LONG BEACH – Quarterback Will Burns put together another impressive game as he passed for 279 yards with 3 touchdowns and also ran for 111 yards and a TD to help lead No. 5 state-ranked Golden West College to a 31-24 win at No. 15 Long Beach City College on Saturday night.
The Rustlers remain unbeaten in the National Central League as they improved to 4-0 as well as 6-1 overall with two games remaining in the regular season. GWC has won four straight.
Golden West controlled the contest until Long Beach (5-3, 4-1 NCL) came alive late in the third quarter.
The Rustlers took a 10-3 lead into halftime after Burns tossed a 46-yard touchdown pass to Colin Payne in the first quarter and Fernando Mancilla nailed a 37-yard field goal as time expired in the second.
Golden West added to its lead when Burns connected with Trey Nelson for the first of two touchdowns, this one for 12 yards, at the 9:53 mark in the third to go up 17-3.
LBCC finally broke through the GWC defense, going 73 yards over 7 plays for a 27-yard touchdown pass from Jett Peddy to PJ Holmes with 6:30 to play in the third to cut the Rustlers lead to 7 points. Long Beach went on to tie up the game early in the fourth quarter after Peddy connected with Semaj Dunn for a big 73-yard TD.
But Burns took over late in the fourth quarter for a pair of touchdowns that ultimately decided the game. He tossed a 36-yard TD to Nelson with 5:48 to play to put the Rustlers back out in front.
On the ensuing drive, the Vikings looked poised to tie up the game once again. With LBCC driving towards the Golden West end zone, Peddy was sacked and fumbled the ball to the Rustlers' 30-yard line. Hudson Letterman came up with the big play as he scooped up the ball and returned it 67 yards to the Long Beach 3-yard line.
Two plays later, Burns snuck in from a yard out to extend the GWC lead to 31-17 with 1:48 to play.
LBCC managed to score a final TD with 20 seconds remaining to make things interesting but the Rustlers recovered the onside kick attempt and held on for the win.
Burns ended his night completing 20 of 30 passes for 279 yards and 3 TDs. He also carried the ball 14 times for a season-high 111 yards with a touchdown. Nelson had his finest game of the season with 5 receptions for a season-high 135 yards and 2 touchdowns.
The Golden West defense had a huge night in sacking Peddy six times in the contest. Letterman was in on a pair of sacks, while Kruz Wheeler, Terahiti Wolfe, and Andrew Jordan all contributed one.
Golden West returns to Huntington Beach next Saturday (Nov. 9) for its final regular-season home game. The Rustlers are set to host Cerritos College in a 12 p.m. Central League game at Rustler Stadium.
