FOOTBALL: TOUGH CONFERENCE OPENER

The Hornet football squad hit the field at Cerritos College on Saturday and lost another nail-bitter 45-42 in the Central Conference opener.

The Hornets got off to an electrifying start when Kashan Griffin took the opening kickoff from the end zone for a 100-yard score. FC went for a two-point conversion and was successful on a rush by Brandon Rankins.

Cerritos tried to even the score on their first drive and came close when the Falcons went for it on third and one. Running back Hinckley Ropati took the hand off and broke four tackles along the way on a 24-yard for a touchdown. The point after was blocked by Troy McDonald, and FC led 8-6.

On their next drive, the Hornets struck again on one-handed grab by Hunter Rison. Quarterback Quinn Commans hit Rison on a 10-yard slant, and he took it up the middle of the field for a 40-yard TD. Alec Fonseca knocked in the kick in for the point after, and Fullerton found themselves up 15-6.

The Falcons did not hesitate getting back on the board after a Fullerton fumbled the ball. Cerritos quarterback TJ McMahon dropped back for a screen pass to Carl Odom, who ran the ball behind a wall of linemen to paydirt.

The Hornets did not waste any time scoring on their next possession at 11:49 in the second quarter when Cooper Callis ran the ball across the goal line from 16 yards out. The PAT failed, but FC held a 21-13 lead.

With the first half winding down, Cerritos drove down to the Fullerton 14 yard line. With three minutes left on fourth and four, the Falcons went for it and scored on a pass from McMahon to CJ Parks in the back corner of the end zone. The PAT failed and the half ended with the Hornets up 21-19.

The Falcons took ball down the field to begin the second half and scored on a 4-yard run by Ropati. The big play that set up the score came on a long 39-yard bomb by McMahon to wideout Arick McLawyer. Cerritos took their first lead of the game at 10:50 in the third quarter.

Fullerton took the lead back (27-25) at 7:58 in the third quarter on a 25-yard pass from Commans to Kailan Noseff. The point after was blocked.

The lead swung back in the Falcon's favor with 3:02 left in the third when they drove the ball all the way down to the 1-yardline. Ropati back-flipped over the goal line for his third touchdown of the night.

The Hornets answered back with a 5-play drive scoring in almost 2 minutes on a 38-yard strike from QB Krishtjan Frrokaj to running back Alfonzo Graham. With the extra point, FC owned a 34-31 lead with a minute left in the quarter.

Cerritos just would not go away without a fight with 30 seconds left in the third. The combination of McMahon to Parks proved to be another success as they connected for a 60-yard touchdown. The PAT was successful and the Falcons were back up 38-34 heading into the fourth quarter.

After forcing the Hornets to punt, Cerritos added to their lead on a 4-yard rush by Ropati scoring his fourth TD at 11:03 in the fourth quarter. Setting up the big score, was Jovohn Tucker's 38-yard catch from McMahon to the Fullerton 16. The PAT was a success, and Cerritos held their largest lead at 45-34.

It took 55-seconds for Fullerton to get back into the race with 3 minutes left on a 53-yard shot from Callis, who found Rison in the back of the end zone. The TD put FC within 5 points at 45-50.

Fullerton caught a break after forcing the Falcon offense to a three-and-out. A bad punt snap gave FC the opportunity to block the punt putting the Hornets on the Cerritos 16 yard line. After three plays, the Hornets had to go for it all on fourth down the Falcon 4 yard line. Under heavy pressure by the Cerritos defense, Commons was nearly sacked and was hit hard. The ball floated into the arms Falcon defender Damario King, who fell down for the touchback. From there, Cerritos offense went into victory formation burning precious time off the clock. For the last play of the game, McMahon literally ran out the clock sprinting into the back of the end zone burning off the last 7 seconds for a team safety.

Up Next: Fullerton (2-4 overall, 0-1 conference) will continue conference-play next Saturday, October 26^th when the Hornets welcome Palomar College to Yorba Linda High. Kickoff is at 1:00 pm.

*Photo by Jim McCormack

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