With an opportunity to advance to the SCFA Playoffs for the third time in the last four years, the Cerritos College football team needed to defeat host College of the Canyons on Saturday night. The Falcons opened the scoring against the Cougars late in the first quarter, but struggled moving the ball the rest of the game, and ended up dropping a 27-10 decision. The loss still keeps Cerritos (6-3, 4-1) in the hunt for a post-season bowl game, but their hopes at the playoffs have been dashed. They will close out the regular season next Saturday with a 6:00 p.m. game at Moorpark College.

Special teams helped set up the lone touchdown for Cerritos, as sophomore Orlando Thompson (Gahr HS) blocked an Eric Kreitz 39-yard field goal attempt. After sophomore quarterback Cody Clements (La Habra HS/Washington State University) connected on an 18-yard pass with freshman X'avier Shepherd (Lakewood HS), sophomore running back Domonique Small (Mayfair HS) busted out on a 61-yard touchown run off left tackle. It turned out to be the longest play from scrimmage of the game for the Falcons.

College of the Canyons took a 13-7 lead before halftime on a pair of touchdowns, while sophomore Francisco Condado (California HS) closed the gap to 13-10 with a 20-yard field goal with 6:00 left in the third quarter. The Cougars extended their lead on the next series, as Tony Dawson hit Vincent Strange for an 83-yard touchdown on third-and-nine. Poor tackling contributed to the long touchdown, while the Falcons struggled numerous times trying to bring down ball carriers on the night.

Clements was victimized by three interceptions, with his final one resulting in a 12-yard touchdown by Cory Harris. On the play, Alex Vaughn was on the verge of sacking Clements (14-for-25, 149 yards), who tried to force the pass.

The team's leading rusher, sophomore Elijhaa Penny (Norwalk HS/College of the Sequoias) ran for a quiet 126 yards on 24 carries, while Small finished with 81 yards. On the night, the Falcons ran 20 more plays that the Cougars, but going 3-for-14 on third down and the four turnovers hurt the team's chances.

Freshman linebacker Josias Amisone (Carson HS) led the team with eight tackles, while sophomore defensive linemen David Moala (Serra HS) and Kisione Pale (Mayfair HS) finished with seven each. But Matt Bowen was able to slice the defense up for 105 rushing yards, with the quarterback tandem of Dawson and Jake Dashaw combining for 175 yards through the air.