Football: Vikings rally but can’t hold on, drop home finale 35-30 to Chaffey

The Long Beach City College football team closed out the 2010 home schedule with a 35-30 Central West Conference loss to Chaffey College on Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The loss dropped Long Beach to 4-5 overall and 1-3 in conference play while Chaffey improved to 5-4 and 2-2 in the CWC.

The Vikings rallied back from a big second-half deficit to take the lead late in the fourth quarter only to have Chaffey score the game-winner in the final minute.

After a scoreless first quarter, LBCC broke the deadlock with a 29-yard field goal by sophomore David Covey at the 11:36 mark in the second.

But Chaffey answered with three unanswered touchdowns to take a commanding 21-3 lead late in the third quarter.

Long Beach finally got some offense going and was sparked by a big 84-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Gabriel Thomas to freshman wide receiver Travon Payne. From LBCC's 16-yard line, Payne caught Thomas pass near the Viking 40-yard line before outrunning three Chaffey defenders to cut the lead to 21-10.

From that point, it looked like momentum was finally on the Vikings' side. The Long Beach defense forced Chaffey to punt after three plays on their ensuing possession to get the ball back to the offense.

Thomas drove the Vikings 64 yards over eight plays, including a big 49-yard run by freshman running back Jon Vaughn. Thomas capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown run, but Covey's extra point kick was blocked, and LBCC trailed just 21-16.

Luck was still siding with the Vikings. On the ensuing kickoff, freshman Eddie DeNava stripped Chaffey's Damion Stafford of the ball on the return. Freshman Kendall Miles scooped up the ball and rumbled in from 35 yards out for a touchdown and after a two-point conversion, Long Beach was back in front 24-21 with 14 minutes left in the fourth quarter.

But Chaffey wouldn't go down without a fight. Jeff Ginolfi's 16-yard touchdown pass to Tyrone Brantly down the right corner of the end zone gave the Panthers the lead at 28-24 at the 8:16 mark.

 Long Beach drove down the field for their final score with 1:50 remaining. Thomas closed an eight-play, 52-yard drive with a 21-yard TD pass to freshman Willie Bobbitt. Bobbitt ran a perfect post pattern and split the Chaffey defense to walk in untouched for another go-ahead Long Beach score. Covey's extra point kick hit the upright, and LBCC was up 30-28.

After the kickoff, Chaffey had 1:40 left on the clock to complete its final scoring drive. After three Ginolfi incomplete passes, the Panthers faced fourth and 10 from their own 37-yard line. But the Long Beach defense couldn't lock it down, as Ginolfi connected with Brandon Caldwell on a 15-yard pass for a first down.

Three plays later, Caldwell caught a five-yard touchdown with 34 seconds left for the game-winner.

Thomas threw for 273 yards on 15 of 30 passing with two touchdowns and an interception. Bobbitt caught five passes for 123 yards with a touchdown to lead the offense.

Sophomore linebacker Moses Tili led the LBCC defense with eight tackles, a forced fumble, and a quarterback hurry. Sophomore safety Fred Rogers also had eight tackles and broke up two passes.

Long Beach closes out the 2010 season on the road next week with a 1 pm conference game at Citrus College.

LBCC HONORS 1960 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP VIKINGS

Long Beach City College honored the 50th anniversary of the 1960 National Championship and Junior Rose Bowl champion football team on Saturday. The 1960 Vikings were undefeated at 10-0 and beat Tyler College of Texas 38-16 in the Junior Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena. 25 members of the squad, including coaches, players, and staff attended a banquet prior to LBCC's homecoming football game against Chaffey College this morning. Members of the team participated in the pre-game coin toss and were also honored on the field at halftime of today's Homecoming game.