NOT IN THE CARDS
On Saturday, the No. 2 seeded Hornets had every advantage going into the SCFA semifinal game but could not brush past No. 3 Ventura College falling 27-24.
Going into the game Fullerton had an unblemished 10-0 record, landed the higher seed, had home-field advantage, and simply had a better team on paper. Unfortunately, it was not the Hornet's day as the Pirates used a strong running game (250 total yards), while capitalizing on a couple of key defensive plays.
The first quarter went according to plan with the Hornets taking a 10-0 lead. The FC defense shut the Pirates down in the first drive of the game and the offense then took the ball down the field 56 yards in 7 plays. It was running back Garnett Davis III that ran the ball into the endzone from 8-yards out for the first score at 10:27. Jonathan Fobear booted in a 29-yard field goal with 4 seconds left in the quarter.
At the start of the second quarter, Ventura took the ball down the field 88 yards on 13 plays ending the drive with a 2-yard touchdown by running back Lamonte James. The PAT attempt was no good and the Hornets held a 10-6 lead.
With 3:09 left in the first half, Ventura took advantage of an interception by Zane Carter, who took it all the way to the house from 30-yards out. The Pirates went for two, but the point-after attempt failed.
Down for the first time in the game 12-10, Christian Steward took the kickoff 42-yards giving Fullerton nice field position on the FC 47-yardline. Four plays later, the Hornets hit paydirt on a 40-yard strike from Brandon Nunez to Steward putting Fullerton back on top 17-12.
FC could not kick it into gear to open the second half going three-and-out. Ventura bounced back with a score on the next drive on another rushing touchdown by Lamonte James from the 10-yardline.
Down 20-17, the Hornets put a successful drive together at the 7-minute mark. Michael Vakapuna ripped off an impressive 50-yard run setting up Brandon Nunez's 16-yard TD pass to tight end Cameron Woods. With a 24-20 advantage, the game felt like it was finally swinging FC's way. A strong defensive stand near the end of the third quarter looked to solidify the Hornet's position, until a costly penalty (roughing the punter) allowed the Pirate's drive to continue. It did not take long for backup QB Ezekiel Savage II to power the ball in with his legs from 3-yards out giving VC a 27-24 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
In the remaining quarter, the Hornets had a couple of deep field goal opportunities from 34 and 47 yards out, but the wind was not kind making it very difficult to convert. The Pirates continued with their successful running game burning time off the clock for the win. No. 3 Ventura will face the winner of the No. 4 Riverside City/No. 1 Mt. SAC game next weekend.
It was truly a great 2023 season for the Hornet football team that won another conference title (7-0), ended the season with a 10-1 overall record, and finally played on the FC campus for the first time in over one hundred years with the opening of Hal Sherbeck Field. The future is bright for this historic program.
