After a regular season where the Cerritos College football team posted an 8-2 record, the team has been seeded #5 for the Southern California Regional Playoffs and will travel to #4 seeded Ventura College for a 5:00 p.m. game on November 22. After years of only four teams making the playoffs, this is the first season the postseason has been extended to six teams. This is also the first playoff game for the Falcons since 2015. Cerritos finished in second place in the Central Division, while the Pirates tied for first place in the Northern Division. On the final night of the regular season, Ventura was defeated by Mt. San Antonio, 55-54, and led by as much as 44-24 in the third quarter.

This will be the first meeting between the two teams since a 35-31 Cerritos win on September 16, 2023, while the Falcons hold a 12-5 series lead. The two teams have played some exciting games in the series, with eight of the last 10 meetings being decided by a touchdown or less.

The Pirates rank third in the state by averaging 511.1 yards per game on offense, while Cerritos averages 437.9, which is 15th best in the state. The Pirates put up an average of 47.3 points a game, which ranks sixth in the state, with Cerritos putting 36.8 points a game, ranking them 16th. On the other side of the ball, the Falcons are 25th in the state by giving up 348.2 yards per game, with Ventura surrendering 392.5 yards per game, which puts them in 43rd in the state.

Freshman quarterback Jeremiah Calvin (Mayfair HS) leads the Cerritos offense, as he has completed 171-of-254 yards for 2,276 yards and 20 touchdowns, with 10 different players catching TD passes. The tandem of freshman Charles Clinton II (Long Beach Poly HS) and sophomore Malachi Wright (Mayfair HS) share the team lead with 36 receptions, with Clinton leading the team in yards (609) and touchdowns (8). Sophomore running back Josh Cason (Long Beach Poly HS) leads the ground game with 690 yards and 11 touchdowns, while the duo of sophomores Romeo Clark (Warren HS/Simpson, CA University) and Nick Adimora (Mayfair HS/Eastern Washington University) have also been key contributors. Sophomore kick returner Rocco Caldarella (Valley Christian HS) has returned 24 kickoffs for 655 (27.3 average), while kicker Jonathan Arreola (Mayfair HS) has converted 43-of-46 extra points and also kicked the game-winning field goal against Fullerton College as time expired.

Defensively, sophomore linebackers Rocky Jack (Summer Creek, TX HS/Orange Coast College), Clarence Chaney (JSerra HS/Southwest Baptist University) and Adrian Castro (La Serna HS) lead the team in tackles and have combined for 17 tackles for loss, with 10 players intercepting at least one pass. Freshman cornerback Max Rankin (La Mirada HS) has posted 34 tackles and leads the secondary with six broken up passes.

For the Pirates, Braesen Leon has seen the majority of time as signal-caller and has completed 125-of-183 passes for 1,818 yards and 21 touchdowns. The duo of Elijah Davis and Tayvion McCoy have both pulled in nine touchdown passes, while both have over 500 receiving yards. The ground game is a three-headed attack, with Javarien Salter and Koen Glover both over 600 yards, while Love Adebayo has rushed for over 500 yards. All three are averaging over six yards per carry. Bodie Ing has been a very effective kicker, as he has converted 48-of-50 extra points, as well as making 11 field goals. Glover also leads the team with a 26.1 average on kickoff returns.

On defense, linebacker Nick Duffy leads the team with 59 stops, while Marcellus Brigham has recorded 47 tackles and leads the team with four interceptions. Three others have recorded at least 40 tackles, while the Pirates have intercepted 18 passes, while they have 52 tackles for loss.