Every time El Camino scored, Long Beach City College would answer. When it seemed momentum would shift the Warriors’ way, the Vikings pulled away.
It was the theme of the night and the season as the Gifford Lindheim era ended its first season at EC with a 48-36 conference loss to Long Beach City College Saturday night at Murdock Stadium.
“We didn’t come out and execute like we should (have),” sophomore offensive lineman Emerald Faletuipapai said. “If we had more time, we would have been able to run up the score like we wanted to.”
On defense, the Warriors had a hard time trying to contain the potent Vikings’ offense.
After Long Beach jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Warriors got on the board when sophomore quarterback David Sills hit sophomore tight end Erik Henneman for an 8-yard touchdown.
LBCC added three touchdowns in the second quarter before EC sophomore running back Nicholas Hutson scored on a 3-yard run to cut the lead, 34-14, going into halftime.
“Long Beach has been one of the best teams in the state the last couple years,” EC coach Gifford Lindheim said. “We need to get there, and I think we will.”
At halftime, EC honored coach Gene Engle with the inaugural Character and Commitment award. Engle will retire after a storied 35-year career.
“Seeing all the former players today is what it’s all about,” Engle said. “I’ll continue to teach but I’ll miss the one on one relationship with my players.”
While the offense struggled, the running game found some room to run as freshman running back Donovan Davis broke loose for a 56-yard touchdown run with 5:44 remaining in the third quarter.
After an interception by freshman defensive back Shahman Moore, the Warriors capitalized on the turnover when freshman running back Nicholas Hutson scored on a 38-yard run to trim the lead, 41-29.
Hutson finished with 94 yards on 10 carries. Freshman running back Johnnell Jackson added 113 yards on 15 carries.
“I think we are headed in the right direction,” Lindheim said. “It’s a growing process and we will continue to grow and develop our players.”
