Pictured L-R: Lucas Moore, Shemar Savage & Ike Udengwu
College Football:
Ike Udengwu III saw his incredible sophomore season come to an end on Saturday night.
But the lanky Mounties quarterback didn’t go down without a fight, and neither did his teammates.
California’s No. 4 ranked Fullerton College defeated No. 2 Mt. SAC, 45-41, in a playoff opener at Orange Coast College.
The Mounties (9-2) trailed 32-17 with just over eight minutes to play in the third quarter.
MSAC, however, would score the game’s next 17 points, and it was capped by a 35-yard field goal by Diego Esqueda.
Esqueda’s second field goal of the night gave the Mounties a 34-32 lead with exactly 10 minutes remaining in the game.
Brandon Nunez would spoil the MSAC rally by scoring on a 2-yard run with 27 seconds to go.
As mentioned, Udengwu was off the charts good on Saturday.
He completed 24-of-38 for 407 yards.
And that included three TD passes to Shemar Savage (78, 52 & 22 yards), and a 25-yarder to Xavier Rawls.
Savage had five receptions for 180 yards.
Jaden Allen and Lucas Moore caught five passes each.
Allen finished with 77 receiving yards, and Moore had 59.
Rawls had four catches for 45 yards.
Udengwu had a team-high 89 yards rushing on 11 carries, and that included a 21-yard TD run.
Isaiah Dickerson gained 68 yards on 11 carries.
Fullerton’s Nunez was 10-of-18 for 137 yards.
Nunez threw a 50-yard scoring strike to Aidan Koenig and an 11 yarder to Will Gipson.
Josh Calvin had six completions on 14 tries for 108 yards in the win.
Calvin and Cameron Woods hooked up on a 54-yard TD in the second quarter to give Fullerton a 14-7 lead.
Both Nunez and Calvin were picked one time each (Anthony Hebert and Lantz Russell).
Tyler Green had a game-high 120 yards on 21 carries for the Hornets.
Russell also had a team-best eight tackles, while Mauloa Wells tallied seven.
Nganatatafu Leakehe, Emmanuel Nkwocha, Dupre Mendoza and Katin Surprenant finished with six tackles apiece.
Darius Eaves contributed five tackles and a sack, and Keanu Mailoto had four tackles and a sack.
Diego Esqueda made field goals of 33-and-35 yards, and he converted each of his five extra-point attempts.
Mt. SAC fumbled four times and Fullerton recovered each of the four.
MSAC had a 594-438 advantage in total offense.
Box Score:
MS: 7-10-14-10-(41)
F: 7-7-18-13-(45)
Scoring:
F: Aidan Koenig 50 pass from Brandon Nunez (Jonathan Fobear kick)
MS: Shemar Savage 78 pass from Ike Udengwu (Diego Esqueda kick)
F: Cameron Woods 54 pass from Josh Calvin (Jonathan Fobear kick)
MS: Diego Esqueda 33 FG
MS: Xavier Rawls 25 pass from Ike Udengwu (Diego Esqueda kick)
F: Jonathan Fobear 25 FG
F: Will Gipson 11 pass from Brandon Nunez (Jonathan Fobear kick)
F: Jeremiah McNeel 35 fumble return (Garnett Davis run)
MS: Ike Udengwu 21 run (Diego Esqueda kick)
MS: Shemar Savage 52 pass from Ike Udengwu (Diego Esqueda kick)
MS: Diego Esqueda 35 FG
F: Josh Calvin 16 run (run failed)
MS: Shemar Savage 22 pass from Ike Udengwu (Diego Esqueda kick)
F: Brandon Nunez 2 run (Jonathan Fobear kick)
JC Playoff/Bowl Game Scores:
Citrus 31, Mt. San Jacinto 20
San Mateo 30, Modesto 0
Golden West 32, ELAC 14
Feather River 50, Meseced 32
Riverside 47, Ventura 32
Allan Hancock 20, Moorpark 17
Santa Barbara 44, Desert 23
American River 43, Laney 21
Cerritos 35, Long Beach 28
San Diego Mesa 21, El Camino 20
Fullerton 45, Mt. SAC 41
Records: Mt. SAC (9-2); Fullerton (10-1)
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