With the coveted Crosstown Cup and bragging rights on the line, the Cerritos College football team saw a 14-14 halftime score change dramatically in the second half, as they suffered a 30-14 Central Division loss to rival Long Beach City College on Saturday. The Falcons, who slipped to 3-2 at the midway mark of the season, will have a bye next week before returning to play on October 14 in a 7:00 p.m. game at Mt. San Antonio College.

After spotting the Vikings a 7-0 lead in the first quarter, freshman quarterback Dylan Eldredge (Cypress HS) tossed a pair of second quarter TD passes to put the Falcons in front, 14-7. The swarming Cerritos secondary picked off their 10th pass of the season when sophomore Tyler Henry (St. Anthony HS/Fort Lewis (CO) College) stepped in front of a Will Madonna pass and brought the ball back to the LBCC 25-yard line.

On the first play of the offensive series, Eldredge connected with freshman running back Cheo Medina (Northview HS) out of the backfield for a 25-yard touchdown. The following Long Beach City drive looked just like the previous one, as sophomore Zedekiah Rodriguez-Brown (Los Altos HS) intercepted his fourth pass of the season. He picked off the pass at the Falcons 34-yard line and raced it 16 yards to midfield. 

The Falcons extended their drive when they completed a pair of third down plays  and capped it off with a nine-yard scoring strike from Eldredge to freshman wide receiver Gavin Porch (Los Alamitos HS) and a 14-7 Cerritos lead.

A turnover by Cerritos on their next possession allowed Long Beach City to score with 22 seconds left in the first half. That turnover by the Falcons carried into the second half, with the Vikings accounting for 16 second half points and Cerritos struggling to generate any more offense.

Eldredge finished the game 17-for-29 passing for 205 yards and a pair of touchdowns, with freshman Chase Groseld (Los Alamitos HS) pulling in eight of those passes for 97 yards.

Along with Rodriguez-Brown, who had four tackles, five pass break-ups and an interception, the defense was led by sophomore Ronal Tebo, Jr. (Northview HS), who had eight tackles, two tackles for loss, as well as a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Five other players recorded five stops on the night.

Photos by Daryl Peterson