OUTSHINING COMETS

In a Southern Conference matchup, the No. 4 in state Hornets welcomed Palomar College to Sherbeck Field and handed the Comets a 48-19 defeat.

FC football hosted the first-ever Blue-Gold Game on Sherbeck Field Saturday, which is a concept that head coach Garrett Campbell came up with that pays heed to the Hornets of the past. The game gives thanks to those Fullerton College players, coaches, staff members, and loyal fans that came before making the old Blue and Gold what it is today... a tradition of winning and honor.

The last time the Comets and Hornets battled it out on the gridiron was in 2019, which was a 55-42 shootout where Fullerton came out on top. With today's win, FC owns a narrow 15-12 lead for the all-time series that began in 1992.

It was a hot day in Fullerton, but the Hornets remained cold in the beginning of the first quarter falling behind 7-0. Both offenses sputtered in their opening drives, however it was a FC fumble that gave Palomar in excellent field position on the Hornet 26-yardline. On their first play, the Comet's Micah Johnson caught an overhead touchdown in the back of the end zone from quarterback Kiah Reid.

Fullerton got on the board with just over two minutes left in the first quarter when Jonathan Fobear kicked in a 26-yard field goal.

The Hornets hit paydirt in the 11th minute of the second quarter on a nice flip and run to tight end Cameron Woods, who snuck his way into the end zone from 5-yards out.

After a quick three-and-out forced by the FC defense, Fullerton got on the board again 3 minutes later on a 32-yard field goal by Jonathan Fobear (8:35).

The Hornet defense stepped up again on the next Comet drive with a pick by Tyan Milton that gave FC the opportunity to score again at 7:15 on a pretty 39-yard pass and catch from Brandon Nunez to Leland Smith.

With 28 seconds left in the first half, Nunez and Smith struck again for a 16-yard touchdown putting Fullerton up 27-7 after the Jonathan Fobear extra point.

In the third quarter, Palomar scored on a 2-yard pass from Kiah Reid to Kyri Shoels at 9:46, but the Hornets answered back in under a minute on, yet another touchdown pass from Brandon Nunez to Leland Smith from the 14-yardline.

At 11:12 in the fourth quarter Palomar's Kiah Reid connected again with Kyri Shoels for a 28-yard pass. The two-point conversion pass failed as the Hornets led it 34-19.

Fullerton took complete ownership of the game with two straight scores to finish the fourth. Brandon Nunez took the ball in to the endzone from 2-yards out in the 9th minute, and with over a minute left in regulation Fullerton scored its final TD on a rumbling 31-yard run up the middle by Jonathan Sewell. 

Up Next: The No. 4 Hornets (7-0 overall, 4-0 conference) have Homecoming this week with an event in the FC quad on Wednesday and the big game on Sherbeck Field against Grossmont College on Saturday, October 28th at noon.

*Photo by Jim McCormack