Just when it appeared all was lost, as the Cerritos College football team trailed Pasadena City College, 35-23 in the fourth quarter, the team battled back and pulled out a 36-35 victory. The win improved the Falcons overall record to 6-1, while they are now 4-0 in Central Division play. Sitting in a three-way tie for first place, Cerritos will travel to Golden West College (7-0, 4-0) for a noon game next Saturday.

After the Falcons pulled ahead, 36-35 on a seven-yard scamper for touchdown by freshman quarterback Jeremiah Calvin (Mayfair HS), the Lancers started their final drive with 2:35 left in the fourth quarter. After converting on a third-and-10 due to a Cerritos penalty, PCC quarterback Xavier Buckles connected with Maddux Mateski down the right sideline, where he appeared to break free from a Max Rankin (La Mirada HS) tackle. However, Rankin was able to punch the ball away from behind for a fumble and recovered the ball at the Cerritos 25-yard line.

Needing just one first down to be able to run out the clock, sophomore running back Josh Cason (Long Beach Poly HS) ran for 11 yards on second down to seal the victory for the Falcons.

Trailing, 35-23 with 12:06 remaining after Buckles raced into the end zone from 13 yards out, Cerritos started their comeback. On the fourth play of the drive, Calvin found sophomore tight end Danez Maxey (Buena Park HS) over the middle, and he raced 40 yards for a touchdown.

The Cerritos defense, who had struggled with their tackling through the first three quarters, stepped up and shut down the Lancers on their next drive. Looking at a third-and-one at the Lancers 40-yard line, running back Noah Triplett was stuffed by Ezra Mueller (Norwalk HS) and Miles Merchant (Gahr HS). Pasadena City decided to punt the ball away, with the Falcons taking over at their own 21-yard line.

Calvin completed a third down pass to sophomore wide receiver Malachi Wright (Mayfair HS) for 23 yards, while a pass underneath to sophomore running back Romeo Clark (Warren HS/Simpson University) on third down became an 18-yard game after his hard run that included breaking several tackles. Looking at a third-and-21, Calvin found freshman wide receiver Michael Ashford (Narbonne HS) across the middle, which resulted in a 20-yard gain. Making the decision to go for it, the offense used a bunch formation, with Calvin rolling out and finding a wide open Maxey, who released for a 15-yard gain to the Lancers nine-yard line. Two plays later, Calvin deked his way into the end zone and the eventual game-winning touchdown.

Calvin only completed 19-of-40 passes, but they went for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Maxey caught four passes for 67 yards, with freshman Charles Clinton II (Long Beach Poly HS) also pulling in four passes. The ground game was led by Cason, who finished with 95 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

In the first half, the Falcons defense picked off a pair of passes, including a pick-six from 42 yards out for sophomore cornerback Lamarr Stephens (Warren HS). Sophomore linebacker Clarence Chaney (JSerra HS) was unable to be blocked all night and finished with a career-high 14 tackles, with Rocky Jack and Mueller both recording seven stops. Merchant was a nuisance for the Buckles, as he two quarterback hurries and  1 1/2 tackles for loss to go with his six tackles.

Photos by Daryl Peterson