Awaiting a long and hot bus ride back to El Camino following a close loss to Bakersfield on Saturday, September 8, the Warriors football team seemed defeated.

Players were arguing between each other, the starting quarterback was injured, and everyone was irritated.

They could have chosen to let that feeling define their season. Instead, Warrior football fans were treated to their first victory of the season, as El Camino (1-2) defeated LA Harbor (1-1), 49-24 on Saturday.

“We felt like were a better team than we have shown and that would prove in the long run.” Head Coach Gifford Lindheim said.

The team would have to wait for its chance to prove itself, as the Seahawks put together a seven-play 65-yard drive to begin the game that was capped off by a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Aidan Kuykendall to wide receiver Brandon Gosdoski. Then, after a Warriors fumble, Axel Perez kicked a field goal to make the score 10-0 in favor of LA Harbor.

“We didn’t get off to a good start at all,” Lindheim said. “That thought definitely creeps into the back of your head saying, ‘here we go again’.”

That sentiment was also felt in the crowd. Early in the game, groans and boos were abundant, as the crowd had anticipated a blowout in favor of the Warriors.

It didn’t take long for the boos to turn to cheers and the groans to turn to applause. El Camino marched 79-yards down the field and scored on a 37-yard pass from freshman quarterback Grant Ferrauilo to freshman running back Shawn Prejean to make the score 10-7.

After a quick three and out, Ryan Nixon returned a blocked punt 40-yards for the Warriors second touchdown. The score gave the Warriors their first lead of the game at 14-10 with six minutes left in the second quarter.

“After that, we stalled out a little bit, because we didn’t know how to act. We haven’t had a lead,” Lindheim said.

The teams would both seem to stall, though, as neither team scored until midway through the third quarter when Kishawn Berry caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Ferrauilo. After 71-yard run by Lamont Hunt Jr., cut the lead to 21-17, LA Harbor seemed to run out of gas.

“We have forty something guys, and (El Camino) have 100,” LA Harbor head coach Dean Dowty said. “We felt like we moved the ball well, but we got tired.”

The Seahawks may have been tired in this one, but the same cannot be said for Warriors sophomore wide receiver Brian Keskeys. The dynamic wide-out caught two touchdowns in the game, including a 55-yard score to make the score 28-17.

“This was his first game back from injury and we really wanted to get him going,” Ferrauilo said of Keskeys. “He’s just the kind of receiver that never gives up.”

Keskeys and Raymond Graham would add the last two scores for the Warriors, giving the Warriors four different players with a receiving touchdown.

“Today was a statement,” Keskeys said. “We battled through the losses and got things together.”

The offense had to come together without starting quarterback Aaron Thomas, who was unavailable due to a neck injury. The team simply went to the next man up, and Ferrauilo filled in admirably in route to 349-yards passing and 5 touchdowns.

“We had a great week of practice, working on everyone doing their job and executing,” Ferrauilo said. “It showed today how much work we put into this.”

Despite the excellent performance, Coach Lindheim said he expects both quarterbacks to play when healthy. That means possibly rotating quarterbacks as early as next week.

“We can play both QB’s because they both work hard, and they’re both leaders in practice,” freshman running back Raymond Graham said. “So I fell like no matter whichever of them is in there, we can still move the ball.”

The Warriors will have a week to decide on their quarterback rotation, as they are set to take on the Pirates of Orange Coast College on Saturday, September 22. Kickoff is at 6 p.m at LeBard stadium in Costa Mesa.

Updated Monday, Sept. 17 at 9:34 a.m. headline was edited for clarity.

Updated Tuesday, Sept. 18 at 11:53 a.m. to include photo credit.