No. 17 Bulldogs Rally to Top No. 23 East LA in League Opener

MONTEREY PARK, Calif. - The No. 17 Allan Hancock College football team rallied from behind to pull off a 31-23 victory over No. 23 East Los Angeles College to open the conference slate on Saturday evening. | BOX SCORE

The Huskies (3-3) held a 6-0 advantage at the end of the first frame after capitalizing on a pair of fumbles that led to field goal drives. East LA extended the lead to 13 with an early touchdown in the second quarter, but a nine-yard pass to the endzone from Esekielu Storer to Mike McCoy got the Bulldogs on the board with 13 seconds remaining in the half. Hancock (4-1) took the lead for the first time on the opening drive of the second half, which ended with a three-yard scamper across the goal line by Maurice Smith. A 32-yard receiving touchdown from Jaleel Walker and a successful 33-yard field goal from Colton Theaker gave the Bulldogs a 24-13 lead at the conclusion of the third frame. Teams went back and forth in the final quarter as Smith recorded his second rush through the goal line and the Huskies notched a 67-yard rushing touchdown and a field goal, but a late interception by Justin Hooper closed the door for ELAC. 

Offensively, the Bulldogs posted 237 total offensive yards while averaging 4.2 yards per play. Walker led a trio of receivers with 93 yards and one touchdown on four catches, followed by McCoy (47 yards, 1 TD) and Keyshawn Pu'a. Smith led the pack of running backs with 64 yards and two touchdowns on 20 tries. Christian Erickson also tacked on 26 rushing yards on nine carries. Storer finished the night with 139 passing yards and an 8-for-18 completion rate. 

Defensively, Coach Damron's squad forced three fumbles and registered two interceptions en route to the victory. LJ Vongsy led the effort with nine tackles and half a sack. Devin Guggia (7), Jaquez McWilliams (6), John Sniffen (6), and Ronald Fuselier (5) rounded out the top tacklers on the night. Jordan Fields and K'Hari Upshaw were each credited with forced fumbles while Justus Makainai recovered one. 

Erickson led the kickoff return crew with 50 yards on two attempts, followed by a 20-yard return from McWilliams, a 12-yard return by BJ Jordan, and a nine-yard trek for Latrell Brown. Theaker finished the contest with a perfect 4-for-4 showing on PAT's and went 1-for-1 on field goal tries. He also recorded 203 punting yards and 317 yards off the tee. 

The Bulldogs will head east to face the No. 4-ranked College of the Canyons squad on Saturday, October 23rd, for another National Northern League showdown. Kickoff is set for 4 PM at Cougar Stadium in Santa Clarita, Calif. 

NOTABLES:

• The Bulldogs now hold a 4-2 all-time record over East LA, dating back to their first meet-up in 2003.
• These squads last met in 2017, which resulted in a 21-13 victory for AHC.
• Smith now ranks 9th in the SCFA with five rushing touchdowns on the season thus far.
• AHC trails in the all-time series record to Canyons, 9-18-1, which dates back to 1972.