The Lancers football team displayed it’s much improved defense for the home fans during Saturday’s 19-7 victory over LA Harbor College. The victory was the Lancers first home win since 2011.
Despite a scoreless first quarter and six turnovers, the Lancers displayed a sense of resiliency that was often missing from last year’s 1-9 team.
“It was extremely important for us to win early at home,” freshman defensive tackle Patrick Webb said. “We always want to protect our house because we have high expectations and have set high goals for our team that we can only achieve by winning.”
The Lancers scored their first points of the game with 14:09 left in the second period on a 31-yard field goal from kicker Franklyn Cervanka.
On the next offensive series the Lancers advanced the ball to Seahawks three yard line with a 29-yard pass from freshman Dejon Williams to sophomore running back Zander Anding. The Lancers took a 10-0 lead when Receiver Ahmad Springer lined up at quarterback and completed a short pass to back-up quarterback Trevor Hampton.
Although the Lancers may have gotten off to a slow start in the first quarter, the victory showcased a balanced offensive attack and a much-improved defense that held LA Harbor scoreless throughout the first half.
“Defense played a huge role in the win,” defensive end Kevin Bailey said. “There were mistakes on both sides of the ball that we all have to work on but our offense still put points on the board to help us secure the win.”
With 4:32 remaining in the first half the Lancers opened up the lead with a 67-yard touchdown catch by sophomore receiver Turner Jackson. Jackson turned a short pass from Williams into a crowd-pleasing sprint down the sideline to put the Lancers up 16-0 at halftime.
“If we can continue to do the things that we identify as important we will be successful,” head coach Fred Fimbres said. “Our defense stepped up, or at the very least stopped LA Harbor when they had a short field or a momentum swing.”
Although the Lancers were unable to get into the endzone in the second half, freshman running back Justin Carroll subdued the Seahawks defense with a 69-yard run deep into Harbor territory. Cervanka capped the drive with a 30-yard field goal with 9:07 remaining in the game.
The Seahawks only touchdown came on a PCC fumble that allowed Brilliant Taylor to dive into the end zone at the beginning of the third quarter. Carroll finished with 109 yards on 12 carries while Williams passed for 271 yards, completing 17 of 26 passes. Jackson was the top receiver in the game, finishing with a game-high 123 yards on five receptions.
Sophomore defensive back Marlon Dobbins recorded two key interceptions, including one in the second half and defensive back Robert Morgan added one interception and four tackles.
“We need to improve on our ball security and protecting the football,” Fimbres added. “We turned it over a few times. We have a lot of youth on our team and they’re getting used to the speed.”
“The win was very important to us as a team,” Bailey said. “Now we know what it takes to work together and persevere through rough patches of the game.”
The 1-2 Lancers return to action next Saturday, Sept. 27 when they travel to face College of the Canyons. Kickoff is at 6 p.m.
“If we continue to dominate on defense and eliminate turnovers on offense I believe we have the potential to surprise a lot of teams.” Webb said.
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