The MSJC football team scored the first points of the game on Saturday afternoon at Fullerton, but saw the game slip away in the third quarter as they lost to the 6th ranked Hornets 44-20.

The Eagles got out of the gates quickly on Saturday as they took advantage of a bad snap on a punt attempt by Fullerton to take over the ball at the Hornets 18 yard line on their opening possession.  Seven plays later Hayden Lara hooked up with Koa Apana on a four yard touchdown pass and the Eagles grabbed the lead less than four minutes into the contest at 7-0.  Fullerton would answer with a 30 yard field goal and a 1 yard touchdown run however to lead after the opening period 10-7.  Early in the second quarter the Hornets added another touchdown and would go into the locker room at halftime up 16-7.

The third period would be the demise of the Eagles as Fullerton came out of the break to score 21 straight points and push the lead all the way to 37-7.  MSJC continued to show fight throughout the rest of the game and did manage a late third quarter TD when running back Matthew Caldera scored on a 15 yard run.  The Eagles also scored late in the fourth period when Zach Zella threw a 23 yard touchdown strike to Malik Blackmon.

Lara and Zella split time at quarterback in the game with Lara going 13 of 22 for 49 yards and Zella connecting on 19 of 30 passes for 159 yards.  Caldera had a career high 10 receptions for MSJC, while Christian Kretz made 5 catches for a team high 52 yards.  Apana ended the afternoon with 7 receptions and Mykai Skinner came out of the back field to catch 4 passes.

Tyrone Oloa led the defensive effort for MSJC with 8 total tackles, Marcus Brooks and Jonah Sellers were credited with 4 each.  Sellers and Rob Williams both picked up a sack.

The loss drops MSJC to 0-4 on the season and 0-1 in the Southern League, while Fullerton improved to 4-0 and 1-0.  The Eagles return home on Saturday September 30th when they host Riverside City College at 6 pm in Menifee.  The Tigers come into the game with a 4-0 record and are ranked #2 in the latest state rankings.

Remember to purchase your tickest for Saturday night's game on-line.  Tickets