East Los Angeles College falls to College of the Canyons
SANTA CLARITA, Calif. — In a showdown of two Top-50 Nationally ranked teams (Gridiron.com), No. 46 East Los Angeles College fell 31-9 at No. 7 College of the Canyons’ Cougar Stadium.
ELAC mistakes and Canyons quarterback Wyatt Eget’s passing killed any chances for the Huskies to take control and a achieve win.
Eget threw a 68-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage. He finished with 314 yards while completing 22 of his 36 passes including three touchdowns and one interception.
“We had our opportunities but didn’t take advantage of big plays,” said ELAC head coach Bobby Godinez. “We dropped a couple of interceptions and couldn’t convert in the red zone, which you can’t do against a really good football team like Canyons. You won’t beat them.”
Eget drove Canyons to three straight first-half touchdowns amassing 192 yards, 186 of them passing. The Cougars led 21-0.
After ELAC scored a field goal, outside linebacker Garrett Rogers (Don Lugo High School) intercepted an Eget pass on the 39-yard line with 4:33 left in second period. The Huskies advanced 18 yards to the 21-yard line. Kicker Juan Rangel (Mendez HS) made good on his second field goal of the night, this one a 38-yarder. Canyons led 21-6.
With twenty-six seconds left in the half, the ELAC defense stopped the Cougars fourth down attempt at their 43-yard line. The Huskies quickly marched to the red zone and Rangel split the uprights for a 36-yard field goal as time expired. Canyons led 21-9 heading into the locker room.
The Huskies’ three-quarterback rotation resulted in only 124-yards passing on the night, the lowest of the season. This included three second-half interceptions. Those Canyons thefts killed ELAC’s best scoring opportunities the final 30 minutes.
ELAC cleaned up their penalty mishaps tonight. The Huskies were flagged 10 times for 65 yards, the least amount in a game during the season. “We worked as a team and reduced our penalties but not enough to be consistent throughout the game,” said Kevin Gutierrez (St. Paul HS). “Everybody wants to do their own thing.”
Still, the Huskies, a powerhouse in the American Division for the previous two years, has improved throughout the season against the big guys in the National Division. ELAC’s schedule includes seven teams ranked nationally during this season.
“We’ve adjusted and improved against teams we have no business lining up against, even with the problem of everyone (the Huskies) doing their own thing,” said Gutierrez. “We’ve been in every game except the first one and if we play like a team instead of a bunch of individuals, we have a chance to win-out.”
In other Northern League competition, backed with five field goals, Bakersfield College (4-3, 1-1) won 22-17 vs. No. 47 Long Beach City College (3-4, 0-2); No. 13 Ventura College bested Moorpark College (1-6, 0-2) 62-7.
UP NEXT
ELAC continues National Northern League competition to win the title and a bowl-game bid with a BIG game against Bakersfield College at the Renegades’ Memorial Stadium, Saturday, Oct. 27 at 6 p.m.
A crowd of 5,000 is expected. The halftime show includes honoring the 1988 National Championship Bakersfield College Football Team. Post-game activities include a firework’s show.
“We’ll be prepared for this environment, thirsty for a win and I heard it can be dry in Bakersfield,” said defensive lineman Joshua Collins (Jackson, Fla. / Sandalwood HS). “The environment doesn’t matter to this team who is focused on winning the game and nothing else.”
Follow ELAC Athletics at http://athletics.elac.edu/landing/index or on Facebook at ELAC Huskies Athletics (@elachuskiesathletics
submitted by Tadzio Garcia