In a marquee showdown this past Friday night between two of Northern California’s top junior college football programs, Laney College scored the final 28 points of the game against visiting American River to overcome a one-point deficit after the first quarter and roll to the 41-14 victory.
A 56-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Cruz to Nate Thomas gave ARC a 14-13 lead with 27 seconds left in the first quarter, but it was all Eagles from there, as a pair of short touchdown runs in the second quarter from quarterback Jordon Brookshire gave Laney a 27-14 halftime advantage and they continued to dominate play in the second half. The Eagles finished the night with a whopping 547 yards of total offense, while holding American River to just 213 total yards.
Brookshire, who was a league MVP at Cardinal Newman in Santa Rosa before sitting out last season, controlled the game with his arm and legs for Laney. The dual-threat signal-caller completed 17-of-23 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 46 yards and two scores. His effort was complemented by a big night on the ground from John McDonald, who ran for 122 yards and one touchdown each rushing and receiving.
“It always feel good to win, especially against a strong opponent, but that game is over now and we just need to be ready for the next one and take it one step at a time,” Brookshire said. “Even with my own performance, there were mistakes that I made, things for me to improve on and correct before the next game.”
McDonald’s 20-yard scoring run in the first quarter capped an opening statement by the Laney offense, a nine-play, 90-yard drive on the first possession of the game. After American River tied the game on a one-yard touchdown pass from Cruz to Logan Paulson, the Eagles regained the advantage on a 29-yard pass from Brookshire to Jared Smart (Dublin HS), who had eight catches for 153 yards.
Dior Walker (Deer Valley-Antioch) also had a big night receiving for Laney, with four catches for 70 yards. Linebacker Cameron Nathan (Antioch) led the defense with eight tackles, while Jahari Kay (San Leandro) made his presence felt with four tackles, including a tackle for a loss, and a sack. Armani Turner-Jenkins (Berkeley) had five total tackles, while Derrick Quesada (John Swett) rounded out a strong performance by the linebackers with another four tackles, including a tackle for a loss.
Laney improved to 2-0 with the win, while ARC fell to 1-1.
Diablo Valley 29 Feather River 21
Diablo Valley evened its record on Friday night with a game it controlled from the outset, building a 15-point lead by the end of the first quarter and maintaining its advantage from there.
Ray Jackson (Clayton Valley) scored twice in the first quarter, the second time on a 26-yard run which capped a 10-play, 87-yard drive with five minutes left in the quarter and made the score 15-0 in favor of the Vikings. Feather River cut the lead down to eight at halftime, but DVC responded late in the third quarter with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Jarrod Hoyer (Dougherty Valley) to Dylan Alves (Northgate), one which finished a 77-yard scoring drive.
Isaiah Turner (Pittsburg) extended the lead early in the fourth quarter with his 18-yard scoring run before Feather River scored twice to narrow the final margin.
Hoyer threw for 335 yards in the game, and Roman Sahagun (Foothill) was his favorite target, compiling 10 catches for 131 yards. Alves finished with five catches for 62 yards, while Jackson was a threat in both facets offensively, carrying the ball eight times for 49 yards while adding two catches for 62 yards.
Isaiah Sahagun (California) led the DVC defense with five tackles, 1.5 tackles for a loss, and a sack.
CCSF 37 Sac City 29
A 22-yard touchdown pass from Jack Newman (Analy) to Baylei Coston (Freedom) at the end of the third quarter gave San Francisco some breathing room, and the Rams went on to defeat Sacramento City in a battle of Northern California heavyweight programs.
The Panthers had cut the lead to two points at halftime, when Jayden Machado connected with Tyrone Roper before the break, but Newman’s pass to Coston capped an 11-play, 86-yard drive late in the third quarter, and CCSF extended the lead on its first drive of the fourth quarter, capped by a five-yard touchdown run from DeShawn Collins (Grant-Sacramento). A final touchdown pass from Machado to Reuben Lee closed the final margin.
Newman had a huge game for the Rams, completing 26-of-37 passes for 371 yards and three touchdowns. Collins was a force on the ground and through the air, racking up 77 yards on 16 carries, and adding six catches for 75 yards and a score. Christian Willis had eight catches for 134 yards while Tyrese Mack (Heritage) added seven catches for 59 yards.
Lasa Tofi (Riordan) led the Rams’ defense with nine tackles, including two tackles for a loss, and a sack. Tyriq Mack (Heritage) had five tackles and two pass break-ups.
CCSF improved to 2-0 with the win, while Sac City fell to 0-2.
Los Medanos 27 San Jose 16
A big fourth-quarter propelled LMC past San Jose on Saturday, as the Mustangs stayed unbeaten early in the season.
Jaiden Woodson’s 42-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter gave the Mustangs a 20-16 lead, and LMC iced the game with 1:40 remaining, when Heamasi Latu recovered a fumble at the two-yard line and walked into the end zone for the final points of the day.
Woodson was effective throughout the game for Los Medanos, carrying the ball 18 times for 135 yards and two touchdowns, while James Looney (Freedom) was the top target for quarterback Timothy Evitt (Granada). Looney had six catches for 86 yards and a score, while Evitt threw for 189 yards on 24-of-38 passing. Malik Moss added six catches for 50 yards.
The biggest star of the game, however, was arguably the LMC defense, which held San Jose to 153 total yards of offense. Brooklyn Hardiman (De La Salle) had nine tackles and an interception, Latu added eight tackles, and Garrett Robinson (Antioch) had eight tackles, including two tackles for a loss, and two sacks. Jason Ternes (Freedom) also had eight stops, including two tackles for a loss, and a sack.
San Mateo 31 Delta 12
CSM improved to 2-0 this season with a steady performance against Delta, combining a consistent offense with a stifling defense.
The Bulldogs outgained Delta 438-137 for the game, and led 10-0 at halftime before pulling away over the final two quarters.
On its second possession of the third quarter, Delta cut the lead to 10-6, but Terrell Carter responded with a trio of touchdown passes to push the lead to 25 points before the Mustangs scored on the final play of the game to make it look closer. Carter finished with 149 yards and three scores through the air, while adding 95 yards on 11 carries. Cameron Taylor (Hillsdale) had 16 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown, while Osai Elicker had six catches for 123 yards and two scores.
Carter’s 29-yard scoring pass to Elicker capped an 86-yard drive midway through the third quarter, and his 25-yard scoring throw to Rory Uniacke (Serra) opened the fourth quarter. A 49-yard connection with Elicker midway through the fourth quarter iced the victory.
Bubba Palu (Burlingame) anchored the defensive performance with eight tackles, including 2.5 tackles for a loss, and a sack, while TC Lavulo (Serra) had seven tackles. Nathan Talakai (Sequoia) had two tackles for a loss and two sacks.
