With the clock winding down towards the end of the first quarter, El Camino College football team sophomore wide receiver Robert Ferrel took the handoff on a trick play.

As the San Diego Mesa College defenders attempted to adjust, Ferrel connected a 13-yard touchdown pass to sophomore quarterback Jerman Gotoy who was wide open to give the Warriors a 14-0 lead over The Olympians (4-2, 0-1 in conference).

“Every time we come out here I feel like I can improve and get better,” Gotoy said. “I feel like my [offensive line] really gave us the game today, they dominated up front and set the tone for us. [Our offense] is rolling right now and we just got to keep it going.”

Gotoy led ECC (5-1, 1-0 in conference) to its fifth win in a row in its conference opener Friday, Oct. 19, finishing with 261 passing yards and a total of four touchdowns in a 45-27 victory.

The Warriors’ offense was in sync early in the first quarter as Gotoy connected with wide receiver Cory Payne who blew past The Olympians defense on a slant through the middle of the field for an 86-yard touchdown to put the Warriors on the scoreboard first.

The Warriors’ strong defensive unit led by 6 foot, 195 pound sophomore linebacker Aaron Hatfield kept the Olympians offense out of the red zone for a majority of the first quarter as he led the Warriors’ defense with seven tackles in the game.

Ferrel kept the offense rolling completing a 13-yard touchdown to Gotoy on the final play of the first quarter for the Warriors to earn his first passing touchdown of the season.

After a slow start, San Diego Mesa College quarterback Asante Hartzog came out firing in the first 10 minutes of the second quarter connecting on two touchdown passes to wide receiver Taj Broomfield to put up 13 unanswered points on the scoreboard for The Olympians.

Hartzog finished with 287 passing yards and four touchdowns in the game, while Broomfield finished with 12 catches for 165 yards and three touchdowns but The Olympians defense could not keep the Warriors out of the end zone.

The Warriors capped off the first half with Gotoy’s third touchdown of the game, finding Robert Ferrel in the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown that was followed by a 39-yard field goal from ECC kicker Campbell Geddes to give the Warriors a 24-13 lead heading into halftime.

“We made too many mistakes and we got beat by a more disciplined football team,” The Olympians head coach Gary Watkins said. “We need to [work on] getting the running game going and taking care of the football.”

The Warriors’ offense continued the second half right where they left off, scoring 14 unanswered points on a 30-yard run from Shawn Prejean and a 24-yard touchdown pass from Gotoy to Dion Moore.

ECC’s De’jon Van Hook put the exclamation point on the victory at the start of the fourth quarter returning a blocked punt for a touchdown to put the Warriors ahead 45-20.

“I was really pleased with the outcome of this game, our guys came to play tonight and did a nice job,” Warriors’ head coach Gifford Lindheim said. “As long as we have the right energy and the right mindset and continue to improve each week and execute, we’ll take our chances with anybody.”

The Warriors will look to extend their win streak as they host Mt. San Antonio College (4-2, 1-0) on Murdock Stadium’s Featherstone Field Saturday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m

“[Mt. SAC] is a very physical football team,” Lindheim said. “We’re going to have our hands full and hopefully we’ll be ready to answer the bell but I think our guys will.”

Next Game:

Who: El Camino College Warriors vs Mt. San Antonio College Mounties

When: Saturday, Oct. 26, at 1 p.m.

Where: Murdock Stadium

Address: 16007 Crenshaw Blvd, Torrance, CA 90506

For a map of the El Camino College campus, click here.