No. 16 Bulldogs Edged by No. 7 Cerritos after Late Touchdown

NORWALK, Calif. - The No.16-ranked Allan Hancock College football team fell short on the road at No. 7 Cerritos College in a 22-17 decision on Saturday evening. | BOX SCORE

Both teams were scoreless through the opening quarter as neither offense could find a groove, combining for five punts and one turnover on downs through the first six drives of the game. Jenaris Clay got the Bulldogs (2-1) on the board after hauling in a 17-yard catch from Esekielu Storer with just under 10 minutes remaining in the second frame. Cerritos (3-0) answered two minutes later with a four-yard scamper through the endzone to knot the score. Hancock led by three at halftime after Ray Seabury capped off a 14-play drive by sending a 36-yard field goal attempt through the uprights with seven ticks remaining on the clock. 

The Falcons struck first after the intermission and tied the score once more with a successful 32-yard field goal try of their own with three minutes remaining in the third. Hancock surged ahead in the final minute of the frame when John Allen capped off a six-play drive with a short rush through the goal line. Cerritos put together a quick scoring drive to open the fourth quarter by notching a 34-yard touchdown with 10 minutes to go, but continued to trail by one after missing the extra point attempt. Hancock suffered a quick three-and-out drive on their next possession, which ended in a 22-yard punt by Cody Hall. The Falcons then hauled in a 34-yard pass for what would become the game-winning touchdown with 3:33 remaining after a receiver broke free down the sideline before failing the two-point conversion attempt. 

The Bulldogs took over possession at their own 15-yard line after a return attempt from Jordan Smith was snuffed out with 3:27 left on the clock. Three straight plays moved the ball to the Cerritos 49-yard line, but pair of incomplete passes and a stuffed rushing attempt put AHC in a 4th-and-10 situation. Jaleel Walker came through for Hancock after snagging a pass from Storer on the sideline to move the sticks for a fresh set of downs, but the drive came to a close early with a snap fumble that was recovered by the Falcons on the next play.

Both squads finished the game with 294 yards of total offense. Cerritos primarily operated through the air with 236 receiving yards and a 15-for-28 completion mark, while Hancock posted 122 rushing yards and 172 passing yards. Storer, who quarterbacked the offense, completed 16 of 24 passing attempts while tossing one touchdown. Ferrari Busby led the ground crew with 45 rushing yards on eight attempts, followed by Allen's 25 yards and one touchdown. Raymond Paulo led the pack of receivers with 98 yards after eight catches, while Walker tallied 30 yards and Clay finished with 28.

Seabury closed the night with a 2-for-2 mark on PATs and went 1-for-2 on field goal attempts. He also notched 227 yards off the tee with two touchbacks after four kicks. 

Jordan Fields led the way for the defense after registering eight tackles and one sack that forced a loss of nine yards, followed by seven tackles from Sidney Jefferies and six by Jesse Garza. Paulo added to the mix with one sack while Andrew Lauritzen and Issac Faagata combined for another. 

NOTABLES:

• This marked the 12th time that the two programs have met, dating back to their first face-off in 1962. Cerritos now holds the series record, 11-1
• Hancock's defense limited the hosting squad to just 38 yards on the ground in the first half and 20 in the second
• The Bulldogs currently rank 6th in the SCFA with 11 sacks through three games

UP NEXT:

The Bulldogs are set to host No. 14 Fullerton College on September 24th at 2 PM. Tickets can be purchased online at ahcbulldogs.com/ticketing. As a reminder, cash will not be accepted at the gate and the full description of ticketing procedures can be found here.