Host Laney College ran for 200 yards and kept Fresno City College out of their red zone in the second half, as the Eagles posted a 24-7 victory in the NCFC NorCal Championship, sending the Eagles into the state title game on Dec. 8.
A one-yard touchdown run by Harold Tidwell (Concord HS) capped a dominant third-quarter for Laney, and was the final play of a drive that went 65 yards in 11 plays, featuring a pair of third-down conversions. Tidwell's scoring run gave the Eagles that 17-point advantage which they would never relinquish.
Fresno got inside the Laney 30-yard line twice in the second half, but on both occasions, the Eagles' defense stiffened. A tackle in the backfield by Levon Barnett thwarted one drive, while Jordan Whittley (Castlemont) came up with a big sack to end another threat.
"Our mentality gets more savage when we are trying to get off the field in those situations," said Laney outside linebacker Jahari Kay (San Leandro). "We know we need to buckle down, and not allow any more yards. Our goal there is to force a turnover or force a field goal attempt."
The Eagles' defense played big in the first half as well, aside from an 82-yard touchdown pass from Jonah Johnson to Malik White, a play that tied the game at seven in the second quarter. But Laney's offense responded with a nine-play, 75-yard scoring drive to retake the lead before halftime.
That drive was aided by a roughing the punter penalty, which was followed by a 19-yard burst by John McDonald (Lincoln-Stockton) and then a bit of luck. Kerrion Hadnot followed McDonald's run with a 10-yard gain down to the goal-line, but lost the ball before reaching the end zone. Luckily for the Eagles, receiver Balewa Byrd (John Swett) was there to pounce on the loose ball for the touchdown and a 14-7 advantage.
"That play was amazing on Balewa's part," said Laney quarterback Jordon Brookshire (Cardinal Newman). "We always talk about those kinds of situations, and he made a heads-up play."
A botched punt to start the third quarter gave Laney great field position on its first drive of the second half, and the Eagles capitalized with a 25-yard field goal by Isaak Parada (Arroyo), extending the lead to 10 points. The touchdown later in the third quarter by Tidwell put the game out of reach, considering the way the Laney defense was playing.
"It felt great when Harold scored. It gave us some room and sparked the whole team," Brookshire said. "This was a great team win, and now we're in the position that we wanted to be in since the beginning of the season."
McDonald ran for 102 yards to pace the Laney offense, while Brookshire completed 13-of-21 passes for 127 yards, while adding 46 yards and touchdown on the ground. Angelo Garrett (McClymonds) had five catches for 57 yards.
Armani Turner-Jenkins (Berkeley) was phenomenal for the Eagles defensively, notching 11 tackles to go with a sack and two pass break-ups, while Kay had seven tackles, including a tackle for a loss. Barnett and Amir Mujahid (Berkeley) each had a pair of stops behind the line.
Laney will face Ventura for the state title, at Sacramento City College, after Ventura beat Riverside 31-21 in the SoCal title game.
