The Hornet Football Program is trying to make the nickname “Swarm City” stick. It can be seen on their Instagram, on the home sideline at Sherbeck Field and all over FC football gear. The team is staying true to this name by playing like a swarm of hornets again this season, as they continued their dominant winning ways, beating the Eagles 44-20 in their conference opener at home Saturday afternoon.
The Hornet defense performed efficiently with three sacks and three takeaways which came in the forms of two interceptions and one forced fumble. The stifling defense allowed just 276 yards of total offense on the day.
Though the Eagles (0-4, 0-1) took an early 7-0 lead, Hornets sophomore kicker Jonathan Fobear kicked a 30-yard field goal to get the Hornets on the board. That’s when the flood gates opened.
With a minute left in the first quarter, Hornets sophomore running back Michael Vakapuna pounded a 1-yard touchdown to give the Hornets a 10-7 lead.
Fullerton started the second quarter with a bang as sophomore quarterback Brandon Nunez connected with sophomore wide receiver Christian Steward for a 42-yard touchdown to put his team up 16-7.
“It was a good week of practice, I thought our kids did a good job. They were coming in at 0-3 and we were coming in at 3-0. It’s a matter of making sure that we play to our level and the standards that we have set over the last five decades,” said head coach Garrett Campbell.
The third quarter belonged to Nunez as he threw three touchdown passes in the period. Two were to a pair of sophomore tight ends in Deven Jones and Cameron Woods, as the other one went to wide receiver CJ Broy.
Sophomore backup quarterback Garrett Larson threw a touchdown of his own, connecting with sophomore wide receiver Jordan Tate from 17 yards out in the third quarter. The quarter ended with a score of 44-7, thanks to an impressive display of offense from the Hornets (4-0, 1-0).
The Eagles tacked on a touchdown of their own in the third quarter with an impressive 15-yard run from sophomore running back Matthew Caldera, putting a small dent into the Hornets onslaught.
The Hornets had a very slow fourth quarter and the Eagles capitalized on it, scoring their final touchdown of the afternoon in garbage time with a 23-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Zach Zella to freshman wide receiver Malik Blackmon.
Nunez showed out once again, making his case that he was one of the top quarterbacks in all of California JUCO football. Nunez threw for 257 yards with four touchdowns and zero interceptions in this contest.
“We got all the guys going with catches, and we are planning on doing the same performance we did today for the rest of the season,” said Nunez.
The Eagles ran a two quarterback system and both were effective, but the Hornets defense stepped up all game long and held the Eagles offense in check for the most part.
“I am proud of my guys, it’s hard to win a football game. We played a little sluggish in the first half and in the second half we did better, said Campbell. It’s the kind of thing where if you start taking winning for granted, it will come back and strike you in the head.”
Fullerton College hits the road next Saturday to face the Southwestern College Jaguars at 6 p.m. on Sept. 30.
