Hounded at every turn by a barrage of blitzing and excellent pass defending, Omar Herrera, quarterback, committed three turnovers in three straight series as the Warriors fell apart in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s loss to Palomar.
“It certainly was a game we should have won,” John Featherstone, coach, said. “We had chances to bury it in the first half and we didn’t capitalize on situations we normally do.”
Blowing a 14-0 lead they had at the end of the second quarter, the Warriors (0-5) displayed an uncharacteristic performance in the second half.
Although it was its first actual loss of the season, the team had to forfeit its first four wins due to an ineligible player participating in those four games.
Palomar (3-2) staged a successful comeback, winning 25-21, scoring the game-winning touchdown with less than 40 seconds remaining.
The Warriors had led for the entire game up until the final minute of the game.
Next, the team will travel to College of the Canyons Saturday at 7 p.m., its first conference game of the season.
Whether it was too many turnovers or if ineffective defending was the problem, John Featherstone, coach, expressed concern for both but also wanted to put the loss in perspective.
“The silver-lining, of course, is that everybody in our division lost, too,” he said. “Is it a game I want back? Yeah. It’s a game we could’ve won and should’ve won.”
Lead by Peter Walton, running back, who gained 137 yards on 12 carries, the Warriors out-rushed and racked up 304 passing yards; nearly doubling the 161 yards of Palomar.
Down 21-6 at one point, Palomar scored 19 unanswered points, converting on 3 turnovers for a touchdown apiece.
Despite gaining 228 more yards than Palomar, EC committed two fumbles and Herrera threw a crucial last minute interception.
The Warriors were penalized 98 yards on 13 penalties.
The team has a bye this week, but they have much to work on when their season resumes next Thursday as they take on the No. 7 ranked College of the Canyons.
Last week, a very different Warrior offense seemed to cement its reputation this year as it rocked rivals Los Angeles Harbor College 56-37, earning a fourth place ranking in a recent regional state poll.
“We basically played only three quarters, we let up a little bit and things just went their way,” Taumoelau Kaveinga, linebacker, said. “Toward the last series we gave up an interception and all the momentum was on their side and by then it was too late. Turnovers were killing us, but still, our defense should have put out the fires.”