The Warriors triumphed yet again in the first home game, beating the Long Beach Vikings 65-20 Saturday.
Following this win, EC has placed itself as the No. 2 football team among community colleges nationwide.
“We came into the game with the right state of mind,” fullback and running back Tony Sekona said.
Cornerback Mike Harris caught a pass thrown by quarterback Matt Simms and scored the first 10 points of the game.
“Offense made an early first turnover,” linebacker Dionte Brooks said.
Defense lent a helping hand. Running back and fullback Tony Sekona, and running back Jeremy Tucker-Ratliff both scored touchdowns, adding up to a score of 30-0 in the first quarter.
“We were capitalizing off their turnovers,” said Sekona.
Brooks, who had one interception, one big hit and six tackles, led the defensive players against the Vikings, allowing the offensive players to score a total of 560 yards. Simms also completed 88 percent of his passes.
“The offensive players have to send a message to other teams we’re going to play,” running back and fullback Charles Wolfgramm said.
While 30 points were scored during the first quarter, the team thought that it had a slow beginning.
“We came out a little flat during first quarter,” coach John Featherstone said.
After the first quarter, the team felt like the Vikings gave up.
“We took their hearts away in the first quarter,” Brooks said.
Featherstone was very impressed with the team’s defensive players. Defensive end Otis Brooks had two sacks, Harris and linebacker Kaimi Sarkissian each had a deflection, and Sarkissian also caught his own pass.
“I thought we played pretty good defense,” Featherstone said.
In the second half of the game, the Warriors special teams were also given a chance to shine when Dereck Mack managed to recover a high snap in the endzone and scored a touchdown.
the Southwest Cougars put the team in the right state of mind against the Vikings.
“The first game,” Featherstone said, “was about establishing consistency.”
The Warriros also managed to retain the Hatchett this year, which is a trophy won or lost between them every year.
At 1 p.m. this Saturday, the Warrirors play at Compton College in hopes of extending their winning streak.
“We are pretty good staying at focused,” Featherstone said.