College Football:
Saturday’s Chaffey-PCC showdown of unbeaten programs at Robinson Stadium in Pasadena had nothing less than a playoff atmosphere.
Since 2023, the Lancers are 13-2.
Both of those losses came last season to Chaffey, including a 16-12 setback in the American Division Championship Bowl Game in Rancho Cucamonga.
But back to Saturday night.
The Lancers led 21-19 with 1:06 to play, but the Panthers had the ball at the PCC 29, and they needed about three yards on fourth down.
CJ Bozeman appeared to be stopped short.
But on a second-effort attempt, he bounced right, leaned forward, and Bozeman seemed to have reached the 27-yard line.
However, the dudes in the striped uniforms didn’t see it that way, and their opinions are the only that matter.
PCC was able to take a knee and bleed the clock dry.
The Lancers got off to a solid start thanks to a couple of Pasadena High School grads.
Mekhi (Flip) Fox took a Kaden Taylor pass 76 yards on their first offensive snap for a TD and a 7-0 lead.
Chaffey’s Nehemiah Harris caught a 61-yard TD pass from Julian Viramontes 1:01 into the second quarter to even the score at 7-7.
PCC took a 21-7 lead thanks to a 14-yard TD pass from Taylor to Deven Muniz.
And a 4-yard Taylor run with 5:23 to play in the third quarter.
Chaffey answered back, as Corey Cabriales and Viramontes hooked up on a 54-yard TD pass, but the extra-point attempt was blocked by Israel Duncan.
On a fourth-and-goal play from the 1-yard line, Bozeman pulled the Panthers to within 21-19 of the Lancers.
And with 7:56 to play, Chaffey went for the 2-point conversion.
Viramontes tossed it perfectly into the corner of the end zone, but the pass went off his receiver’s facemask.
The missed opportunity changed the complexion of the final drive.
Had the game been 21-21, Chaffey Coach Ben Buys would have likely eaten up more of the play clock and sent Anthony Hagan to attempt a last-second field goal.
Taylor had a huge part in the Lancers win.
He completed 13-of-20 for 173 yards, including the two TD’s and one interception.
Micah Mendoza had game-highs in carries (21) and yards (141) for PCC.
Fox caught five passes for 110 yards and the score.
Julian Rodriguez had five receptions for 34 yards.
Chaffey’s Viramontes was effective behind center.
He went 20 of 29 for 239 yards.
Viramontes threw a pair of TD’s, and he didn’t turn the ball over.
Bozeman led the Panthers’ ground game with 69 yards on 19 carries.
Cabriales caught seven passes for 96 yards, and Harrison had four receptions for 91 yards.
Jeremiah Beck caught five passes for 28 yards, and he had one of the game’s most memorable moments.
Both the Chaffey and PCC defenses deserve a ton of credit.
The Panthers held the Lancers to 28 points under their weekly scoring average.
And PCC allowed Chaffey just half of their 38-point weekly offensive output.
Up next: Both programs have next week off.
And then, PCC heads to Santa Monica, and Chaffey travels to West LA.
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Quotable:
PCC quarterback, Kaden Taylor: “It feels great to do my part to help my team win a game. But to be honest, if it wasn’t me, it would be someone else. It’s fun to throw passes to Fox and watch him do his thing. It was a great atmosphere out there, and we were very happy to get the win. I have to give the Chaffey defense a lot of credit. They played really well and put pressure on us. But our defense played lights out. We are capable of going 11-0. It’s just a matter of us working hard and playing to our potential.”
Box Score:
C: 0-7-6-6-(19)
P: 7-0-14-0-(21)
Scoring:
P: Flip Fox 76 pass from Kaden Taylor (Nico Razo kick)
C: Nehemiah Harris 61 pass from Julian Viramontes (Anthony Hagan kick)
P: Deven Muniz 14 pass from Kaden Taylor (Ozlo Rigby kick)
P: Kaden Taylor 4 run (Ozlo Rigby kick)
C: Corey Cabriales 54 pass from Julian Viramontes (kick failed)
C: Christian Bozeman 1 run (pass failed)
Records: Chaffey (4-1); PCC (4-0)
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