Any concerns that the Warriors’ powerhouse defense and top ranking talent had vanished last year along with its transfers were quickly crushed at Murdoch Stadium Saturday.
With more than 600 total offensive yards gained, Dex Lucci and Co. proved the Warrior tradition is alive and well as they proceeded to easily cruise by L.A. Southwest College, 56-7. Lucci threw for 200 yards, and completed eight of 13 passes with two touchdowns, while his teammates supplied a surprise rushing game that provided too much muscle for the Cougars to handle.
“I knew we had some good runners going into the season, but we were just pleased with all of the effort from those guys,” coach John Featherstone said.
The Warriors more than tripled the Cougars’ rushing yards, signaling not just a return to their original form but a showcase of another side of their formidable offense.
Marcus Darden rushed for 118 yards, Steven Boyd rushed for 75 with two touchdowns, Melvin Richardson rushed for 65 yards for one touchdown, and Peter Walton rushed for 57 yards. All four combined for 390 yards from a total of 50 rushing attempts. The Warriors’ defense was also unrelenting, holding the Cougars to a mere 250 yards.
The high point of the entire game for the team came when Warriors linebacker Victor Betton returned a fumble for 58 yards for a touchdown.
Saturday, the Warriors will be heading out to San Diego to face Grossmont College, a team Featherstone said he knows will test his Warriors.
“We can’t really gauge what kind of team we have until we play someone on the top tier of college football which is what were going to be doing this Saturday,” Featherstone said. “L.A.’s team is pretty good, but Grossmont is going to really challenge us.”
According to Jcgridiron.com’s Communuty College Ranking, Grossmont College is ranked No. 17 in the nation, while EC is currently ranked No. 9.
“We’ve seen them on film and they throw and run the ball well. We played them last bowl game and they beat us 27-22,” Featherstone said.
“Our kids were pretty disappointed then, but now it has our sophomore kids fired up.”