive unit enjoyed a banner day in picking off quarterbacks Jacob Roper and Justin Aguilar five times, including a pair of picks each from Marcus Tappan and Dante Shipman.
A similarly stellar effort will likely be needed to slow down a Wolverines’ squad that racked up 371 yards of offense and scored five touchdowns in a 40-27 win Saturday against Antelope Valley, who like Glendale, is a member of the American Division Pacific Conference.
Wolverines sophomore quarterback Jordan Mixon was economical in first start of the season, tossing for 167 yards and two touchdowns with one interception on 15-of-22 passing.
Mixon’s main recipient was sophomore Eric Shufford, who hauled in seven passes for 97 yards and one touchdown.
Defensively, the Wolverines proved a handful in racking up six sacks, which may concern a Vaqueros’ offensive line that surrendered three sacks versus Compton.
Last season, San Bernardino had no problem with host Glendale in rolling to a 35-0 victory. The meeting was the first between both schools since 2002.
Despite last year’s score, the Vaqueros have a historical road edge as they’re 4-3 versus the Wolverines in San Bernardino despite owning a 6-7 overall record since the team’s first game in 1929.