There are several reasons why community college football players end up, well, at community colleges. Naturally, one would love playing at a lavish Division I university in front of crowds bigger than most cities. But it doesn’t always work out that way.

It could be grades, slipping through the proverbial recruiting cracks, it could be a previous failure at a four-year university, or it even could be time away from the game and a focused return with the hopes of glory.

Football players at the JC level hold onto the dream. The thought of being the focal point among 80,000 lunatic home fans intrigues them, it drives them. Having their name in lights and on their favorite 24-hour sports network? Ah yes, that’s the ticket.

They can get there, they can get to their distant fantasy with a couple of years of hard work at, say, Cerritos College.

Quarterback Doug Baughman and defenseman lineman Demetrin Veal are living out their visions of glory. And 10 months ago, each was craving their niche for the Falcons.

Baughman, at Idaho State, and Veal, at the Univesity of Tennessee, are two of five former Falcons who made differences for their football teams in victories last Saturday. Baughman and Veal are two, there are others.

Former Falcon Jason Lowe is a junior linebacker who is getting some playing team at Oregon State. The 6-3, 230-pound Lowe has two tackles in two games for the Beavers (1-1), who were picked by one national magazine as the No. 1 team in the nation in its preseason poll. A 44-24 loss to Fresno State, however, sent Lowe’s chances for a championship ring out the window.

St. Mary’s College in Moraga looked to Cerritos last fall to find place kicker Ezequiel Arvalo. Arvalo was perfect out of the chute, hitting all seven of his extra points in the Gaels’ 49-10 season-opening victory over Humboldt State.

BYU running back Brian McDonald, an ex-Falcon from the 1999 team, has spearheaded the Cougars 3-0 start and return to the top 25.

McDonald has 200 yards rushing in five touchdowns and six catches for 118 yards and a score after BYU rolled over Tulane (70-35), Nevada (52-7) and California (44-16). The 5-10, 210-pound senior had eight rushing touchdowns and 464 yards for the Cougars last season.

It was Baughman’s effort in the Bengals’ 40-7 victory over Montana Tech that turned many a head in Pocatello.

Baughman, who guided Cerritos to a pair of 8-3 seasons in 1999 and 2000, completed 20 of 22 passes for 254 yards and a stadium-record tying five touchdowns in his club’s home victory.

A power outage with 12:53 left in the game didn’t likely hurt Baughman’s chances for any further passing heroics. But it did halt the game prematurely. Idaho State led 34-7 at halftime and went to ground control in the second half.

Baughman’s first start likely won’t be his last, either.

The former Falcon was entrenched in a battle for the starting quarterback job during the summer and fall practices. Head coach Larry Lewis was hesistant in naming a starter quickly, fearing the other, “might drop off” in his play.

However, the 6-foot-4, 215-pound Baughman clearly outplayed his quarterback rival in the season opener.

Veal, Cerritos’ all-everything defensive lineman last season, is vying for additional playing time with Tennessee, a program which won a national championship in 1998.

The 6-3, 275-pound Veal has managed to see some action during victories over Syracuse (33-9) and at Arkansas (13-3) last Saturday. Veal had a sack in each of the Vols first two games.

Tennessee spoiled the Razorbacks new stadium party a week ago – which was highlighted more by lightning storms in the Fayetteville area than anything else.

Now Veal and his Vols teammates are preparing for a game that surely will get national attention. Tennessee faces Southeastern Conference rival Florida in Gainesville on Saturday in a matchup of two top 10 ranked teams.

Cerritos College has proven annually to be a nice four-year feeder program to the elite of the elite Division I programs. Veal, McDonald, and Lowe each are key players on top 25-ranked teams, while Baughman is beginning to build his own legacy in Idaho. And Arvalo has found a nice gig in Northern California at a school which doesn’t get nearly the publicity as that of a Tennessee, Oregon State, or BYU.

If you elect to attend a Falcons game this season, which might not be a bad idea, all things considered, take a good look at the current standouts. You can see them now, you and about 500 of your friends, in an up-close and personal setting.

Next season, you could end up seeing them on national television while watching the game at your favorite watering hole or in the comforts of your own couch. Yes, it is kind of like the old saying, “hey, I knew you when,” …

The dreams of many remain alive within the close-knit family that is Cerritos College football. The dream for some will live on after the turn in their junior college equipment. … And the dream for a very select few could carry over to Sunday’s.

Hey, why not, it worked for one Ron Yary. Remember him? Yary was enshrined into the National Football League Hall of Fame this past summer after a stellar career with the Minnesota Vikings and USC prior to that.

Where did Yary get his start. …. Yep, you got. .. Cerritos College.