By Daniella Molina
The Huskies earned their third consecutive win Saturday night with a 31-13 victory against Mt. San Jacinto college putting them into a first place tie in the Mountain Conference.
The ELAC team was jump-started by Allen Infante’s 49-yard kick-off with the Huskies defending the east goal. The Eagles immediately lost possession of the ball on a first down fumble recovered by cornerback Tyron Moore.
A rushing touchdown by running back Preston Oliver and a successful conversion put the Huskies in the lead 7-0 early in the first quarter. ELAC’s defense showed up early holding the Eagles offense to one yard in the first quarter. ELAC controlled the ball for more than 10 minutes in the first quarter racking-up a total of 143 yards. Running back Preston Oliver ran for 73 yards in the first quarter.
Fumbles continued to plague Mt. San Jacinto as ELAC defensive linemen Rigo Verdin recovered a second fumble at the 27-yard line by Eagle quarterback Nigel Barksdale. The turnover gave ELAC possession of the ball, which led to Infantes’s 25-yard field goal, ending the first quarter, with the Huskies leading 10-0. Huskies quarterback Aaron Cantu’s pass to wide receiver Chris Clark scored ELAC’s second touchdown of the night, putting the Huskies on top 17-0. The Huskies started the second quarter with big rushing yards gained by running back Justin Forte. Forte racked up 42 of his 57 yards before the half.
Cantu’s pass to wide receiver Carlos Arrendondo for a first down, set up an 80-yard touchdown pass to ELAC wide receiver, Luther Walker. Infante converted the extra point, and the Huskies went up 24-0. With two minutes left in the second quarter, cornerback/wide receiver Nasir Moore intercepted an Eagles pass helping keep the Huskies in the lead. The Eagles opened the third quarter with a vengeance when Eagle running back Joshua Reed rushed for a 43-yard touchdown and Jamie Lucio’s extra point put the Eagles back in the game 24-7.
Huskie penalties, incomplete passing and a missed field goal led to a break for the Eagles who completed a 16-yard passing play and a 64-yard touchdown by Reed. The third quarter was clearly the Eagles best, but the Huskies were about to put the game away for good. Cantu led the Huskies in for the kill at the start of the fourth quarter. Walker scored his second touchdown of the night, with a crisp 26-yard pass reception, boosting the Husky lead to 31-13.
It wasn’t long before the Eagles’ view of victory was plucked away by wide receiver Lanny Delgado’s interception, resulting in a touchback. By the end of the game the Huskies’ Preston Oliver had 135 total yards along with Walker’s 174-yard totals. The Huskies’ victory ended strong with one last sack of Barskdales by Moore, and Hector Cazales. The victory moved the Huskies up the conference standings. Next week’s game against Victor Valley could be a make or break game for the team who need a win in order to advance to the conference championship.
The last time ELAC won a state championship was more 30 years ago. Coach Lynn Cain brought his team to the bleachers after Saturday nights’ game and thanked the crowd. The next home game is against Compton College and takes place on Nov. 4, at 6 p.m.
