Posted: Sep 09, 2023
Trailing 14-10 with 7:32 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Cerritos College football team was able to maintain the ball the remainder of the game, but fell 19 yards short and suffered a 14-10 loss to visiting San Diego Mesa College on Saturday. The Falcons (1-1) will travel to Ventura College for a 6:00 p.m. game next Saturday.
The drive stalled at their own 24-yard line, but when sophomore punter Aiden Petruescu (La Mirada HS/Long Island University) was roughed on the play, the Falcons received new life. Cerritos was able to convert a fourth down play and once they got into the red zone, the drive stalled.
On second down at the 19-yard line, freshman quarterback Dylan Eldredge (Cypress HS) appeared to have sophomore wide receiver Dillon Laurer (Downey HS) open, but Olympians defensive back Jordan Dwyer was able to get his hand in and knock the ball away. Both teams then took a timeout with four seconds remaining on the clock.
Once again, Eldredge thought he had an open receiver, this time freshman Gavin Porch (Los Alamitos HS), who appeared to be open in the front corner of the end zone. But just like on the previous play. Dwyer was able to reach across and knock the pass away, which ended the game.
Cerritos opened a 10-0 first quarter lead, but were unable to add to that total. On the first drive of the game for the Falcons, freshman quarterback Evan Tomich (Mayfair HS) drove the team downfield, which ended with Petruescu connecting on a 32-yard field goal.
Tomich did not return the remainder of the game, but on the second drive, Eldredge found Porch on the sideline at the 32-yard line and he was able to stay inbound and raced into the end zone for a touchdown. Eldredge was injured on the next series, which resulted in freshman Andre Lampley (St. John Bosco HS) seeing action for the remainder of the first half and the first drive of the second half.
Although the offense struggled, the defense kept the Falcons in the game and took a 10-7 lead into halftime. They forced eight punts and also picked off a pass. But the Olympians were able to score what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown with 6:21 left in the third quarter.
After the Falcons fumbled the ball away at midfield, San Diego Mesa drove 48 yards on nine plays. They moved the ball to the Cerritos one-yard line and after sophomore linebacker Anakin Aupiu (St. Anthony HS/Southwestern Oklahoma State University) dropped running back Richie Colmenero for a five-yard loss, the Olympians scored on the next play.
The drive stalled at their own 24-yard line, but when sophomore punter Aiden Petruescu (La Mirada HS/Long Island University) was roughed on the play, the Falcons received new life. Cerritos was able to convert a fourth down play and once they got into the red zone, the drive stalled.
On second down at the 19-yard line, freshman quarterback Dylan Eldredge (Cypress HS) appeared to have sophomore wide receiver Dillon Laurer (Downey HS) open, but Olympians defensive back Jordan Dwyer was able to get his hand in and knock the ball away. Both teams then took a timeout with four seconds remaining on the clock.
Once again, Eldredge thought he had an open receiver, this time freshman Gavin Porch (Los Alamitos HS), who appeared to be open in the front corner of the end zone. But just like on the previous play. Dwyer was able to reach across and knock the pass away, which ended the game.
Cerritos opened a 10-0 first quarter lead, but were unable to add to that total. On the first drive of the game for the Falcons, freshman quarterback Evan Tomich (Mayfair HS) drove the team downfield, which ended with Petruescu connecting on a 32-yard field goal.
Tomich did not return the remainder of the game, but on the second drive, Eldredge found Porch on the sideline at the 32-yard line and he was able to stay inbound and raced into the end zone for a touchdown. Eldredge was injured on the next series, which resulted in freshman Andre Lampley (St. John Bosco HS) seeing action for the remainder of the first half and the first drive of the second half.
Although the offense struggled, the defense kept the Falcons in the game and took a 10-7 lead into halftime. They forced eight punts and also picked off a pass. But the Olympians were able to score what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown with 6:21 left in the third quarter.
After the Falcons fumbled the ball away at midfield, San Diego Mesa drove 48 yards on nine plays. They moved the ball to the Cerritos one-yard line and after sophomore linebacker Anakin Aupiu (St. Anthony HS/Southwestern Oklahoma State University) dropped running back Richie Colmenero for a five-yard loss, the Olympians scored on the next play.
The limited San Diego Mesa to just 203 total yards and recorded five quarterback sacks. Freshman linebacker EJ Smith (Warren HS) and sophomore linebacker Ronal Tebo, Jr. (Northview HS) accounted for 14 tackles and 2½ sacks, with 13 players having a hand in the 10 tackles for loss on the night. The linebacking crew also saw sophomores Nehemiah Tualaulelei-Malele (St. Paul HS) and Macc Manu (Lakewood HS) also record solid games with each finishing with six stops.
Photos by Daryl Peterson
Photos by Daryl Peterson
