Believing that they needed to win their final regular season game to have a chance at hosting a bowl game, the Cerritos College football team turned in a complete team performance in their 27-21 National Division win over College of the Canyons on Saturday night. The Falcons (7-3, 4-2) threw for two touchdowns, ran for another and scored on a blocked field goal attempt, as they finished with 296 yards on the ground. The team will find out Sunday afternoon who they will be facing in a bowl game and if Cerritos is hosting.

On the second play of the game, sophomore running back Travis Newberry (Bellflower HS) broke off a 53-yard gain to get the Falcons into Cougar territory. But the drive was halted when freshman quarterback Jimmy Walker (Redlands HS) was picked off in the end zone for his 19th interception this season. And on their next drive, Newberry, who finished with 115 yards on nine carries, had the ball stripped away by Westly Johnson and he brought it back for a touchdown.

Cerritos responded driving 75 yards on 13 carries and ran the ball 10 times in the drive. Walker completed the last two plays of the drive, with sophomore wide receiver Domonique Young (Long Beach Jordan HS) pulling in a six-yard reception for a touchdown. The Falcons took a 14-7 lead in the second half when they converted three third down plays and saw it culminate with Walker hitting freshman De' Jai Whitaker (Santa Monica HS) from eight yards out.

Prior to the end of the first half, special teams came into play when freshman Anthony Murray (Cherokee Trail, CO HS) blocked a 34-yard Eric Kreitz field goal attempt. Sophomore Jerry Smith (Mayfair HS) scooped up the loose ball and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown.

The Cougars opened up the second half by scoring touchdowns on their first two drives to knot the score at 21-21 with :35 seconds left in the third quarter. In spite of the tie game, the Cerritos defense was causing havoc by recording six quarterback sacks and adding eight tackles for loss.

On their first drive of the fourth quarter, sophomore DeVonte Carter (Dominguez HS) rushed the ball six straight times and finished it with a 12-yard touchdown run. On the drive, Carter converted a third down and later picked up two yards on fourth-and-one to keep the drive going, with sophomore tight end Lance Tongakilo (Keebra Park State, Australia) sealing off a block to allow him to get the first down. On his touchdown run, he bounced to the outside and outraced the defense. 

The Falcon defense came through on the final two Canyons drives of the game. Sophomore linebacker Brandon Moody (Sonora HS) had a tackle and quarterback hurry, while Smith posted a pair of tackles to keep the Cougars from making  first down. Freshman defensive back Dante Foster (Norwalk HS) broke up a late pass on the final drive, with sophomore defensive tackle Garron Featherston (Los Angeles Adventist Academy HS) recording a sack.

Featherson finished the night with seven tackles, 1 1/2 sacks and 2 1/2 sacks, while sophomore linebacker Erick Zarate (Long Beach Jordan HS) posted eight stops and 2 1/2 sacks. Offensively, Walker completed 15-of-25 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns. With his two receptions, Young has tied for the school record for most receptions in a season (50) and remains 79 yards away  from being the first player in school history to have 1,000 receiving yards.