PCC Football's Experienced Roster Could Reverse Losing Trend In 2017

You have to go back to 2008 for the last winning season by the Pasadena City College football team. It was also the last year that a Lancers team advanced to a postseason bowl game as they went 7-4 and won the Santa Barbara Tremblay Services Bowl title. As PCC enters its 93rd year on the gridiron, there is a renewed excitement in the air as the program opens the 2017 season against perennial state power Long Beach City College on Saturday, Sept. 2. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at on-campus Robinson Stadium. 

Under interim head coach Steven Mojarro, the Lancers are carrying one their largest rosters in recent seasons with 99 players, including 25 lettermen. Among that group are five returning SCFA All-Metro League selections in wide receiver turned cornerback Yusef Muhammad, last year's division leader in kick return average and PCC's all-purpose yards leader with 975, long-range kicker-punter Enrique Lozano (team scoring leader with 47 points), leading '16 ground gainer and running back James Shaw (569 yards), tight end Jordan Bruner, who made 27 receptions, and linebacker Jasper Chavez, whose 60 overall tackles was second on the Lancers.

Other key lettermen are linebacker Matt Terlizzi, who made a team-best 43 solo tackles out of his 59 overall takedowns, shutdown cornerback Jshoun Wolfe (seven pass break-ups), a slated starting secondary safety duo of Ty Apana-Purcell (37 tackles) and Raysean Clayton (21 tackles, one interception), and yet another passing defense threat in cornerback Marquis Williams (23 tackles, five breakups). 

The team's 3-4 defense includes some potential top-flight defensive linemen in local freshmen newcomers in starting nose guard David Vardanian (6-foot, 275, La Canada High), a 2015 All-Rio Hondo League First Team selection who had 71 tackles and six sacks as a senior, and Jasper Iheaso (6-2, 275, Muir High), once a Pasadena Star-News All-Area First Team choice back in 2014. Newcomer Jayson Jones (6-1, 295, Los Altos HS) was a member of the 2016 San Gabriel Valley Tribune All-Area First Team and made 87 tackles with 12.5 sacks as Hacienda League Defensive MVP. At linebacker, another top freshman from the SGVN squad is Kobe Quiroga (5-10, 190, Northview High), who totaled 114 tackles and was the Valle Vista League Defensive MVP.

Mojarro believes he has two quality quarterbacks in 6-5, 245-pound sophomore transfer Adam Besana, who threw for 1,773 yards and 16 touchdowns as a freshman at Sierra College, and incoming freshman Ian Brian, a 6-1, 195-pounder who led Catholic High to the Louisiana Division I state championship. He redshirted last year at Southeastern Louisiana University to play at PCC. 

"We have a unique situation where the battle for starting quarterback will keep continuing into the regular season," Mojarro said. "Besana is a big kid who can throw the ball well and Brian is a strong passer too, but he is also a runner. It's going to be fun to watch them both develop. Each of them excelled in our intrasquad scrimmage."

The QBs will have plenty of targets including transfer wide receiver Stevie Williams, an All-LA City quarterback from Garfield High who played at El Camino College in 2015, sophomore transfer Kyle Torres, a talented performer from McNary High in Oregon who played at Shasta College last year, and blue-chip freshman Forest Fajardo, an All-CIF Division 8 selection and Pacific League Co-Offensive Player of the Year at Burbank High. Fajardo pulled in 47 receptions for 783 yards and eight TDs as a senior. 

Besides Shaw at running back, the team features letterman Amad Andrews, freshman Kevin Thomas (Northview High), a member of the SGVN All-Area Team, and a dark horse in sophomore transfer Marquise Williams, who last played college football for Mojarro at East Los Angeles College in 2009 after an All-CIF career at Monrovia High.

The offensive line is one of the largest in size in a long time at PCC. It features returning right guard Art Rios (6-0, 315), frosh center Kaelen Whiteside (6-4, 325, Dunbar High in Lexington, Ky.), left guard Jashaad Perry (6-0, 310) and right tackle Demarcus Gilmore (6-5, 350), both newcomers from Newberry High, S.C., and left tackle Juan De La Torre (6-5, 290), from Salesian High. 

"I think one our strengths is that people understand their roles on this team," Mojarro said. "We got players that are unselfish and buying into the team first. We have room to grow but it's a group of guys that like each other and are united. I can't say enough about our assistant coaching staff as they are all working hard to get us ready. We have a tough pre-conference schedule, but by the time we enter conference play we should be battle ready. We can match up well against those Metro teams."

On special teams, Muhammad and Stevie Williams are expected to be the main returners on both punts and kickoffs. 

LANCERS GRID NOTES--PCC has never played an opponent more often than Long Beach as the teams meet for the 57th time on the gridiron (the Lancers hold a 29-25-3 edge). Last season, LBCC downed the Lancers, 41-14, also in the season opener. LBCC went 9-2 last year and won the Western State Bowl while also taking a share of the National Central League championship...The Lancers haven't won a season opener since 2011 against Glendale...Pasadena went 4-1 in home games last year...PCC starts SCFA American Metro League play on Sept. 30 at Compton College.