Posted: Sep 16, 2023
Every time the Cerritos College and Ventura College football teams meet up, there's always a chance the outcome will come down to who has the ball last. On Saturday, the teams were once again locked in a back-and-forth affair, with the lead changing six times. By the final whistle, the Falcons were able to walk away with a 35-31 victory. Eight of the games in their series were decided by one score.
The win improves the team's record to 2-1 and they will host Orange Coast College at 6:00 p.m. next Saturday. It will mark the first meeting between the two teams since 2015.
Undoubtedly, the highlight of the game was the performance of freshman quarterback Dylan Eldredge (Cypress HS), who set single-game records for most passing yards in a game (418), pass completions in a game (34) and passing accuracy (.791) as he completed 34-of-43 passes on the night for five touchdowns. The passing yards broke the old record of 388 yards by current Falcon head coach Dean Grosfeld, who accomplished the feat in 1991 against Mt. San Antonio College. It was the first 400-yard passing game in Cerritos College history.
He was one touchdown pass shy of tying the school record, while Jimmy Walker was the last Cerritos quarterback to throw for five touchdowns in a game, as he completed the feat in 2015 against College of the Canyons.
Cerritos was able to maintain possessions that allowed them to move downfield and score each time the Pirates responded with a touchdown of their own.
Trailing 31-28 with 5:33 left in the fourth quarter, Eldredge tossed his fifth scoring strike of the game, as he connected with freshman wide receiver Chase Grosfeld (Los Alamitos HS), who reached the end zone from 56 yards out. The drive only took two plays, which left Ventura 4:36 to regain the lead.
But the Falcons defense held strong and forced a punt. With a chance to add to their lead, a penalty prevented Cerritos from starting their drive at midfield. The offense stalled and they were forced to punt. However, sophomore punter Aiden Petruescu (La Mirada HS/Long Island University) dropped a punt deep in Ventura territory and the ball was downed at the two-yard line with 1:32 remaining.
The Pirates were unable to move the ball at all on the drive, and faced with fourth-and-17, Ventura quarterback Daniel Duran had his pass attempt knocked down by sophomore cornerback Zedekiah Rodriguez-Brown (Los Altos HS), which effectively ended the game.
Eldredge completed three of his touchdown passes to freshman wide receiver Gavin Porch (Los Alamitos HS), who scored in three different quarters. Porch finished the game with eight catches for 51 yards, while sophomore Dillon Laurer (Downey HS) led the team with seven receptions for 106 yards. Grosfeld pulled in six passes for 96 yards, while sophomore Michael Bruner (Long Beach Wilson HS) also caught a TD pass and finished with five catches for 89 yards.
Rodriguez-Brown, who also returned three kickoffs for 45 yards, finished with five tackles, two interceptions and he broke up a pair of passes. His first pick came on the first drive of the game, which led to the Falcons first touchdown of the night. He then picked off quarterback Chris Irvin on the second drive of the game in the Cerritos end zone.
