East Los Angeles Scoreboard, Week 11

 

 

November 11, 2012

By Tadzio Garcia

 

Soccer teams end on high and low notes

The women’s soccer team closed out the regular season 4-1-1, in their last six South Coast Conference games including a 4-1 shocker over then No. 6-ranked Mt. San Antonio College.

As a result, they stand a good chance to advance to the playoffs.

The Huskies are ranked No. 23 in the state but more importantly No. 15 in South Region poll. Sixteen teams will advance to the playoffs out of the South Region.

ELAC stands 9-7-5 overall and ends SCC play in fifth place with a 6-5-3 record. The Huskies however have a higher power ranking than second place Pasadena City and third place Long Beach City colleges.

The Huskies closed out the regular season with a 4-1 win over Los Angeles Harbor College, Friday, Nov. 9 at home. Playoff brackets will be announced today or tomorrow.

The men’s soccer team got whacked on the road, 6-1, by Harbor in their season finale. They finished 5-10-6 overall, 3-9-2 in the SCC.

The men’s team finished on a winless skid in their last six SCC games going 0-4-2.

Football plays emotional game

The Huskies, ranked No. 20 in Southern California, ended their season, and an at-large bowl bid, with an emotional 45-42 loss, to San Diego Mesa College.

“It was a tough loss to take in but it doesn’t take away from our season. We gave it our all and have a second (consecutive) winning season,” Head Coach Steve Mojarro said.

The lead changes nine times and came down to one play.

Down 42-38, Mesa pulled off a nine-play, 74-yard drive only to have the Huskies stop a third down attempt at the 14-yard line. With 00:56 left in the game, Mesa went for it on fourth down.

Joe Kennedy, who was unstoppable all night for the Huskies, was tackled by the tough Husky defense. As Kennedy was falling he connected on a 14-yard touchdown pass to Navarro Cruz for the upset win over ELAC.

In a heartbeat, the Huskies went from victors to a stunning upset loss. For the first time in the game, the vocal crowd was quiet.

“We came out on the unfortunate end on that play. I am proud to have coached this team and will love these kids forever,” Mojarro said.

Kennedy threw for 294 yards off of 14 of 25 attempts with five touchdowns and one interception.

ELAC quarterback Aaron Cantu ended his Husky career tossing 340 yards from 40 of 55 attempts with three touchdowns and one interception.

Cantu ends the season as the No. 1-ranked community college quarterback in the state throwing for an average of 373.1 yards per game. Cantu totaled 3,358 passing yards in just over eight games of play.

“We were lucky to have him as a leader of a fine team,” Mojarro said.

The Huskies finished 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the Mountain Conference, losing fourth place to Mesa (5-5, 4-3).

Husky wrestlers take third

The wrestling team took a short team due to injuries to the Southeast Conference finals at Bakersfield College last Saturday and came away with third place.,

The state’s No. 12-ranked Huskies upset No. 7 Cuesta College, 22-21. ELAC lost close matches, 27-21, to No. 5 West Hills College and 24-18, to No. 8 Bakersfield. The Huskies beat Victor Valley College, 32-6.

Cuesta took first place, followed by Bakersfield. ELAC finished in third place followed by Cuesta and Victor Valley.

The Huskies had some wrestlers compete in higher weight classes. Four Huskies answered the task with impressive records.

Joshua Newman was ranked the No. 3 wrestler in the state at 174 pounds for most of the season until he was injured in a loss at Mt. SAC on Oct. 24, against No. 1 ranked Kenny Breaux at 184 pounds.

Newman dropped to No. 7 as a result and returned to the mat in the conference finals for the first time since his injury. He wrestled at 184 pounds and went undefeated, 4-0.

Julian Zuniga, the No. 3-ranked heavyweight wrestler in the state, also wrestled undeafeted at 4-0.

Michael Middlebrooks, who is ranked No. 7 in the 184 pound weight division, wrestled at 197 pounds in Bakersfield and walked away with a 3-1 record.

Adrian Virgen, who also wrestled in a higher weight class, went 3-1, at 157 pounds. Virgen stepped up his game this time last year and advanced to the state finals.

Joseph Padilla finished 2-2, at 133 pounds. Padilla is ranked at 133 pounds in an honorable mention spot at No. 13.

Jeremy Christenson, who has proved himself by almost upsetting No. 1-ranked Steven Melara of Mt. SAC only to lose as time expired, also on Oct. 24, was injured in Bakersfield. It will be a huge loss for the Huskies if Christenson’s injury turns out to be serious.

Omar Ochoa missed the conference finals. Ochoa has been ranked all season at 149 pounds. Currently he is in an honorable mention spot at No. 14.

The Huskies will host their Second Annual Brawl Saturday all day.

Men’s basketball begins season with a win

The men’s basketball team began their highly anticipated 2012-13 season with a win, 85-60 over Cuyamaca College in the opening game of the Clash at College of the Canyons last Friday. The Huskies lost to host Canyons in the championship game 69-60, last Saturday.

The key in beating Cuyamaca was six Huskies coming off the bench to score 27 points and 15 rebounds.

Michael Foster led with 11 points and 4 rebounds, followed by Zach Hilton with six points and five rebounds. Robert Ponce added four points, two rebounds and Frankie Aguilar added three points with four rebounds. Brendan Otero closed out the bench scoring with three points.

Chris Brown scored a game-high 21 points. “We clicked today because of hard training but have a ways to go,” Brown said.

The Huskies are coached by John Mosley, first year head coach. Mosley played for the Huskies 1991-93. Both those teams advanced to the playoffs.

When asked if the Huskies will advance to the playoffs this season, Foster said, “We focus by taking it one game at a time.”

In the championship game, the Huskies rallied back from 61-55 deficit with 1:33 remaining to pull within one point, 61-60, off of a three point swish by Aaron Cheatum at 1:03.

Husky mistakes and solid defense by Canyons to out-rebound ELAC down the stretch, resulted in a scoreless final 63 seconds for the Huskies.

ELAC was 4-of-8 from the free throw line, while Canyons was 29 of 38. “Anytime a team has 30 more (at the line), well you have to weather that storm and make sure you at least secure the rebounds,” Mosley said.

Brown led the Huskies with 20 points followed by Cheatum with 12  and Jaree Crawford with ten.

The Huskies host rival Rio Hondo College on Thursday in the men’s gym at 7 p.m.

Volleyball takes a win

By Will Hernandez

The volleyball team sent their sophomore’s out on a good note in their final home game of the season. The Huskies swept LA Harbor at home, 3-0, winning 25-15, 25-18, 25-17. The Huskies previously won at Harbor, 3-2.

Marissa Carrillo, Jessica Delgado, and Claudia Mosqueda were playing there last home game ever in the women’s gym. Delgado had a nice performance with five-kills and three tips and was galvanized by the win.

“This is the best feeling I’ve ever had. It’s amazing. After all the hard work we put in training every single-day, it finally paid off. I’m going to remember this forever,” Delgado said.

The Huskies methodically won the first set after Mosqueada got a kill that gave the Huskies their biggest lead, 17-11. From there on-out, the Huskies would run away with the set and momentum.

Nearing the end of the third set, with the Huskies up four-points 18-14, Coach Elliot Walker kept shouting to his crew, “Close the door, close the door.” Anxious for a win, the home-crowd, which included recruits from Montebello High, joined the chant.

The Huskies would answer, running away with the lead and the game.

“It’s awesome (the win). It’s great for the kids, because they now realize that all the hard work, put in from the beginning of the season to now, has paid off. And that’s what life is all about, at first you don’t always succeed but you just keep trying and they showed that today,” Walker said.

The Huskies close out the season at Long Beach, Wednesday at 6 p.m.