Bulldogs Fall 19-12 at No.12 Cerritos College

After falling behind 13-3 in the first quarter, the Allan Hancock College football team climbed to within one point in the second quarter before falling 19-12 Cerritos College, the No.12 team in California, in a conference game on Saturday night.

Hancock suffered its second straight loss to one of the state's top 12 teams to fall to 2-4 on the season and 1-1 in conference play. Cerritos improved to 2-1 in conference and 5-2 overall. Hancock is 0-9 all-time against Cerritos.

Cerritos grabbed the early lead on a 61-yard touchdown pass from Jimmy Walker to Justin Caines on the game's second play from scrimmage. The extra point was no good, but the Falcons led 6-0 just 35 seconds into the game. Hancock responded with a seven play, 55-yard drive capped by a 37-yard field goal from Jose Morales. The Lompoc High School graduate and freshman has now made nine of his 11 field goal attempts.

After the two teams exchanged punts, Cerritos' Anthony Murray returned a Logan Sprouse punt 69 yards to the Hancock one-yard line. Joseph Donnell ran it in to give the Falcons a 13-3 lead with 2:13 to play in the first quarter.  The Bulldogs answered with a seven play, 70-yard scoring drive that ended with a two-yard touchdown run by freshman Lauina Futi to make it 13-10 Cerritos with 13:16 to play in the first half.

Hancock pinned Cerritos deep in its own territory and recorded a safety thanks to a sack from Kevon Perry to pull the Bulldogs to within 13-12 with 4:15 to play in the opening half. Those were the Bulldogs' final points in the game.

The Bulldogs trailed 13-12 to start the third quarter and strung together a drive to the Cerritos 10-yard line. However, the Bulldogs fumbled the ball and Erick Zarate recovered it at the 21-yard line to stymie the Bulldogs' scoring effort. Sprouse got the ball right back for Hancock. The Atascadero High School graduate picked off a Walker pass for his fourth interception of the year. The Bulldogs again shined on their next drive until Tristen Jeffries lost the ball after a 28-yard gain off a pass from quarterback Curry Parham.

Cerritos added to its lead with a 49-yard touchdown strike from Walker to Ainslie Johnson with 9:27 to play in the game. The Hancock defense stopped Cerritos' two-point conversion to keep it a 19-12 game.

The Bulldogs had two more drives to go for the equalizer, but could not get past the Cerritos 40 yard-line.

Futi enjoyed his finest game in a Bulldog uniform with 106 yards rushing on just 12 carries and one touchdown. He became the first Bulldog to reach the 100-yard mark this season. His previous season-high was 83 yards. Hancock finished with 169 yards on the ground on 44 carries, more than doubling the 82 from Cerritos. Parham added 33 yards on the ground, while Pioneer Valley High School graduate Codie Corbin added 20 yards on two carries. 

Parham completed 11 of his 24 passes for 115 yards. Jeffries caught two passes for 57 yards, while Breon Briggs and Terrell Dillion had two receptions apiece.

Deonte Barnes and Rafael Arellano led the Bulldog defense with 10 tackles apiece. Isaiah Hill and Willie Iribarren recorded six tackles apiece. Hill, a Pioneer Valley High School graduate, had four tackles for lost yardage for 21 yards, including one sack to go with three quarterback hurries. Perry and Cameron Lang added one sack apiece for the Bulldogs. 

Aaron Porter led the Cerritos defense with 14 tackles. The Falcons recorded seven tackles for lost yardage., including four sacks.

Walker finished with 172 passing yards and two touchdowns by completing eight of his 16 passes. He threw one interception. Travis Newberry led Cerritos with 58 rushing yards on 17 carries, while Johnson led Cerritos with four catches for 88 yards and one score.

Hancock returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 25, at College of the Canyons (1-1, 2-4) with kickoff at 4 p.m.  Canyons had a bye this week.