Cerritos (5-1) took its first lead of the game when quarterback Jimmy Walker hit De’Jai Whitaker for a 17-yard touchdown, giving Cerritos a 40-38 lead with three minutes left in the game. On the extra point, EC freshman defensive back De’Juan Tyson scooped up the fumbled snap and raced to the end zone for the tying two points but Falcons’ kicker Adrain Saldana made a game saving, shoestring tackle at the eight yard line.

Cerritos College rallied from a 21-point deficit to defeat El Camino 40-38, on Saturday at Falcon Stadium.

“Our kids played very well tonight,” head coach John Featherstone said. “I felt we were gonna win this game but we don’t know how to finish a game yet. We need to learn how to finish.”

The Warriors led the fifth-ranked Falcons 38-21 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter when Falcons running back Robert Gordon burst up the middle for a 23-yard touchdown, cutting the lead, 38-28.

After a Boehm interception, Cerritos capped a 6-play 67 yard drive with a Gordon two-yard touchdown run, his second on the night, cutting the Warriors’ lead, 38-34.

“It was just the little mistakes that killed us at the end of the game,” sophomore wide receiver Chad Washington said. “We had a lot of opportunities to score but we didn’t capitalize.”

EC (2-3) got on the scoreboard first with a Boehm nine-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver William Morehand. Cerritos answers with a 1-yard touchdown run by running back Kishawn Holmes. Boehm added a 14-yard scramble for a touchdown, giving the Warriors a 14-7 lead in the second quarter.

The Warriors’ led 17-14 before Boehm hit sophomore running back Justice Anyanwu coming out of the backfield for a 17-yard touchdown, giving EC a 24-17 lead at halftime. Anyanwu finished with seven receptions for 112 yards.

EC freshman quarterback Brent Boehm got the start and passed for 397 yards and three touchdowns, but was intercepted twice. The Warriors had one final shot at a comeback with three minutes left in the game, but Boehm was sacked three times on the final drive, giving Cerritos the victory.

“As a team, we played great,” Boehm said. “Second half we didn’t click as well. We have to play as hard as we can and keep on playing until the end.”

Sophomore linebacker Fifita Azizullah led the defense with 10 tackles. Freshman linebacker Deadre Brewer added eight tackles, 4 solo tackles.

EC has an upcoming bye week and will be back in action Oct. 24 at Los Angeles Harbor College. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m.