With another solid performance by the defense, EC shutdown Mount San Antonio 14-3, Saturday making the Warriors one of two teams still undefeated in conference play.

The victory improved the Warrior’s season record to 4-0 while the Mounties lost their first game of the year.

Sophomore defensive back Steven Akarim ignited the defense in the second half when he picked off Mt. SAC’s quarterbacks twice and returned them for a total of 48 yards.

EC’s freshman defensive back Nate Ness also added to the win when he returned an interception for 34 yards.

“I love what coach Tom Nelson and his staff did; I thought we had a great package for this week,” coach John Featherstone said. “We knew if they started throwing and didn’t have great field position, that it would play right into our strength defensively.”

The Warriors’ defense allowed only three points against the high scoring Mt. SAC offense. The EC defense also recorded a sack and three interceptions that were taken back for a total of 82 yards.

“Our defense played a great football game,” Featherstone said. “All week we’ve heard how great their defense is, but ours is pretty damn good too, and we proved tonight that we’re every bit as good as Mt. SAC.”

“This is one of the biggest wins we’ve had so far,” freshman quarterback Don Poole said. “Our coach was saying if you’re going to win one game this year, this is the game to win, and we did just that.”

The Warriors will take their winning streak on the road Saturday when they face Cerritos College at 7 p.m. in Falcon Stadium.

EC plans to defend the Milk Can trophy, which the Warriors have possession of since they beat Cerritos 14-7 last year at Murdock Stadium. “Cerritos is a big rivalry for us,” sophomore wide receiver Nick Haley said. “We’re playing for our Milk Can trophy and coach Featherstone always gets pumped up for that, so we can’t afford to take any steps back.”

The Falcons are coming off a loss on the road by Pasadena City College 10-7, and plan on obtaining their second win of the season as they have lost three of their last four games.

“Cerritos is a pretty tough team in our conference; you can’t overlook anybody,” Featherstone said. “We need to practice hard and to play great defense again to win.”

EC is now 2-0 in conference play and is one of two teams, Fullerton College being the other, to remain undefeated in the Mission Conference.

“I’m so happy for and proud of these guys,” Featherstone said. “We’ve had some great wins here at Murdock Stadium in the last twenty years,and this is one of the best ones we’ve had, especially against a good football team like Mt. SAC.”

“We played hard from start to finish and we found a way offensively,” Featherstone said. “It was a pretty even match, and we knew it was going to be a grinding fourth game and it was.”

EC’s offense gave the team an early lead when Poole, who completed 11 of 22 passes for 163 yards, led a first quarter drive which resulted in a touchdown pass to wide receiver Mike Sanford, who caught four passes for 92 yards, to put EC on top on the scoreboard.

The pass, intended for wide receiver Laferrell Payne, was deflected by the Mounties’ defensive back Tommy Musa; it then landed in the hands of Sanford, who ran it to the end zone for a 60-yard touchdown.

“Mike happened to be in the right place at the right time,” Featherstone said. “He didn’t give up on the play and it resulted in six points for us.”

“We played a great football game and moved the chains offensively,” Poole said. “We made big plays when we needed to and got this big obstacle out of the way.”