UPDATE: The final play of the game was officially ruled a safety, which changes the score to 19-14.

Freshman kicker Abraham Delgadillo (Gahr HS) booted a 28-yard field goal with :02 seconds on the clock, as the Cerritos College football team defeated El Camino College, 19-14 on Saturday night. The win not only improved the Falcons National Central record to 2-0 and 3-3 overall, it meant that the Milk Can Trophy the teams have played for since 1962 stays with Cerritos for another year. It marks the second season in a row that the Falcons have maintained possession of the trophy. It was also the seventh win in the last eight meetings for Cerritos against El Camino. The team will host Palomar College (3-4, 1-1) at 6:00 p.m. in another conference game next Saturday.

After the first quarter, Cerritos held a 14-0 lead, while they shut out the Warriors (4-3, 1-1) through the first half. On the Falcons first play of the second half, freshman running back Davon Booth (El Monte HS) had the ball ripped from his hands by Mikal Gammage, who returned it 41 yards for a touchdown. Booth, who rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on the night, was injured on the play and did not return.

The Warriors were driving on their next possession and got to the Falcons 20-yard line. The drive was aided by a Cerritos penalty for contact on the center during a punt, which moved the ball to the El Camino 38 and allowed them to maintain the ball. But as they were looking to tie the game, sophomore Bijon Harris (Bellflower HS) stepped in front of a Dylan Guerra pass in the back of the Cerritos end zone for an interception.

With neither team able to move the ball successfully due to some excellent defensive play, the Falcon defense came up with their third interception of the game, as sophomore Cameron Minor (Mayfair HS) intercepted Mehki Jordan at the El Camino 29-yard line. Cerritos, looking to drain time off the clock in the fourth quarter, lined up for a 37-yard field goal by freshman Moz Bojorquez (Mayfair HS). The kick was short, and returned by El Camino's Earnest McDaniel, who brought the ball back to the 35-yard line. A penalty against the Falcons put the ball at midfield, which led to the Warriors tying the game with 2:05 left on the clock.

Looking to get into field goal range for a chance to win the game, freshman quarterback Jordan Simpson (Gahr HS) opened with a 13-yard bootleg to get the drive started. He paid the ultimate sacrifice on a short completion, as he was hit after releasing the ball, which resulted in a roughing the quarterback penalty, putting the ball at the El Camino 37-yard line. With less than a minute on the clock, Simpson found sophomore DeJour Smith (Long Beach Wilson HS/Saddleback College) on a swing pass. A quick move allowed Smith to elude the first tackle and he raced 23 yards to get the ball to the Warriors 12-yard line.

With the ball on the El Camino 11-yard line, Delgadillo (pictured, left) stepped up and knocked down the 28-yarder for the winning field goal. In addition to his game-winning field goal, Delgadillo converted a pair of extra points and punted seven times for a 46.1 yards average, which included distances fo 60 and 57 yards.

The defense limited El Camino to just 226 total yards on the night, with only 85 of them coming on the ground. Harris, who picked off two passes, also forced a pair of fumbles, broke up a pass, had a tackle for loss and recorded five tackles. Sophomore Keith Conley, Jr. (Cathedral HS/El Camino College) recorded a pair of sacks against his former team, while sophomore DeMario King (Los Alamitos HS) led the defense with 11 tackles. The secondary also received eight tackles from Cody Coleman (Narbonne HS/Northern Arizona University), while freshman Jonathan Fuamatu (St. Paul HS) accounted for seven tackles.

Simpson completed 4-of-11 passes for 62 yards, which included a 25-yard scoring strike to sophomore Bailey Torres (Valley Christian HS), who led the team with four receptions for 61 yards. Freshman Cade McConnell (Los Alamitos HS) platooned with Simpson and connected on 7-of-13 passes for 66 yards.

Photos by Daryl Peterson