Facing Antelope Valley College for the first time in school history, the Cerritos College football team got off to a start they would like to forget. After spotting the Marauders the first 10 points early in the first quarter, the Falcons were then able to respond by scoring the next 31 points in the game and went on for a 44-23 win. Next Saturday at 6:00 p.m., Cerritos (1-0) will travel south to take on San Diego Mesa College (1-0).

After a 25-yard field goal by sophomore Christian Guerra (Paramount HS) got the Falcons on the board in the first quarter, they broke out for four touchdowns in the second quarter to open up a 31-10 lead at intermission. 

Starting the second quarter, the Falcons were able to move the ball down the field. A Marauder penalty was followed by an 18-yard run by freshman running back Joshua Cason (Long Beach Poly HS), which put the ball at the AVC seven-yard line. Cason capped off the drive with a seven-yard touchdown run, with Guerra converting the extra point.

The defense held the Marauders on their next drive, which forced a punt. The Cerritos offensive series was aided by sophomore Gavin Porch (Los Alamitos HS) returning the punt 22 yards to the Antelope Valley 21-yard line. Three plays later and the Falcons were in the end zone, as freshman quarterback Evan Tomich (Mayfair HS) found sophomore wide receiver Chase Grosfeld (Los Alamitos HS) from 18 yards out, which put the team in front, 17-10.

Freshman Owen Tomich (St. John Bosco HS), the brother of quarterback Evan Tomich got the ball back for Cerritos when he picked off Sharmon Rester at the Falcon 47-yard line and brought it back six yards. The offense was then jumpstarted by a 20-yard run from freshman running back Michael Hayes (St. John Bosco HS), while the drive culminated on an Evan Tomich touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Blair (Downey HS) from 29 yards out.

Defense helped set up the fourth consecutive touchdown for Cerritos, as sophomore linebacker EJ Smith (Warren HS) intercepted Rester at the Falcons five-yard line and returned it 80 yards to the AVC 15-yard line late in the second quarter. Tomich did the rest himself, as he raced 16 yards for a touchdown.

Although the Falcons had some issues with turnovers, they were able to take advantage of the Marauder miscues and turn them into points.

In a limited appearance, Tomich completed 12-of-21 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns, with Blair pulling in two of them. Both of his receptions went for touchdowns, while Grosfeld led all receivers with five catches for 79 yards.

The defense was led by sophomore Caleb Nuhi-Yandall (Banning HS), who had eight tackles and two quarterback sacks, with the team posting six sacks overall. Smith picked off a pair of passes to help lead the defensive effort.