FOOTBALL: AVC falls in shootout against L.A. Valley
Oct. 4, 2014
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
LANCASTER — There was nowhere to go but up for the Antelope Valley College football team.
A week after one of the most embarrassing outings in Marauder history, a 66-7 loss to American Pacific Conference bully Santa Monica College, AVC was back home on Saturday night, looking to take out its frustrations on visiting L.A. Valley College.
The start couldn’t have been more auspicious for the Marauders. Two minutes into the first quarter they led 14-0.
After the early bubble was burst with almost three full quarters of ugly football, AVC (2-3, 0-2 APC) found its offense again, as did L.A. Valley in a 30-27 win over the Marauders.
It was better than last week for AVC, but still just as disheartening.
After a difficult first half and forgettable third quarter that featured five punts and a turnover on downs, it was the Monarchs’ offense that finally made a team’s presence felt when backup quarterback Ellis Richardson spotted a lonely Kenneth Coley on the left side of the end zone. His 10-yard strike to Coley gave L.A. Valley a 16-14 lead with 14:04 to go in the game.
The following possession was also forgettable for AVC, a quick three-and-out that had it punting on fourth-and-long from its own 28-yard line. At that point, the Marauders were averaging 1.8 yards per play.
But the next time AVC got the ball, it blew up the stat when Ed Martin, who finished the game with 96 yards on seven rushes, broke off for a 60-yard touchdown run on the possession’s first play. The score put the Marauders up 21-16.
But with the Marauders issuing a challenge, L.A. Valley responded. Immediately.
Just like AVC, the Monarchs ripped off a huge play on their next play from scrimmage. Richardson lobbed a deep ball to Anthony Nickerson, who wrestled it away in the air from an AVC defender, and ran it all the way for a 69-yard touchdown that gave L.A. Valley a 23-21 lead.
AVC was up for the anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better theme of the game, and its defense got the next big play, with defensive back LaBon Fisher picking off Richardson in AVC territory and hurdling a handful of tacklers to record a 69-yard interception returned for a TD.
The Monarchs simply went back to work again and Richardson found DeLane Hart-Johnson in the very next possession for a 71-yard touchdown reception.
The seesaw battle had L.A. Valley up 30-27 with 4:48 to go in the game. After a pair of empty possessions for the teams, AVC had 1:45 left to outdo L.A. Valley one final time.
AVC QB David Erickson, who replaced starter EJ Watts to start the final quarter, completed a fourth-and-11 for a new set of downs at the Marauders’ 40-yard line with 1:07 to go. But he couldn’t repeat the feat on fourth-and-five and his short incompletion sealed the Marauders’ fate for the night.
With AVC not only losing a game by a wide margin the week before, but also starting quarterback RJ Gordon, the Marauders came into the matchup against the Monarchs licking their wounds, but also knowing they just had to do better than on Sept. 27.
A beautiful 13-yard touchdown pass to the corner of the end zone from Watts, a thrown-into-the-fire starter, to leading receiver Derek Denton gave the Marauders a quick 7-0 advantage at the 13:49 mark of the first quarter. It was the freshman’s first pass attempt of the game after Martin ran the opening kickoff back to L.A. Valley’s 40-yard line.
The Monarchs failed to get a first down on their first possession. Worst of all for them: Their punt attempt was blocked by AVC’s Jarius Garner, who picked up the football at the 10-yard line and took it into the end zone for a 14-0 lead just 2:02 into the game.
At that point, it looked like the Marauders were about to exact a similar type of punishment on the Monarchs as the one they received a week before.
But L.A. Valley didn’t allow another point for the rest of the half, and while its offense didn’t do anything, its defense drew it within 14-9 going into halftime.
L.A. Valley starting quarterback Collyn Anderson was 6-for-16 for 74 yards and threw an interception in a first half that saw him get yanked in favor of Richardson, who was then yanked back in favor of Anderson to end the half.
Richardson was 7-of-9 in the first half for only 28 yards, but that was good enough to earn him the start in the second half. Wise decision for the Monarchs as he finished the game 19-for-29 for 243 yards and three touchdown passes.
The Monarchs got back in the game after special teams players Darnell Corcwell returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown with 7:37 left in the second quarter. They then got a safety with 1:57 left in the period when AVC’s snap from its own 14-yard line went into the end zone and Watts fell on it.
L.A. Valley’s offense racked up 156 of total offense in the first half while AVC’s wasn’t much better in the same span, totaling 91 yards.
AVC ended the night 1-for-15 on third downs.
ALONSO TACANGA/Valley Press Assistant Sports Editor
LANCASTER — There was nowhere to go but up for the Antelope Valley College football team.
A week after one of the most embarrassing outings in Marauder history, a 66-7 loss to American Pacific Conference bully Santa Monica College, AVC was back home on Saturday night, looking to take out its frustrations on visiting L.A. Valley College.
The start couldn’t have been more auspicious for the Marauders. Two minutes into the first quarter they led 14-0.
After the early bubble was burst with almost three full quarters of ugly football, AVC (2-3, 0-2 APC) found its offense again, as did L.A. Valley in a 30-27 win over the Marauders.
It was better than last week for AVC, but still just as disheartening.
After a difficult first half and forgettable third quarter that featured five punts and a turnover on downs, it was the Monarchs’ offense that finally made a team’s presence felt when backup quarterback Ellis Richardson spotted a lonely Kenneth Coley on the left side of the end zone. His 10-yard strike to Coley gave L.A. Valley a 16-14 lead with 14:04 to go in the game.
The following possession was also forgettable for AVC, a quick three-and-out that had it punting on fourth-and-long from its own 28-yard line. At that point, the Marauders were averaging 1.8 yards per play.
But the next time AVC got the ball, it blew up the stat when Ed Martin, who finished the game with 96 yards on seven rushes, broke off for a 60-yard touchdown run on the possession’s first play. The score put the Marauders up 21-16.
But with the Marauders issuing a challenge, L.A. Valley responded. Immediately.
Just like AVC, the Monarchs ripped off a huge play on their next play from scrimmage. Richardson lobbed a deep ball to Anthony Nickerson, who wrestled it away in the air from an AVC defender, and ran it all the way for a 69-yard touchdown that gave L.A. Valley a 23-21 lead.
AVC was up for the anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better theme of the game, and its defense got the next big play, with defensive back LaBon Fisher picking off Richardson in AVC territory and hurdling a handful of tacklers to record a 69-yard interception returned for a TD.
The Monarchs simply went back to work again and Richardson found DeLane Hart-Johnson in the very next possession for a 71-yard touchdown reception.
The seesaw battle had L.A. Valley up 30-27 with 4:48 to go in the game. After a pair of empty possessions for the teams, AVC had 1:45 left to outdo L.A. Valley one final time.
AVC QB David Erickson, who replaced starter EJ Watts to start the final quarter, completed a fourth-and-11 for a new set of downs at the Marauders’ 40-yard line with 1:07 to go. But he couldn’t repeat the feat on fourth-and-five and his short incompletion sealed the Marauders’ fate for the night.
With AVC not only losing a game by a wide margin the week before, but also starting quarterback RJ Gordon, the Marauders came into the matchup against the Monarchs licking their wounds, but also knowing they just had to do better than on Sept. 27.
A beautiful 13-yard touchdown pass to the corner of the end zone from Watts, a thrown-into-the-fire starter, to leading receiver Derek Denton gave the Marauders a quick 7-0 advantage at the 13:49 mark of the first quarter. It was the freshman’s first pass attempt of the game after Martin ran the opening kickoff back to L.A. Valley’s 40-yard line.
The Monarchs failed to get a first down on their first possession. Worst of all for them: Their punt attempt was blocked by AVC’s Jarius Garner, who picked up the football at the 10-yard line and took it into the end zone for a 14-0 lead just 2:02 into the game.
At that point, it looked like the Marauders were about to exact a similar type of punishment on the Monarchs as the one they received a week before.
But L.A. Valley didn’t allow another point for the rest of the half, and while its offense didn’t do anything, its defense drew it within 14-9 going into halftime.
L.A. Valley starting quarterback Collyn Anderson was 6-for-16 for 74 yards and threw an interception in a first half that saw him get yanked in favor of Richardson, who was then yanked back in favor of Anderson to end the half.
Richardson was 7-of-9 in the first half for only 28 yards, but that was good enough to earn him the start in the second half. Wise decision for the Monarchs as he finished the game 19-for-29 for 243 yards and three touchdown passes.
The Monarchs got back in the game after special teams players Darnell Corcwell returned a punt 61 yards for a touchdown with 7:37 left in the second quarter. They then got a safety with 1:57 left in the period when AVC’s snap from its own 14-yard line went into the end zone and Watts fell on it.
L.A. Valley’s offense racked up 156 of total offense in the first half while AVC’s wasn’t much better in the same span, totaling 91 yards.
AVC ended the night 1-for-15 on third downs.