FOOTBALL: HARSH ROAD TRIP

It was an off-night for the Hornet football team, who suffered a 31-16 road-loss at the hands of San Diego Mesa College Saturday night.

A Hornet turnover early in the game set up Mesa's first touchdown, a 15-yard touchdown pass from Gunnar Gray to Deshawn Owens.

FC got back in the ball game a few series later when Chandler Galban hit Dejonte Thomas in stride on a deep post for a 29-yard touchdown. The extra point was blocked as the Hornets trailed 7-6.

The Olympians went up 14-6 in the second quarter on a hard-thrown 20-yard dart from Gray to Timieion Jackson, who caught the ball in the end zone.

Not to be outdone, the Hornets fought back near the end of the first half hitting on a 33-yard field goal by Ceasar Velazquez, and scoring a rushing touchdown from a yard out. The ground-pounding touchdown was Branden Rankins' 12th on the season, and it was set up by quarterback Tra Edwards' 17-yard pass to Tobi Sonaike. A personal foul after the play put FC on the one. Fullerton held a slim 16-14 lead heading into the second half. 

Early in the third quarter a big run by Cael Patterson put the Olympians on the FC 27 yardline A few plays later, Mesa snathced the lead back on a 31-yard field goal by John Carroll to go up 17-16.

Mesa padded its lead at the 12:09 mark in the fourth quarter on a long drive that ended with Patterson punching his way into the end zone from 3-yards out. After the made PAT, the Olympians owned a 24-16 advantage.

San Diego Mesa shut the door on any chance of a Fullerton comeback with rougly four minutes left in the game. Going for it on fourth and five, Patterson struck again for his third TD of the game breaking loose for a 28-yard scamper. It was the final blow for the Hornets who had nothing left in the tank. 

Up Next: The Hornets (6-4 overall, 3-2 Southern Conference) will play at Mount San Antonio College (7-3 overall, 2-3 Central Conference) on Saturday, November 27th for the Patriotic Bowl game. Kickoff is at 6:00 pm.

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