The no. 4 Hornets earned an important win, 17-7, against the no. 10 Olympians at Fullerton Union District Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 29, in a Southern California Football Association Conference showdown. The Hornets remain undefeated in conference play with a 3-0 record.
Freshman quarterback Brandon Nunez began a nine-play drive from the Fullerton 25-yard line with 59 seconds remaining in the second quarter, converting to a first down, three times during the entire drive.
On a second and five play, Nunez completed a pass to sophomore wide receiver Will Gipson who ran out of bounds to stop the clock at the San Diego 46-yard line for a gain of 24 yards and a first down.
The very next play, Nunez completed a pass to freshman wide receiver Aidan Koenig, for a gain of 17 yards, stopping at the San Diego 29-yard line.
On a third and four passing play, the Olympians received a 14-yard pass interference penalty that took the Hornets to the San Diego nine-yard line, giving them a first down and putting them within field-goal range.
The Hornets weren’t able to capitalize but settled with a 20-yard field-goal from freshman kicker Jonathan Fobear for three points to take the lead 17-7.
“How we get to a game plan is that we usually talk about the last four or five films. We watch their games and take into account who we have and who is healthy for us and put our players in the best positions,” said head coach Garrett Campbell.
The end of the first quarter break did not stop the Hornets momentum, as sophomore running back Tyrell Greene Jr. helped take the Hornets lead to 14-0 when he scored a touchdown on a five-yard rush during the first play of the second quarter.
The first quarter was a one-sided affair in favor of the Hornets. After a nine-yard pass to Greene for the first down, Nunez set up a 21-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Jordan Smith to take the lead 7-0.
“Overall, I think we did a great job, we played really tough. We missed a few shots, but I feel like we’ll come back harder next week,” said Smith.
Hornets finished the game with 178 passing yards, 163 rushing yards, and a ball possession time of 30:38.
“I thought tonight we played pretty damn tough, and there are games where you got to play tough,” said Campbell to his team during the post-game huddle. “Football is a violent game and I thought you guys played tough tonight”
The Hornets (7-1, 3-0) will hit the road against Saddleback College (2-6, 1-2) on Saturday, Nov. 5, at 6 p.m.
