The MSJC football team did not allow a point in the second half and came back to beat LA Harbor on the road Saturday night 19-16 to remain unbeaten on the season.
The Eagles fell behind late in the first quarter when Harbor scored on a 42 yard run play by Anthony Maxwell that gave the Seahawks a 7-0 lead. MSJC bounced right back though on the ensuing possession with a quick two play drive when quarterback Brett Virgil connected with Eric Ellison on a 78 yard TD pass to cut the lead to 7-6. On the point after try Harbor blocked Victor Carbajal's kick and ran it all the way back for a two point defensive PAT making the score 9-6 after the first period.
The only points of the second quarter cam with 5:42 left to play before halftime when Maxwell scored his second touchdown of the night with a 4 yard run that capped a 7 play 82 yard drive and with the extra point the Seahawks led at halftime 16-6.
The Eagles defense took over from there and the offense found a way to put enough points on the board to grab the victory. Corey Maddox got MSJC back in the game with 9:38 to play when he scored from 45 yards out to cut Harbor's lead to 16-12. The defensive second half continued until the Eagles were able to push across the go ahead points with 6:35 to play in the game when Semaj Wren capped a 7 play 66 yard drive with a one yard touchdown run, and after Carbajal added the extra point MSJC led 19-16. Harbor had two more chances with the ball, but the Eagle defense stood tough to deny the Seahawks a chance to tie or take the lead. Joaquin Arredondo came up with the biggest play of the game as he picked off a Harbor pass with just one minute to play near midfield to seal the victory for MSJC.
Virgil finished the day 11 of 23 passing for 204 yards, his favorite target of the evening was James Phillips who caught 6 passes for 103 yards. Wren was the Eagles leading rusher with 67 yards on 18 carries. Travis Shippen had a big game on defense for MSJC with 9 total tackles including a sack and three tackles for loss. Franklin Shearer had 8 tackles and a forced fumble. Rodrick Ward along with Arredondo each had an interception.
The win kept MSJC unbeaten on the season at 5-0, they went into Saturday night's game ranked number one in the SCFA American Division and #14 in the CCCSIA state poll as well as #17 in the JC Athletic Bureau rankings.
The Eagles have the week off before returning to action Saturday October 13th when they host Victor Valley at Carl Quandt Stadium, with kick off set for 1 pm.