Pasadena City College football fought hard but could not come back from the early hole they had dug themselves into against Santa Monica College, losing by one point this past Saturday.
PCC had its best running game of the season by having over 300 yards of rushing, but PCC turned the ball over three times, which proved vital as the Lancers had to play from behind all game.
“Running the ball was definitely the game plan going into the game,” said Head Coach Steven Mojarro. “But when you fall behind early like we did, it puts us on an uphill battle.”
The Lancers fell down early 14-0 in the 1st quarter and trailed all game until the 4th quarter when they took a 27-21 lead on a Salman Garung 17 yard touchdown run. The Lancers defense was then relied upon to stop the Santa Monica offense.
PCC was able to put up a good fight defensively but in the end they gave up a 25 yard touchdown pass to Jaden McBride from Paul Davis with 1 minute and 14 seconds left. That touchdown gave Santa Monica College the lead and eventually the win, extending the Lancers losing streak to six games.
“We’ve had some really bad luck these past few games,” coach Mojarro said. “But I’m proud of my guys, we will turn it around.”
The Lancers had over 300 yards rushing in the game and are currently averaging 188 yards per game this season. The Lancers rushing attack is always a group effort as the carries are determined by who is playing best during the game. Against Santa Monica, the attack was led by Salman Gurung, who had 19 carries for 166 yards, and Darnell Williams who had 23 carries for 130 yards.
“It’s always fun to be able to get a lot of chances during the game,” said Gurung. “But it is way more fun to get a win.”
“Having so many yards doesn’t matter if we don’t get the win,” said Williams, echoing the sentiments expressed by his teammate.
Although the Lancers are in the middle of a losing streak, coach Mojarro likes what he sees from his team.
“The kids are showing up and playing hard every game. Sometimes you run into these growing pains when you’re looking to build a winning program but if you keep putting the work in, the results will start to show.”
The Lancers look to break the losing streak and get their first win in almost two months on the road as they take on LA Harbor on Saturday at 6pm.
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