Costly Turnovers Send Football To 33-26 Loss At SBVC

The Pasadena City College football team can look back at some huge turnovers that ruined a strong overall performance in a 33-26, SFCA non-conference loss at San Bernardino Valley College Saturday night. The Lancers dropped to 0-2.

PCC fumbled on its opening series inside the SBVC 5-yard line as the Wolverines would later turn the miscue into a 7-0 lead. There would be five lead changes the rest of a wild first 30 minutes with the Lancers taking a 23-19 into halftime on a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ian Brian to tight end Jordan Bruner. 

A 51-yard return by Kyle Torres on the second-half kickoff gave Pasadena great field position at the SBVC 48. The Lancers advanced to the 25 but came away empty when Brian was sacked for a 12-yard loss that took PCC out of field goal territory. Late in the third quarter, David Haney stepped in front of a Brian pass and returned the interception 43 yards for a Wolverines touchdown. SBVC took the lead, 26-23, with 2:36 left in the third quarter.

With SBVC leading 33-23, PCC drove down to the Wolverines' 24 on a 30-yard catch by Torreis. But Haney again killed the Lancers' momentum by intercepting another pass at the SBVC 10 with 5:55 left in the game. 

The Lancers had a number of high-octane efforts, including the passing of Brian, who finished with 394 yards in completing 26 of 51 attempts. He connected with transfer wide receiver Stevie Williams for a 70-yard TD bomb that tied it 7-7 in the first quarter. Brian's passing yards total was the ninth highest in PCC history. Williams finished with nine catches for 216 yards, which is the college's fifth best receiving yards total.

Kicker/punter Enrique Lozano booted field goals of 19 yards in the second quarter and 31 yards on the final play of the game. He added two extra points and had four punts for a 40-yard average (two inside the 10). 

On defense, the Lancers' secondary intercepted four passes for the second straight game. Albert Louis had two interceptions (plus five tackles and a breakup) v. SBVC. Linebacker Matt Terlizzi made an interception and added four tackles. Jasper Chavez led the squad with nine tackles. 

Pasadena will play at Allan Hancock College on Saturday, Sept. 17 in a 2 p.m. afternoon kickoff in Santa Maria. 

LANCERS GRID NOTES: Although the colleges have only played each other 20 times in their football history, the win by SBVC was the first against PCC in 80 years (20-0 in 1937). The Lancers are 16-4 in the all-time series and held an 11-game win streak including a win last season after the series had been dormant for 25 years previously...PCC's road woes continued as it has now lost 13 straight away games dating back to the 2014 season (there was a forfeit by LA Harbor not included in the streak). The last road win on the field was Sept. 27 of that year at College of the Canyons, 20-12...While the team is tied with El Camino for most interceptions in the state (eight each), the Lancers are 67th (next to last) in pass defense, allowing 350.5 yards average in two games...Brian, a freshman, is No. 3 in the state in passing with a 308.5 yards average.