Warriors lose 22-20 in thrilling conference football matchup against Cerritos

By Khoury Williams|October 23, 2022

Stephen Bradford’s reaction to the stunning ending on the El Camino sideline after a field goal attempt hits the left upright with one second left on the clock in the fourth quarter during El Camino’s National Division Central Conference home game against Cerritos on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Featherstone Field. Cerritos defeated El Camino 22-20, and will resume conference play against Riverside on the road on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. at Ramona High School. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union)

“Let’s go, Warriors, let’s go!”

BANG-BANG!

“Let’s go, Warriors, let’s go!”

BANG-BANG!

The crowd cheered and banged on their seats to rally the Warriors during the final 37 seconds of the fourth quarter.

18 seconds left.

The ball is in the Warriors’ possession as the crowd erupts in cheers and applause for the home team.

Down by two points, the Warriors make a play for the touchdown.

Quarterback Corey Graham makes a pass to wide receiver Brendan Hodge who runs 15 yards up the field.

The Warriors get another 3 yards closer to the endzone and with five seconds left in regulation, the team decides to go for a field goal to make it a one-point game.

The Warriors kicked and missed the field goal, closing its second conference game at 22-20 against Cerritos on Oct 22.

Cerritos Falcons dominated the first half of the game, scoring its first touchdown within 10 minutes of the game’s first quarter due to a fumble recovered by defensive tackle Izaac Tauiliili.

During the second quarter, the Falcons scored two back-to-back touchdowns within five minutes, taking the total score to 20-0.

El Camino defensive backs coach Shawn Parnell instructs his defense during a National Division Central Conference home game against Cerritos at Featherstone Field on Saturday, Oct. 22. Cerritos upset El Camino 22-20, and will resume conference play against Riverside on the road on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. at Ramona High School. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union)

It wasn’t until the end of the second quarter that the Warriors bounced back after three touchdowns from Cerritos, responding with 13 unanswered points to make it a one-possession game.

El Camino wide receiver Joshua Lorick gets past one Cerritos defender and attempts to get past another during a National Division Central Conference home game on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Featherstone Field. Cerritos upset El Camino 22-20, and will resume conference play against Riverside on the road on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. at Ramona High School. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union)

Defensive back Quentin Brown ran 22 yards down the field, scoring a touchdown after recovering a fumbled ball from Cerritos.

Quentin Brown picks up a fumble which turned into a 22 yard fumble return for a touchdown in the second quarter during a National Division Central Conference battle at Featherstone field against Cerritos. Cerritos upset El Camino 22-20, and will resume conference play against Riverside on the road on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. at Ramona High School. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union) — Quentin Brown picks up a fumble which turned into a 22 yard fumble return for a touchdown in the second quarter during a National Division Central Conference battle at Featherstone field against Cerritos on Saturday, Oct. 22. Cerritos upset El Camino 22-20, and will resume conference play against Riverside on the road on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. at Ramona High School. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union)

Soon after making the first touchdown, wide receiver Jabari Hughes would score the Warriors’ second touchdown with only nine seconds left on the clock, followed by a successful field goal kick.

In the third quarter, running back Stephen Bradford scored The Warriors’ final touchdown of the night after he and his team gained 98 yards in 16 plays. The Warriors would tie the game 20-20 until the fourth quarter.

When speaking to The Union, Bradford said that his game-tying touchdown gave the Warriors the confidence they needed to turn the game around in its favor.

“[The game] was going good. It really gave us more momentum to come back at the start of the fourth quarter.” Bradford said.

Special teams coach John Rodriguez arguing a call with an official during a National Division Central Conference Game against Cerritos on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Featherstone Field. Cerritos upset El Camino 22-20, and will resume conference play against Riverside on the road on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. at Ramona High School. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union)

The fourth quarter was an intense matchup between the Warriors and the Falcons as the two rival colleges went back and forth with each other throughout.

The Falcons gained a two-point lead over El Camino from a safety due to an out-of-bounds fumble recovery by the Warriors. A high snap pushed El Camino 18 yards back, setting up for a 4th down and 68 with 50 seconds to go in the fourth quarter.

El Camino wide receiver Bray Weems during a National Division Central Conference game against Cerritos on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Featherstone Field. Cerritos upset El Camino 22-20, and will resume conference play against Riverside on the road on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. at Ramona High School. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union)

El Camino and Cerritos exchanged numerous fumbles and passed interceptions for the remaining 10 minutes of the quarter until El Camino’s final drive began with 18 seconds left.

With one second left on the clock, kicker Mark Waronek attempted a field goal from 35 yards which went wide left and hitting the left upright, missing the kick.

The Union spoke to Cerritos’ coach Dean Grosfeld after the game, who said that the Falcons didn’t “deserve” to win the game, however, he’s glad they did.

Offensive line coach Miles Mason arguing a call by an official at the end of the National Division Central Conference Game against Cerritos on Saturday, Oct. 22 at Featherstone Field. Cerritos upset El Camino 22-20, and will resume conference play against Riverside on the road on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. at Ramona High School. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union)

“We got really lucky and probably didn’t deserve to win it. We didn’t play very good,” Grosfeld said. “[El Camino] is good. They play very hard. It’s a rivalry game, so it’s always going to be good. We probably didn’t deserve to win but we’ll take it.”

Grosfeld continued praising El Camino College and said that the Warriors have a good game plan and are set to win “a lot of games.”

Defensive back Fred Martin (4) lines up against Cerritos' Noah Sanchez (9) during a National Division Central Conference game against Cerritos. Cerritos upset El Camino 22-20, and will resume conference play against Riverside on the road on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. at Ramona High School. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union) — Defensive back Fred Martin (4) lines up against Cerritos’ Noah Sanchez (9) during a National Division Central Conference game against Cerritos. Cerritos upset El Camino 22-20, and will resume conference play against Riverside on the road on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. at Ramona High School. (Greg Fontanilla | The Union)

Sharing many of the same thoughts as Grosfeld, El Camino’s coach Gifford Lindheim said he is proud of his team’s performance, despite the few setbacks they encountered.

“I think we got off to a slow start offensively but once we figured out what we were doing, we played pretty decent,” Lindheim said. “We had a bunch of opportunities tonight and I wish we could’ve capitalized on just one more.”

Now 0-2 in conference play and 3-4 overall, the Warriors will be facing off against Riverside City College Tigers (7-0) in its third conference matchup at Ramona High School’s field on Saturday, Oct. 29 at noon.

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