Last-second touchdown wins game for Falcons

Sophomore running back Joseph Donnell (McNair HS/Sacramento City College) scored the game-winning touchdown with :15 seconds left to lead the Cerritos College football team to a 29-26 win over El Camino College at Redondo Union HS on Saturday. The win improved the Falcons record to 4-2 overall and it allowed the school to retain the Milk Can Trophy, which is awarded to the winning team. The Milk Can tradition started in 1962 and the win by Cerritos was the fourth in a row in their rivalry.

Trailing 26-21 with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter, the Falcons took over possession at their own 22-yard line after the defense forced a punt. After moving the ball close to midfield, aided by a pass interference call against the Warriors (2-4), Cerritos was faced with a third-and-13 after a sack and incomplete pass. Coming out of a timeout, freshman quarterback Jimmy Walker(Redlands HS) connected with sophomore Domonique Young (Long Beach Jordan HS) down the right sideline for a 31-yard game to the El Camino 20-yard line.

A pair of incomplete passes were followed by a fumbled handoff to Donnell, who fell on the ball at the Warrior 18-yard line, which put the Falcons in another fourth down situation. Walker went into the end zone looking for sophomore Justin Caines (La Habra HS), who was interfered with, giving Cerritos first and goal at the ECC three-yard line. On first down, Walker attempted to roll out of the pocket, but slipped and fell at the nine-yard line. An incomplete pass preceded an eight-yard pass to Caines, who was pushed out at the one-yard line.

With no timeouts left, the Falcons decided to hand the ball off to Donnell and follow the block of freshman defensive tackle David Fangulo (Kealakehe, HI HS) and his 325-pound frame. On the play, Donnell looked to initially be stopped shy of the goal line, but received an added push from behind by an El Camino player who came off the edge to try and make the play.

At one point in the game, Cerritos trailed 26-14 early in the fourth quarter after the Warriors scored and missed on a two-point conversion. But the Falcon defense progressively got better as the game went on and limited ECC to just six plays and two possessions after that touchdown. Cerritos had the ball 11:43 of the fourth quarter.

Just like on their game-winning drive, Walker connected with Young on fourth down, as the play went 39 yards and put the ball at the Warrior 18-yard line. After an 11-yard completion to freshman De' Jai Whitaker (Santa Monica HS), Walker (26-of-44, 363 yards, 3 TD) and Caines teamed up for a seven yard touchdown with 3:38 left in the fourth quarter.

Although they rushed for only 28 yards on 35 carries on the night, Walker and Young accounted for 182 yards through the air on 10 receptions, with Caines pulling in five passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns. The receiving yards by Young were the fourth most in a game in school history. Young has 679 receiving yards this season and is closing in one the single-season school record of 760 yards by Michael Willie in 2009.

El Camino also looked to move the ball through the air and passed for 250 yards. As a result, the top three tacklers for the Falcons came from the secondary, led by freshman Kyle Ray (Servite HS), who had nine tackles, while sophomore Davey Monette (Dominguez HS) finished with eight stops and an interception. Freshman Anthony Murray (Cherokee Trail, CO HS) posted seven tackles and two pass breakups, while sophomore linebacker Aaron Porter (La Habra HS/UCLA) also had seven tackles.