SOARING HIGHER THAN EAGLES

In their first conference game of the season, the Hornets welcomed Mt. San Jacinto College to Sherbeck Field on Saturday and handed the Eagles a 44-20 loss.

After winning three games in a row against ranked teams, it seems as though Fullerton cannot pull the respect it deserves dropping in the JC Athletics poll this past week from 5th to 6th. Maybe after this week's win, the Hornets will move up a bit.

The Hornets fell behind 7-0 in the first minutes of the game but came roaring back to score a field goal and 5 unanswered touchdowns before the fourth quarter. Brandon Nunez had another strong outing with 257 yards through the air with 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. Michael Vakapuna led the ground game with 72 yards on 14 carries, while Christian Steward caught 5 balls for 123 yards and TD. Leland Smith also lit it up with 3 catches for 88 yards. 

The FC defense was once again outstanding with 3 sacks and 2 interceptions holding the Eagles to 68 yards rushing and 208 yards in the air. Jeremiah McNeeley was all over the field with 9 tackles (3 solo), 1.5 sacks, and 3 tackles for a loss. Branson Tita-Nwa was right behind with 8 tackles (4 solo), 2 breakups, 1 QB hurry, and 2 tackles for a loss. 

Prior to Saturday's game, Fullerton and Mt. San Jacinto had only met one time in 2003 when the Hornets beat the Eagles 24-16 under then head coach Gene Murphy. A young assistant coach in Casey Mazzotta helped secure the win for FC. Mazzotta was formerly the Hornet's defensive coordinator from 2001 to 2006.

Up Next: The Fullerton football squad (4-0, 1-0) heads down to Southwestern Community College on Saturday, September 30th for another conference game. Kickoff is at 6:00 pm.