Entering their Northern Conference game against Allan Hancock, and their running sensation, Cameron Artis-Payne, who came into the game as the state's leading rusher, the Cerritos College defense stepped up their game and limited him to 19 second half yards and went on to post a 55-25 win on Saturday night. The victory was the third in a row for the Falcons (4-2, 2-0), who racked up 499 yards of total offense, which included 237 passing yards and four touchdowns by sophomore Morgan Fennell (Long Beach Poly HS). Cerritos will now travel to Ventura College to take on the 7-0 Pirates at 6:00 p.m. next Saturday.

The Falcons opened their first possession by driving 43 yards on six plays after the defense held the Bulldogs (4-2, 1-1) on their fourth down play. The drive culminated with a three-yard run by freshman Dominique Small (Mayfair HS), while Fennell hit freshman tight end Andrew Buenrostro (La Serna HS) with a two-point conversion for an early 8-0 lead. On the next drive by Allan Hancock, they went for it on fourth down once again and the defense held, which resulted a 16-yard touchdown pass by Fennell (13-for-18, 237 yards, 4 TD) to freshman tight end Tyler Carrillo (St. Paul HS).

The Bulldogs did get as close as 15-13 in the second quarter when Fennell was hit hard and intercepted by Trey Pekly, who ran it back 54 yards for a touchdown with 5:51 left in the second quarter. Sophomore Paul Lopez (St. Paul HS), who was promoted to the #2 quarterback position after freshman Rene Medina (St. John Bosco HS) was lost for the season with an injury, came on in relief for one series. But before the end of the first half, sophomore wide receiver Robert Abeyta (Servite HS) would add to his highlight reel of catches, as he pulled in a bomb from Fennell at the Bulldog 20-yard line, broke out of the tackle of Joshua Thornton and then raced across the filed to escape the tackle by Thornton at the five-yard line and get into the end zone for a 66-yard touchdown play.

Artis-Payne, who entered the game leading the state in rushing, was effective in the first two quarters, rushing for 106 yards on 13 carries. But he was non-existent in the second half, only touching the ball seven times (five rushes, two receptions), and concluded the game with 125 yards on the ground and one receiving yard.

The Falcon defensive line did a great job of winning the line of scrimmage on almost every play, with defensive linemen such as Ma'ataua Brown (Paramount HS), Kyle Peko (La Habra HS), Yo Lehauli (Paramount HS), David Moala (Serra HS) and Kisione Pale (Mayfair HS) dominating the Allan Hancock offensive line. That allowed linebackers Chass Glaspie (Westchester HS) to rack up nine tackles and 1 1/2 tackles for loss, while Daveyon Monette (Dominguez HS) posted eight stops on the night.

After Fennell and Abeyta connected for the second touchdown of the night, this one a 28-yarder that saw Abeyta (five catches, 121 yards) go up and over a pair of Bulldog defenders to come down with the catch, it was a special teams play that sealed the win. Leading 28-19 in the third quarter after the touchdown, freshman DeJean King (Edison HS) blocked a Sage Stireman punt attempt, with Travone Davis (Dominguez HS) scooping up the ball and taking it back to the Hancock five-yard line. It led to a four-yard Fennell touchdown run and commanding 35-19 advantage.

Cerritos finished the night with 239 yards on the ground and four touchdowns, with freshman Michael Garrison (Dominguez HS) leading the way with 80 yards and one touchdown, while Small found the end zone twice and Fennell once. Along with Abeyta's two touchdown catches and Carrillo's one, sophomore Garion Manning (Long Beach Wilson HS) hauled in a 21-yarder late in the third quarter.