BACK-TO-BACK NATIONAL SOUTHERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS!

The No. 4 in state Hornet football team went into to hostile territory on Saturday and beat the No. 2 Riverside City College Tigers 17-16 winning the National Southern Conference championship for the second consecutive season.

It was not a high-scoring affair like most predicted, but the game was a testament to both defensive units bearing it all on the turf. 

The Tigers scored the first points of the game at 4:45 in the first quarter on a 25-yard field goal by Gabe Panikowski, but the Hornets answered the call at the 10:35 mark of the second quarter with a field of their own on a 35-yarder by Jonathan Fobear. Both offenses did their best to get something going before the end of the half but settled for a 3-3 tie by the break.

Riverside jumped ahead with a 13-3 lead on a 37-yard touchdown pass from Jordan Barton to Jacqueze Modica at 10:37 in the third quarter and then kicked in a 24-yard field goal by Gabe Panikowski at 11:24 in the fourth quarter.

It was looking pretty bleak for Fullerton at this point as the offense had a hard time generating a score, until QB Brandon Nunez found wideout Christian Steward for a 59-yard touchdown pass at the the 10-minute mark.

Trailing 16-10, the Hornets held a surging Tiger offense to a 23-yard field goal by Panikowski with 5:52 left in the ball game.

Fullerton's Brandon Nunez led the team down the field with his legs and arm finally hitting Stewart once again for an 8-yard touchdown pass with just 31 seconds left in regulation. RCC tired to work some last second magic with a deep pass, but Tyan Milton picked it off at the FC 28-yardline stunning the Tigers at home.

Offensively, it was the Nunez to Stewart show as Brandon connected with Christian 8 times for 128 yards with 2 TDs. Nunez also rushed 11 times for 43 yards.

On defense for Fullerton, Branson Tita-Nwa led the team in tackles with 11 (8 solo) and had 1 fumble recovery. Jeremiah McNeeley had 9 tackles (5 solo) with 2 sacks on the day.

This is the 28th conference title for the Fullerton College football program and the second under head coach Garrett Campbell. The Hornets won their first conference title back in 1953 under head coach Dick Spaulding. 

And then there were two! It was a wild day for JUCO football as No. 5 San Mateo knocked off No. 1 San Francisco 44-17, Mt. SAC defeated Golden West 33-21, along with FC's win over RCC leaves No. 3 Mt. SAC and the Hornets as the only undefeated National teams left in the state.

Up Next: The undefeated Fullerton College Hornets (10-0 overall, 7-0 conference) will host the 1st round of the 3C2A SoCal Regionals next weekend. Stay tuned as the opponent will be determined soon. 

*Photo by Matt Brown