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PCC football completed their first winning season since 2008 when they shut out Santa Barbara City College 35-0 at Robinson Stadium Saturday night. 

“It’s just a testament to our defense working hard and going out there and having fun playing football,” Outside Linebacker Drew Pendleton said. 

In the Lancers second drive of the game, quarterback Edward Norton threw a 29 yard pass to wide receiver Wheeler Smith. Three plays later Norton threw a 24 yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Jabari Kindle. 

Norton hiked the ball and ran to his left for 9 yards in the third drive, before he ran out of bounds and barreled down a defender.  

“[Santa Barbara] came out talking trash early,” Norton said. “It was all in the moment.”

In the second quarter, the Lancers Head Coach Steven Mojarro called for extra offensive linemen and went for a fourth down at the Vaqueros 26-yard line. 

“Jumbo! Jumbo!,” Mojarro exclaimed. 

Running Back Salman Gurung ran through the line for 4 yards and secured the first down pushing his way through for the 1 yard touchdown run. The Lancers were up 14-0 at this point and the rout was on. 

Quarterback Kade Wentz made his debut with 8 minutes left in the second quarter. 

“I don’t think it matters to either of us who starts,” Wentz said. “We just try to do whatever it takes to win ball games. The two quarterback system helps to keep the defense on their toes.” 

With Wentz on the field, Gurung made his second rushing touchdown on a 10 yard touchdown run. 

On Wentz’s second drive, he guided the Lancers down the field in a successful two-minute drill. 

“It was supposed to be a rollout left, but I felt like I couldn’t get to the edge,” Wentz said. “I thought I could out run the guy to the right. I went back and scrambled around. I didn’t see anyone open and tried to find my way into the end zone.”

The stats at halftime were what coach’s dream. PCC was up 28-0. The Lancers had 18 first downs to the Vaqueros 3. They were 5-8 on third downs and ran 47 plays versus the Vaqueros’ 18. Offensive coordinator Fred Fimbres said the Lancers goal was to possess the ball more than their opponents. The Lancers accomplished that goal in the first half by possessing the ball 70% of the half. It was all Lancers, so far. 

The scariest part of the game came after halftime.

Up to this point, PCC hadn’t allowed a defensive score in 10 quarters. The Vaqueros managed to drive the ball all the way to the Lancers’ 1-yard line. Defensive Linemen Robbie Kindle may have made the play of the game when he stopped the Vaqueros for a 2 yard loss on third down, inches away from the end zone. The tackle was controversial because it was a facemask, which would have given the Vaqueros a first down at the quarter inch line—the referees never threw a flag nor discussed the call. 

The Vaqueros tried but were unable to complete the pass on the fourth down, however, the Lancers escaped the drive without giving up any points. 

The Lancers put the final nail in Santa Barbara’s coffin when Safety Darren Meyers blocked their  punt on the 17-yard line and the ball was recovered by Safety Shane Andrews for a 17 yard touchdown return. 

The Lancers were clicking on all cylinders. Linebacker Dayquon Johnson could be heard on the sideline in the third quarter shouting, “Complete the shutout D! Complete the shutout!”

On Sunday afternoon, the California Community College Athletic Association did not award PCC with either a playoff berth or a bowl game. Nevertheless, Coach Mojarro talked about how proud he was of this team. 

“As a team, we got to 6-4,” Mojarro said. “We haven’t had a winning season in Pasadena since 2008. The credit goes to all these kids. They believed it from day one. They came and chose Pasadena for their education and decided to play football for us. They worked so hard and never gave up. We persevered through those four losses in a row.”

Men’s football will head into their off season in preparation for a successful return next year. 

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