Specialty play leads Falcons to win

Two weeks ago, the Cerritos College football team was victimized by a pair of special teams plays, which resulted in a loss. On Saturday night in their SCFA Northern Conference game at Pasadena City College, the Falcons capitalized on a special teams play to score a touchdown, which helped them post a 27-17 win. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak, with Cerritos (3-2, 1-1) taking on El Camino College at 4:00 p.m. next Saturday at Redondo UnionHS.

With the Falcons leading, 7-6 in the second quarter, the Lancers (2-3, 1-1) were lining up for a punt. But the snap went over the head of punter Franklyn Cervanka. After chasing the ball down,Cervanka tried to get off a punt, but it was blocked by freshman Dante' Foster (Norwalk HS) at the PCC 25-yard line. Right there to collect the ball and race 30 yards for a touchdown was freshman Javon Thompson (La Serna HS) to give the team a 13-6 lead after the failed two-point conversion.

Later in the quarter, the Lancers were faced with a fourth-and-one at their own 45-yard line. Opting to go for the first down, freshman defensive tackle Iuta Mailoto (Cabrillo HS) and sophomore linebacker Erick Zarate (Long Beach Jordan HS) stuffed quarterback Dejon Williams for a one-yard loss and the Falcons regained possession of the ball. On the first play after the possession change, freshman quarterback Jimmy Walker (Redlands HS) connected with sophomore wide receiver Dominique Young (Long Beach Jordan HS) for a 44-yard touchdown to put the team up, 20-6.

On the first play of the second half, the Cerritos defense came through again, as Mailoto stripped the ball from Ruben Lawhorn at the PCC 12-yard line, while freshman linebacker Michael Hannifin (San Pedro HS) was there to fall on the loose ball. The Falcons drove inside the 10-yard line and decided to hand the ball off to freshman defensive tackle David Fangulo (Kealakehe, HS) on fourth-and-two, which resulted in a three-yard gain to the 1-yard line. Sophomore Travis Newberry (Bellflower HS) punched the ball in on the next play for a 27-9 lead.

The Falcons opened the scoring in the first quarter with sophomore running back Joseph Donnell (McNair HS/Sacramento City College) rushing for a 23-yard touchdown. On the play,Donnell stiff-armed 280-pound defensive lineman Dyaire Hicks to the ground at the 15-yard line, which sprung him into the end zone.

As a team, Cerritos rushed for 195 yards, with Newberry finishing with 95 yards, while Donnell added 63 yards. As for Walker, he connected on 10-of-26 passes for 146 yards, but was intercepted three times. Defensively, sophomore cornerback Jerry Smith (Mayfair HS) and freshman Anthony Murray (Cherokee Trail, CO HS) each picked off a pair of Williams passes, while Hannifin recorded 11 tackles in place of leading tackler Aaron Porter (La Habra HS/UCLA), who was limited in his time on the field. Zarate contributed 10 stops and 3 1/2 tackles for loss in the team's win.