The Fullerton College Hornets defeated the Cerritos College Falcons 45-9 on Sept. 9 in the second home game of the season.
Although Fullerton got off to a slow start, they were able to find their stride offensively and win the game. This win notches the second win of the season for Fullerton and their second win in a row.
“We turned the ball over three times in the first half and that kind of hurt us, but once we got on track and got our offense rolling I think we did a pretty good job of doing what we do on offense,” said Head-Coach Tim Byrnes.
After winning the coin toss the Hornets kicked off to the Falcons. Fullerton forced Cerritos to punt, but their offensive woes quickly began. Fullerton College Sophomore running back, Joshua Jeffrey lost a fumble on the first play of the drive.
Cerritos wasn’t able to advance the ball as Fullerton forced Cerritos to punt again giving the Hornets the ball on their own 20-yard line. Fullerton’s offense then picked up.
Hornets sophomore quarterback, Kane Wilson then connected with Freshman wide receiver, Robert Downs on a 20-yard pass and a 19-yard pass. Both plays set up Wilson’s 2-yard touchdown run.
Wilson’s touchdown and Sophomore kicker, Antonio Estrada’s successful extra point put Fullerton up 7-0 with 8:44 left in the first quarter.
Cerritos’s Sophomore running back Vincent Brown answered back with a touchdown run of his own on the Falcons’ subsequent possession. Fullerton Sophomore linebacker, Cole McCarty blocked the extra point holding Fullerton’s lead at 7-6.
Playing off of the momentum of the quarter, freshman quarterback, Ladarius Skelton showed off his elusiveness on Fullerton’s next drive. Skelton for 31-yards on the drive, a drive that he capped off with a 3-yard touchdown run.
The Hornet offense began picking up. On their possession, Skelton connected with Sophomore wider receiver, Robert Johnson on a short pass while Johnson ran for a 73-yard touchdown. After a successful extra point by Estrada, Fullerton was up 21-6.
However, Fullerton had issues with protecting the ball. Their next drive saw Wilson throw an interception to Cerritos freshman cornerback, Josh Caldwell. The issues with ball control caused the Hornet offense to slow.
“Basically we rely on running plays as fast as we can and we weren’t running them as fast as we could and in some passion and zeal I made sure that they understood that we needed to go faster,” said Offensive Coordinator, Garret Campbell.
Wilson added two more touchdown passes and Skelton added one of his own later in the game. The two touchdowns plus an Estrada 24-yard built a comfortable lead for the Hornets.
“As a whole, we did what we were supposed to do, we could have done things better to the max of our potential but we did solid,” said freshman wide receiver, Devin Flemming.
Fullerton’s next game will be on the road at College of the Canyons. It will be their first road game of the season.
“It’s always tough to play on the road, tough to travel an hour and a half, but hopefully we’ll do it right,” said Byrnes.
The Hornets look to continue their success next week on Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. on the road against the Cougars.