On paper, the Long Beach City College football team didn’t stand a chance in its Southern Conference opener at Grossmont College on Saturday.
Entering the contest, undefeated Grossmont ranked No. 4 in Southern California in total offense and points per game while Long Beach ranked last in defense and points allowed.
But the Vikings played their best all-around game of the season, and if not for four costly turnovers there might have been a different outcome than their 21-9 loss to the Griffins.
Long Beach had four passes intercepted in Grossmont territory, including two in the end zone and another at the Griffins’ 20-yard line that halted possible scoring drives. LBCC freshman David Covey also missed a 24-yard field goal and had another one blocked to keep even more points off the scoreboard.
Despite the errors, Long Beach trailed just 7-3 at halftime. Grossmont quarterback Dorian Staton capped a nine-play, 58-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run at the 2:44 mark in the first quarter and Covey nailed a 32-yard field goal for the Vikings with 6:43 to go in the second.
After being held scoreless in the second, Grossmont finally got back on the board in the third. On third-down and one-yard to go at the Griffins’ 43-yard line, a pass interference call on LBCC kept a Grossmont drive alive.
Three plays later, Staton connected with Patrick Maull for a 20-yard TD to give Grossmont the 14-3 advantage at the 5:11 mark
The Griffins sealed the victory with a five-yard touchdown run from Darrin Alix with 5:33 left in the fourth.
But Long Beach didn’t give up. Backup quarterback Tyler Tuiasosopo hit Chris Williams for a 30-yard touchdown pass with 1:25 left in the game to make the score 21-9. LBCC attempted an onside kick but was unsuccessful and Grossmont ran out the clock for the win.
Starting quarterback Kevin Lubner threw for 165 yards on 11 of 20 passing with two interceptions before leaving the game late in the second quarter with an injury. Tuiasosopo was 13 for 23 for 189 yards with two interceptions and a TD.
Sophomore Darrius Young led LBCC receivers with nine catches for 136 yards. Freshman Daveon Barner ran 16 times for 57 yards. On defense, sophomore Genesis Fonoimoana led LBCC with nine tackles (6 solo) while sophomore Lawrence Alai totaled seven tackles (6 solo), including three tackles for losses and a sack.
The loss dropped Long Beach to 1-4 overall and 0-1 in the Southern Conference while Grossmont improved to 6-0 and 2-0 in conference play.
The Vikings return to action next Saturday (Oct. 17) when they host Saddleback College at Veterans Memorial Stadium in a 6 p.m. Southern Conference game.
From Reports By LBCC’s Chris Ruiz
Photos by John Fajardo:
