WALNUT — Thanks to injuries, Mt. San Antonio College's football team was minus seven starters in an overtime loss to Cerritos Nov. 8.

Everyone looked healthy Saturday night, and the Mounties big-played Hancock College's squad all over the field. The third-seeded Mounties routed the game but out-manned Bulldogs, who were seeded sixth, 52-14 at Mt. SAC in the Southern California Bowl.

The game was part of the first round of the Southern California Playoffs.

Mt. SAC (9-1) takes on second-seeded Fullerton next week in the semifinals. The Hornets stung seventh-seeded San Diego Mesa, 26-0, Saturday.

Hancock finished 7-4. Coach Kris Dutra had no complaints afterward.

"We were over-matched tonight, but our kids had a great season to finish (the regular season) 7-3 and get into a bowl game," said Dutra.

Mt. SAC won the newly-formed Southern California Football Association's National Conference's Central Division. Hancock was runner-up to top-seeded College of the Canyons in the National Conference's Northern Division.

Advertisement

Mounties running back Burton Iosefa ran past the Bulldogs for a nine-yard touchdown run on the first drive of the game to start the scoring. The Bulldogs countered with an 80-yard drive of their own.

Sophomore quarterback Eric Anderwkavich set up Diondrea Bryant's two-yard touchdown run when he lofted a well-placed pass that Marguelo Suel ran under and took to the three-yard line. Telvin McMillian fumbled a pitch on the next play, but he recovered at the two. Bryant went in on t he next play, aided by Clayton Cullen's big goal line block. Casey Beluz kicked the extra point and drew the Bulldogs even.

The Mounties then quickly set about putting the Bulldogs out of contention. The score was 35-7 at halftime.

Freshman quarterback Nick Lamaison had 2,965 yards passing going in, and he zipped first-quarter touchdown passes of 27 yards to Jesse Canada and 23 yards to Matt Austin as the Mounties began to gap the Bulldogs.

Lamaison wound up 11-for-21 for 245 yards and four touchdowns. The only blemish on his night came when Lamar Allen intercepted his long pass at the Bulldogs four the last play of the first quarter.

After Lamaison's first two touchdowns back-breaking interceptions, both of them highlight reel material, followed in the second quarter.

Someone batted an Anderwkavich pass high in the air. Mounties defensive back Bruce Irvin made a full-out dive for the ball and caught it at the Hancock 19. Isaac Garcia ran through a hole over right tackle and scored from 19 yards out on the next play.

No disrespect to Irvin, but that was a mere warmup for what was to come later.

Bryant made runs of 12 and 44 yards as he helped the Bulldogs move from their 32 to the Mounties five. Then Austin Daniels stepped in front of a receiver and picked off Anderwkavich's pass at the two.

Someone grabbed him at the 15. Daniels got away. Someone made a grab for him farther downfield. Daniels got away again. He juked a potential tackler at the Mounties 35. He weaved through some more would-be tacklers and broke free for a 98-yard touchdown return.

Dutra said, "The thing that bothers me most is that it got away from us early. I know the statistics were much closer," than the final score.

That they were. Mt. SAC had 408 yards of total offense to Hancock's 382. However, Dominique Gaisie often helped set the Mounties up by running through Hancock's shaky punt coverage for 116 return yards, on four punts.

On top of everything else, Mounties kicker Jacob Harfman kept booming kickoffs deep into, or out of, the end zone.

The Bulldogs were behind 49-7 early in the third after Lamaison tossed scoring passes of 21 yards to Iosefa and 53 yards to Canada.

Hancock put together a nice 69-yard drive, which McMillian finished with a 10-yard run, for its second touchdown. Harfman capped a fabulous night of kicking with a 38-yard field goal to finish the scoring with 10:07 to play.

Bryant finished with 113 yards on 16 carries, but Mt. SAC contained Hancock's powerful running game until the outcome had been long since settled.

November 23, 2008