An exciting game highlighting the Falcons passing prowess saw Cerritos College defeat Fullerton College in a 45-42 stunner. Sophomore wide receiver C.J. Parks broke a pass reception record held for fifty years with 13 catches. Freshman quarterback TJ McMahon put up an impressive 352 yards passing with three touchdown connections.
The game started quickly with a Fullerton Hornet 100-yard kick return for a touchdown and two-point conversion to give the Hornets an 8-point lead immediately. The Falcons quickly responded with a touchdown drive on their first possession but missed the point after kick, setting the tone for a game of offensive battling.
With the start of the second half, the Falcons trailing 21-19, the Falcons took the lead with a touchdown drive to push the game to 25-21. The Hornets immediately answered with a touchdown drive of their own, but the Falcons successfully blocked the PAT, dropping the point differential to two. The touchdown battle lasted for five drives before the Falcons were able to string two TD drives in a row, taking a 45-34 lead.
With a shift to a defensive game, the Falcons were successfully able to hold back the Hornet offense to regain the ball but quickly were forced to punt back to the Hornets. This allowed them to drive for another touchdown, but the 2-point conversion was stuffed by the Falcon cornerback Daron Smith (#18), putting the Hornets within striking distance at 45 to 40.
The final Cerritos possession of the game saw a stunted drive with McMahon sacked on the first play, forcing a Cerritos punt. The punt snap went up over Freshman punter Brandon Petruescu’s head. Unable to kick the ball away after the recovery, the Fullerton Hornets were given the ball back on the Falcons’ 24-yard line. After a labored drive, the Hornets pushed up to the Falcon’s four-yard line with 1:51 left to go in the fourth quarter. With a fourth down on the Falcons’ four-yard line in the fourth quarter, Fullerton QB Quinn Comman’s pass was picked off in the endzone by Freshman safety DeMario King. Comman’s pass was a floater due to the heavy pressure of Falcon defensive lineman Anthony Shipton.
This turnover sealed the Hornets’ fate as the Falcons ran down the clock, even taking a delay of game penalty to be sure. Cerritos’ McMahon then ran the clock to zero by taking the snap and running back to the Falcon endzone to slide down for a safety, giving the Hornets their final two points and ending the game at 45 to 42, a Cerritos College victory.
On CJ Parks’ record breaking performance, Head Coach Grossfield said it was all part of the plan: “Our intent going into the game was to get him the ball… He’s a dynamic play maker. We goal was to get him the ball 10 times. To get him the extra three was really good.”
In a contentious and scrappy back and forth game, the Falcons were able to end their two-game losing streak with a barn-burning finish against a skilled Fullerton College team.
