By Joe Dargan
The Huskies put together a defensive masterpiece on the road, shutting out Glendale College 31-0 on Saturday.
Coming from a four-game winning streak, East Los Angeles College began with a steady ground attack.
Sophomore running back Toure Wallace ran for 30 yards on the first two plays of the game.
Freshman quarterback Philip Tran kept the football for a two-yard run and then handed it off to running back Lavell Thompson, who broke away for a 54-yarder, giving ELAC field position on Glendale’s 14-yard line.
After a 4-yard pass, freshman quarterback Philip Tran rushed nine yards for the touchdown, breaking tackles along the way.
The score was 7-0 after a successful point-after try for ELAC freshman kicker Hector Gomez.
Glendale began their first drive of the game with a 12-rush , but the drive came to an abrupt end when quarterback
Guy Gibbs was sacked and fumbled the ball.
ELAC’s sophomore linebacker Elijah Quarles recovered the ball and brought it back 13 yards.
Little did they know, Glendale’s struggles on offense was just beginning.
Their defense couldn’t provide any relief, allowing a 21-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Dontavious Hall on fourth down of the Huskies’ next possession.
That set up a 4-yard rushing touchdown for sophomore running back Lavell Thompson on the next play.
Following another successful PAT for Gomez, the score was now 14-0 in favor of ELAC.
After a punt on Glendale’s next drive, the Huskies moved down the field with a methodical drive of runs and passes until Tran kept the football for a 1-yard rush. Tran was slow to get up after being tackled.
Tran was helped off of the field and replaced by freshman quarterback Paul Herrera.
“One of my teammates pushed his guy into my leg by accident. My leg was straight and when the guy hit it I thought I felt a pop, but I may have just hyper-extended it,” Tran said.
ELAC’s defense finished strong, stopping Glendale once again to end the quarter.
Though Glendale didn’t have any points on the board, ELAC head coach Bobby Godinez reminded his defense to slow down a bit between periods.
“The defensive backs were getting out of the box too fast and needed to relax and have faith in their skills,” Godinez said.
Three minutes into the second quarter, following a failed Glendale possession and a 75 yard drive, Herrera found sophomore wide receiver Garrison Harris for a 29-yard catch and run-in for the touchdown resulting in a score of 21-0.
Glendale’s defense showed some pride stopping the Huskies on the fourth down of their next two possessions, but the effort was negated as ELAC intercepted Gibbs on both ensuing drives.
One interception went to sophomore defensive lineman Trestan Kuenaman and the other to sophomore defensive back Qua’d Cheatham who returned it 12 yards for a touchdown, making the score 28-0 after the extra kick by Gomez was good.
The second half began with a fumble and recovery for Glendale on the ELAC kickoff.
The Huskies defense smothered Glendale once again, but its offense began to sputter.
Self-inflicted wounds, like untimely penalties and dropped passes, began to plague the Huskies.
With the exception of a 36-yard field goal by Gomez, with five minutes left in the third quarter to make the score 31-0, ELAC was held scoreless for the remainder of the game.
The Huskies’ defense remained a pillar of excellence, rendering Glendale’s offense obsolete while tallying up five sacks and three interceptions on the day.
The final score was 31-0, ELAC.
The Huskies, held scoreless by Glendale in the 2014-15 season, returned the favor.
“We practiced well and preached all week that we would get a shutout. As far as the playoffs are concerned we’ll know in the morning, but we ended well,” Godinez said.
Stretching their winning streak to five in a row, with a 7-3 record, the Huskies needed a loss from conference rival Pasadena against Santa Ana College on Saturday to be considered for a post season run.
They got their wish as PCC was defeated 54-29, but it wasn’t enough as ELAC did not make the playoffs.