In a game highlighted by a superb defensive effort by the Cerritos College football team, it was a school-record touchdown pass that proved to be the difference in a 7-3 win. Trailing 3-0 against Golden West College in the third quarter on Saturday night, and pinned back on their six-yard line after a punt, the Falcons (2-2) struck on the first play of the drive.

Sophomore quarterback Nick Mitchell (Mount Si, WA HS/Oregon State University) connected with speedy wide receiver Stacy Chukwumezie (Downey HS) down the sideline and the track star took it the rest of the way, as he outran the secondary for a 94-yard touchdown. The scoring strike set a new school record, with the old record being a 93-yard touchdown from Chris Morales to Michael Willie in 2009 against Riverside City College. Chukwumezie took third place in the long jump at the CCCAA State Championships this past season.

The points would hold up, as the Falcon defense limited the Rustlers (1-3) to a meager 94 total yards on the night. The 10 total points were also the lowest in a game since a 6-3 win over Long Beach City College in 2002.

In the second half, Golden West had four offensive possessions, with three of them being three-and-out drives. The only prolonged drive was aided by two penalties that prevented the Falcons from taking possession of the ball. The first was a fumble recovery by sophomore linebacker Alex Bush (La Habra HS) that was negated due to an encroachment penalty. The second was a running into the kicker penalty on a punt that allowed the Rustlers to get to midfield and maintain the ball.

But on that drive, the defense came through on first down when freshmen defensive linemen Dillon Faamatu (Norwalk HS/Arizona State University) and Siupeli Finau (Dominguez HS) stuffed running back LaVonte Tolliver for no gain and after sophomore Tyler Rios (Lakewood HS) broke up a third down pass, it forced a punt.

Cerritos took over the ball at their own 12-yard line with 5:18 left in the fourth quarter. After a penalty on the first play, sophomore running back Kishawn Holmes (Vista Murrieta HS) appeared to break away for a 93-yard touchdown run that would have sealed the victory. But another penalty prevented the school-record run and limited him to a 35-yard gain, with Holmes finishing the night with 109 rushing yards. Faced with third-and-12, Mitchell rolled out and found freshman wide receiver Jacob Gasser (Los Alamitos HS) for a 16-yard gain to keep the clock moving. Another third down conversion, this a one-yard gain by freshman Querale Hall (Mayfair HS) clinched the win.

Not to be lost in the win was the performance of the defense, which shut down the Rustlers time and time again. Bush led the team with 13 tackles and 2 1/2 tackles for loss, while freshman defensive end John Collins (Dominguez HS) posted eight stops and a quarterback sack. Although he made just one tackle on the night, sophomore defensive end Bobby Johnson (Carson HS/Fresno State University) recorded a sack deep in Golden West territory, which forced a punt.

The team will travel to Riverside City College next Saturday for a 6:00 p.m. game.

Photos by Daryl Peterson