The MSJC football team dominated on the stat sheet Saturday night at HCN Bank Stadium, but still had to hang on in the end to defeat #10 ranked Fullerton College 35-28 to earn their third straight victory.
The Eagles came out quickly as they kicked off to the Hornets and immediately forced a three and out. On Fullerton's punt attempt Bryce Terhue broke through and blocked the kick giving MSJC the ball at the Hornets 25 yard line. On their first offensive play of the night the Eagles found the end zone when Logan Gonzalez connected with Christian Kretz for a touchdown pass that helped make the score 7-0 just 55 seconds into the game. The Eagles would extend the lead to 13-0 just five minutes later on another quick strike as Gonzalez this time found Jackson Weng for a 27 yard TD pass. Things would slow down a bit as the rest of the quarter saw a number of punts by both teams. The Eagle defense set the tone as they allowed the Hornets just 10 yards of total offense in the opening period.
In the second quarter Fullerton was able to put together their only real drive of the night as they went 57 yards in 9 plays to score their only offensive touchdown and with 10:11 to go before halftime they cut the lead to 13-7. The Hornet defense forced a three and out by MSJC and then took their only lead of the night as they returned an Eagle punt 58 yards to the end zone to move in front 14-13. The MSJC offense responded with a pair of late second period TDs as Gonzalez led another quick three play 60-yard drive capped by a 12-yard pass to Weng. Then with just 42 seconds to go before half Gonzalez found Koa Apana for a 32-yard score that made it 28-14 in favor of the Eagles at the break.
The third quarter opened with both teams struggling to find points. The Eagles then put together a 9-play drive which reached the Hornet 9-yard line as they looked to put the game out of reach, but a Gonzalez pass was picked off and returned 99 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 28-21 with 2:41 to play in the period. MSJC's offense once again made a big play on their opening drive of the 4th as Gonzalez again found Weng, this time on an explosive 90-yard touchdown pass to push the Eagle lead back to 14. MSJC seemed to have complete control of the contest, but another pick six by the Hornets with 11:04 to play gave Fullerton hope as they cut the deficit to 7. MSJC's defense, who had been strong all night, once again answered the bell and kept Fullerton out of the end zone the rest of the game. The Hornets did have the ball to try and mount one last drive, but an interception by DJ Bryant with 1:25 left in the game ended their final chance.
For the game the Eagles defense limited the Hornets to just 156 total yards and 61 yards through the air. DeShawn Brooks had a team high 9 tackles to go along with a sack, while Nate Frankfather had 7 tackles and an interception. Jonah Sellers, Frankie Alvarez, and Vincent Perryman also recorded sacks for the Eagles. In all the MSJC defense had 4 sacks and 11 total tackles for loss in the victory.
Gonzalez and the offense put up 515 total yards as he completed 27 of 53 passes for 491 yards and 5 touchdowns. Weng's huge day ended with 7 receptions for 188 yards and 3 TDs. Apana had a game high 8 catches for 86 yards and Donte Sams had 5 grabs for 150 yards. Kretz finished with a TD on two receptions for 46 yards.
The Eagles, who have now won three straight over ranked opponents, will be on the road to take on another on Saturday when they travel to Riverside City. Saturday's kick-off at RCC is set for 1 pm.