Photos by Barry Colvin
College Football:
By Brian Reed-Baiotto, Sports Editor
Mt. SAC is playoff bound.
In a battle for second place in the National-Central Conference, the Mounties earned a 28-7 victory at Cerritos College.
The Falcons took a 7-0 lead with 1:24 to play in the first quarter, as Jacob Leija caught an 8-yard TD pass from Jordan Simpson.
But the best defense in the state would shut Cerritos out the rest of the way.
And that’s where Ike Udengwu III took over.
Just over three minutes into the second quarter, Udengwu sprinted into the end zone from five yards out to tie the game at 7-7.
Mt. SAC would take its first lead of the game when Udengwu and Lucas Moore hooked up on a 24-yard scoring strike midway through the first half.
In the third quarter, Shemar Savage made an incredible catch on a 29-yard pass from Udengwu to give the Mounties a 21-7 advantage.
And Udengwu would hit Judah Ezinwa on a 12-yard TD pass to close out the scoring for the Mounties.
MSAC had a 451-227 edge in total offense.
Udengwu went 21-of-31 for 276 yards and three scores.
He rushed for 32 yards on seven carries and didn’t turn the ball over once.
Mohamed Nyangamukenga led the Mounties with 67 yards rushing on 14 carries, and Isaiah Dickerson carried the ball 12 times for 53 yards.
Udengwu threw completions to 12 different receivers, and Adrion Boyd had four catches for 47 yards.
Jaden Allen had three receptions for 52 yards.
Moore caught four passes for 43 yards, and Savage had two receptions for 44 yards.
Cerritos’ Jordan Simpson had a rough night, going 6-of-18 for 38 yards.
Simpson threw the first-quarter TD, and was picked by both Mason White and Rykim Lemon.
Aiden Sanchez would replace Simpson, and completed 5-of-12 for 54 yards, and White picked him as well.
Davon Booth had a game-high 114 yards rushing on 19 carries for the Falcons.
Emmanuel Nkwocha and Dupre Mendoza had six tackles apiece to lead MSAC.
Mason White, Lantz Russell, Toalei Lefau and Katin Surprenant each had four tackles on Saturday night.
Darius Eaves had the only sack of the night for MSAC.
Diego Esqueda, arguably So Cal’s most reliable kicker, went 4-for-4 on extra-point attempts for the Mounties.
Up next: Mt. SAC expects to get their first-round playoff opponent on Sunday afternoon.
At the bottom of this story are interviews with Coach Bob Jastrab, Ike Udengwu, Shemar Savage, Lucas Moore, Anthony Hebert and a few highlight plays.
To view a photo gallery by Barry Colvin, click on the Facebook link here: Facebook
Box Score:
MS: 0-14-7-7-(28)
CC: 7-0-0-0-(7)
Scoring:
CC: Jacob Leija 8 pass from Jordan Simpson (A Delgadillo kick)
MS: Ike Udengwu 5 run (Diego Esqueda kick)
MS: Lucas Moore 24 pass from Ike Udengwu (Diego Esqueda kick)
MS: Shemar Savage 39 pass from Ike Udengwu (Diego Esqueda kick)
MS: Judah Ezinwa 12 pass from Ike Udengwu (Diego Esqueda kick)
Saturday’s National Central Conference Scores:
Riverside 49, Chaffey 14
El Camino 52, Palomar 24
Mt. SAC 28, Cerritos 7
National Central Conference Standings:
Riverside (10-0, 5-0)
Mt. SAC (9-1, 4-1)
Cerritos (7-3, 3-2)
El Camino (5-5, 2-3)
Palomar (5-5, 1-4)
Chaffey (2-8, 0-5)
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