Late Go-Ahead TD, Defensive Stand Earns Huskies Upset Win at Cerritos

by Cerwin D Haynes

(photos by Stephen Morales & Chris Nunez)

At a record of 2-2, #24-ranked East LA College football knows they have the talent to go toe-to-toe with anyone in the state. It's just a matter of being the team that makes the plays when needed the most.

Down 26-23 in the fourth quarter at Cerritos, ELAC put together a 12-play, 90 yard drive capped by a 23-yard touchdown pass from QB Terrance Gipson to WR Tyson Schilling to take the lead. The defense then made one final stand, sacking Falcons QB Jordan Simpson twice to run out the clock. The Huskies (3-2) escape Norwalk with a thrilling 30-26 victory, toppling the previously undefeated and fourth-ranked Cerritos College Falcons (4-1).

East LA's freshman behind center struggled initially out of the gate. Gipson threw interceptions on the team's first two offensive series that helped Cerritos jump out ahead early. Down 3-0 in the first quarter, the first pick (by LB Giovanni De Leon at the ELAC 26) set up Cerritos deep in East territory, and the Falcons would eventually score on RB Davon Booth's 2-yard TD run to give Cerritos a 10-0 lead. The second pick was after the Huskies gained 27 yards to move from their own 25 to the Cerritos 47; FS Evan Rodriguez intercepted Gipson's pass at the Cerritos 22 and returned it 15 yards to their 37. The Falcons would drive to the Huskies' 9-yard line, but RB Travys Davis fumbled a handoff six yards behind the line of scrimmage and DE Quincy Ivory recovered to halt the home team momentum.

The road Green would finally get on the board in the second quarter: Gipson, using his feet, scampered 10 yards on a 3rd-and-5 to the Falcons 34 but got hit hard and was shaken up. Needing to sit out the next play to clear the cobwebs, QB Frank Alvarez subbed in and made the most of his opportunity - hitting WR Trejan Bridges with a 34-yard bomb into the endzone for a Huskies TD. The extra point cut the East deficit to three, 10-7, where it would stand until halftime.

ELAC would get the ball to start the third quarter, but unfortunately they couldn't keep it long: Gipson was picked off at the ELAC 47 by DB Chase Nixon who returned it 17 yards to the 30. A 27-yd run by Davon Booth set Cerritos up with 1st-and-Goal at the ELAC 3. However, the Huskies would yield no further - Booth was stuffed for a six-yard loss on the next play and Cerritos could only gain three more yards over the next two plays to settle for another short field goal to give them a 13-7 lead.

The Huskies would tie the game on their next possession. A 10-play, 75-yard drive culminated in a Gipson one-yard TD run. The extra point was missed, but East now had the momentum. Their defense would notch an interception of their own on Cerritos' next series: on 3rd-and-9 from the Falcons' 40, Simpson fired a pass low, but DB Ray Walters III - with his dad Big Ray in the stands - dove lower and scooped the pass before the ball hit the ground for the pick at the Cerritos 42. Now with the ball, ELAC wasted no time: on the very next play, Gipson dropped back to pass but found a crease on the far sideline. He took off, sprinting 42 yards to paydirt - the extra point giving ELAC a 20-13 lead.

The game would then go back and forth midway from the third quarter into the fourth: Cerritos, showing the mettle that helped make the the 4th best team in the state, scored a touchdown on their next possession (aided by a defensive personal foul call during a punt on a 4th-and-8 at their 38) to tie the game. The Huskies then responded with a 11 plays, 62 yard drive culminating in a 31-yd Ethan Rodriguez FG to give ELAC a 23-20 lead. But again, the Falcons hit back with another touchdown drive, converting on three third-down plays - the last a 28-yd TD pass from Simpson to WR Michael Bruner on 3rd-and-10. Falcons would take a 26-23 lead with 8:22 left.

The Huskies were going toe-to-toe with the undefeated Falcons. But could they be the team to make the plays when they mattered most?

East would get the ball with 8:14 left, starting from their own 10 due to a holding call on the kickoff return. Gipson got back to work: an 11-yd pass to Tyson Schilling. Three plays later, a 23-yd pass to Quintavius Workman. Then, a nine-yard run, followed by an 11-yd pass to Deonte Knott Sr. ELAC found themselves driving down to the Cerritos 21 and tried to keep going, but a holding call on the next play pushed them back to the 31. RB Maury Rams would then run the ball for five yards, and Gipson's pass on second down found Bridges on the near sideline, but only for three yards. The Huskies faced 3rd-and-12 from the Cerritos 23 with 1:10 left: maybe they were within Rodriguez's range for a potential game-tying FG, but that could have come with risks of a miss and/or giving Cerritos enough time to advance the ball downfield into a potential game-winning FG attempt.

The freshman QB out of Westfield HS in Houston - along with sophomore WR Tyson Schilling - rendered those potential options moot. The next play, Gipson dropped back, and fired a pass to Schilling who had a step on his man. The Cretin-Derham Hall grad caught the pass, turned, and dove over the left pylon, breaking the plane of the endzone inbounds. 23-yard touchdown pass, and the extra point gave ELAC a 30-26 lead with 1:01 left.

The ensuing kickoff saw Cerritos return it 20 yards from their 21 to their 41. Good field positioning, but only 55 seconds left.

Playing the pass, the Huskies defended a long first-down throw by Simpson, who threw over the head of WR Dillon Laurer. Booth would then rush twice for gains of 12 and 13 yards to advance the Falcons to the Huskies' 34 with 26 seconds left. After a pass that was nearly caught by Booth on the following first-down play, Simpson dropped back again on second down... and into the clutches of DE Ivory for a four-yard sack. Cerritos was forced to burn a timeout - their last (followed by ELAC using a timeout to throw the falcons off-rhythm). 3rd-and-14 from the Huskies 38.

Simpson drops back one more time, is flushed out of the pocket to his left, and gets chased down by ELAC DE Dre Towns. The sack caused a fumble, which Cerritos' Jonathan Manzo recovered, but time runs out for the Falcons.

For the second consecutive year the Huskies knock off an undefeated, state fourth-rank team.

HUSKY BITS

• Gipson fought through a tough outing, going 20-36 for 201 yards, one TD pass and three interceptions. The lone touchdown pass ended up being the game-winner.
• Quincy Ivory, the freshman product out of Alief Elsik High School in Houston TX, notched two more sacks today and a fumble recovery. That's three sacks and two fumble recoveries in two games since being inserted into the defense. "He completes our defense," said head coach bobby Godinez after the game.
• Cerritos QB Simpson was only 10-31 for 179 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. Huskies defense has now held opponent QBs to a combined 85-185 on the season, a 46% completion rate.
• Freshman RB Jake Honstetter rushed 14 times for 104 yards, including a 45-yd run. The Clarkston, MI native averages 5.9 yards per carry for the season.
• Along with his diving interception, Ray Walters III had 10 tackles (6 solo, 4 assisted).
• As mentioned above, this is the second straight season in which ELAC has upset an undefeated, #4-ranked team. Last October 30th, they defeated #4 College of the Canyons team that came into Weingart Stadium at 7-0 by the score of 10-7.

WHAT'S NEXT:

East LA will have a chance to rest up with a mid-season bye week. Their next game is at Allan Hancock College in two week.