ELAC Upsets #4-Ranked College of the Canyons 10-7

by Cerwin D Haynes

(photos by Stephen Morales @grecomeco23)

Every now and then, a team gets an opportunity not to just win a ballgame, but to make a "statement win" - the type of victory that puts a team's entire division and conference on notice. The type of win that, years later, those who played and those who witnessed will recall fondly when they think of their time on East LA's campus.

East Los Angeles College, 3-4 coming into tonight's game, faced an uphill battle as they hosted the fourth-best team in California, the College of the Canyons Cougars. There were whispers that the Huskies, coming off a sound defeat at the hands of Long Beach City the week before, would unravel and let the season get away from them as the competition stiffened. It was quite the challenge...

...and the Huskies answered the call and rose to the occasion, defeating the Cougars 10-7 in dramatic fashion.

The stifling ELAC defense which has wavered the last two games returned in full force. They held the Cougars - who came into the game averaging 39 points a game - to just seven points on a first quarter touchdown run by QB Colton Doyle. Canyons' defense was stiff as well, but the Huskies were able to tie the game in the third quarter on a 28-yard TD pass from Rudy Garcia to Tyson Schilling. Then in the fourth quarter, the Huskies put together a 12-play, 58-yard drive that lead to a Cristian Reyes 25-yd field goal to give ELAC a three-point lead. The Huskies' defense - thanks to a fumble recovery deep in their own territory plus a late stand to deny the Cougars a fourth-down conversion with 1:58 left - made the lead stand and ultimately sent the team off to a wild celebration.

HUSKY BITS:

• ELAC picks up their first division win and improve overall to 4-4. A bowl bif may not be out of the question if they can win their final two games, albeit on the road.

UP NEXT

• The Huskies head up to Bakersfield next Saturday to face the 2-6 Bakersfield College Renegades. And in two weeks, ELAC will conclude their regular season at undefeated Ventura College.