After rallying from a 17-point second half deficit to beat Chaffey College 35-24 Saturday night, the football team will look to build on its 2-0 record this weekend as it plays its first conference game in Riverside against the Tigers.
Saturday’s game will feature two of the top three running backs in the Mission Conference, and the play of both teams’ offensive and defensive lines could be a huge factor in the game’s outcome.
Warriors’ sophomore Brian Flowers currently ranks second on the conference-rushing list while Tigers’ freshman Richard Murrell sits behind Flowers at third.
“He’s a very good, physical running back,” coach John Featherstone said of Murrell, likening him to Jerome Bettis.
The Tigers also sport one of the top linebacking corps in the conference, with freshman Deylon Marrow and sophomores Jeff Benjamin and Chris Willis all in the conference top 10 in tackles.
“Their linebackers are very active,” Featherstone said.
The Tigers will be looking to pounce back at home following a 31-23 loss on the road against College of the Desert.
“They’re going to be hungry to be back at home,” Featherstone said. “For us, it’s the same old thing. We’re just going to take it one game at a time.”
The Warriors will look to develop more consistency on offense than they had against Chaffey last Saturday.
Following an interception by EC’s Damilyn Tanner, running back Flowers ran the ball 67 yards on the second play of the drive to give the Warriors a 7-0 first quarter lead.
“We went a little flat after that,” Featherstone said. “They took it to us pretty good in the second quarter. I was extremely disappointed in our execution. We didn’t do anything right in any phase of the game.”
The Warriors were shut out in the second quarter and held to only 24 yards on offense by the Chaffey Panthers’ defense.
Following a lackluster performance in the first half, the Warriors entered the locker room trailing 21-7 at the half.
“We had a stern conversation at halftime,” Featherstone said.
The Panthers then scored a field goal on the opening drive of the second half to make it 24-7.
“I’ve been here twenty-one years,” Featherstone said. “We’ve always had the kind of teams where if we get down, we’re still going to try to find a way to battle back and try to win.”
It only took 90 seconds for the Warriors to answer back with a 41-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Don Poole to freshman Kayne Farquharson.
The Warriors scored 28 unanswered points following the Chaffey field goal in the beginning of the third quarter.
Flowers had his second big game of the season, as he rushed for 175 yards and two touchdowns while catching two passes out of the backfield for 12 yards and another score.
After being pulled earlier in the game for freshman Lyle Moevao, Poole returned in the second half to complete 65 percent of his passes while throwing for three touchdowns.
Wide receiver Marcel Reece, who transferred to EC from Chaffey, did not seem fazed by the idea of squaring off against some of his former teammates.
“Marcel had a good, solid game,” Featherstone said. “He made a crucial catch for us in the fourth quarter, a long thirty-yard catch by the goal line.”
The catch was followed by a touchdown by Flowers, which put the Warriors within a field goal of tying the game.
The Warriors’ defense also shined in the second half; they held the Panthers to 16 yards of net offense over the final 25 minutes of the game.
Freshman defensive end Rolando Barragan was a force on the defensive line while middle linebacker, sophomore Tyler Flack, returned to the lineup. Each picked up six tackles and a sack.
Sophomore Chase Mattox made the most of his opportunities by contributing four hard-hitting tackles and a sack.
The Panthers’ hope of a comeback was finally dashed after sophomore free safety Nate Ness intercepted a deep pass with only 2:32 left on the clock.
Ness left the game after the play with bruised ribs, but Featherstone said that the injury is not serious and that Ness should be available for the game against Riverside.
“Nate’s a tough guy. He’ll be OK,” Featherstone said.
Defensive back Troy Crawford, who finished the game with a fumble recovery and a pair of interceptions, noticed the change in the Warriors’ performance from the first to the second half.
“We didn’t play that well in the second quarter,” Crawford said after the game. He then motioned toward the 35-24 score on the scoreboard and said, “That’s all that matters.”
