Gauchos come up just short in opener

The Saddleback football program opened the 2015 campaign with a 26-20 loss to Cerritos College on Saturday night at Saddleback Stadium.  The Gauchos mounted a fourth quarter comeback came up just short when the Falcons intercepted a pass at the two-yard line.

Saddleback knew it was going to be a tough battle, opening against a program ranked No. 6 in the nation.  The Gauchos played admirably, but a handful of turnovers proved to be costly. 

The two teams were scoreless through one quarter when Cerritos opened the scoring on its opening second drive of the second quarter, with Jimmy Walker finding Stephon Smalls on a 51-yard scoring strike for a 6-0 lead.  The Gauchos quickly fired back when Johnny Stanton flipped a pass to running back Myron Buchanan, who ran 20 yards to tie the score.  Cerritos would grab a 13-6 lead later in the quarter when Walker found Dashawn Gordon for a 17-yard touchdown with just 10 seconds remaining in the half. 

The third quarter was very tight before Walker tossed his third touchdown of the game, finding Gordon again for a 29-yard touchdown to give the Falcons a 19-6 lead with 5:45 remaining in the third quarter.  Saddleback fired back at the beginning of the fourth quarter when Stanton drove the Gauchos down the field, finishing it off with a 3-yard run to narrow the gap to 19-14.

Cerritos then looked like they had put the final nail in the coffin on the ensuing drive, putting together a nine-play drive that consumed 3:15, finishing with a 2-yard touchdown run by defensive tackle David Fangupo. 

Saddleback looked like a team ready to answer on its next drive, but a fumble by Stanton at the Cerritos 27-yard line looked like a potential dagger.  However, the Gaucho defense rose to the occasion, forcing a fumble of their own when Walker coughed it up to give the Gauchos a second chance at the Falcon 17-yard line.  Saddleback cashed in as Stanton plowed through from two-yards out to get the Gauchos within 26-20 with 4:01 remaining on the clock.

Cerritos had a chance to put the game away, taking over the ball at their own 16-yard line with 3:55 remaining on the clock.  A pair of first downs moved the ball to the Falcon 40-yard line with under two minutes remaining, forcing Saddleback to use all three timeouts.  The Gauchos again stiffened, sacking Walker and forcing a false start to end the drive with 1:12 remaining in the game. 

Following a punt, Saddleback took over at its 31-yard line with 1:02 remaining, needing a big drive to stun the Falcons.  Stanton opened with a 23-yard strike to Nathan Rodgers as the crowd watched Saddleback move over midfield.  Two plays later he found Cody White for 16 yards, moving the ball to the Falcon 30-yard line.  Following a false start, Stanton had two incompletions to set up a 3^rd and 15 at the Cerritos 35-yard line with under 20 seconds remaining.  He then found Rodgers for a 25-yard gain and first down at the 10-yard line with the clock running down and no timeouts with the crown smelling upset.  Unfortunately, that was where the run of good news ran out, when Keith Walker stepped in front of a pass for an interception at the two-yard line with five seconds remaining, preserving the win for Cerritos. 

Stanton finished with 128 yards passing and one score through the air, rushing for 71 yards and two scores on the ground.  Buchanan finished with a team-high 87 yards on 18 carries on the ground.  Rodgers led the team with 48 yards receiving.  The defense was led by Blake Whitlock, who had a team-high 10 tackles and two tackles-for-loss.

Saddleback will looked to get back on the winning track next Saturday when it travels to Riverside College to take on the Tigers.  The kickoff is set for 6:00 PM.