Football Has Its Chances, But Santa Ana Wins SCFA Metro Title

A winning season will have to wait yet another year for the Pasadena City College football team. The Lancers did finish .500 at 5-5, but haven't been above that mark since 2008. It was the first .500 season in eight years for a program yearning for improvement.

On Saturday afternoon, Santa Ana College (7-3 overall) captured an undefeated SCFA Metro League championship (6-0) in downing PCC, 54-29, at Santa Ana Stadium. The Lancers, finished in third place in the Metro at 4-2. 

Wide receiver Stevie Williams beat out kicker/punter Enrique Lozano for the team's scoring title, 62 points to 61, as Williams hauled in a pair of 20-yard touchdown catches from starting quarterback Mario Bobadilla. In the third quarter Lozano led 61-60 after his third extra point kick, but Willliams got the last laugh with 29 seconds left. After reserve QB Adam Besana found Kyle Torres for a 19-yard TD pass, PCC interim head coach Steven Mojarro allowed his squad to go for two. Besana connected with Williams for a 2-point conversion pass resulting in the sophomore transfer's team scoring title.

Williams, who led the team with 10 touchdowns this season, nearly turned the game into a thriller in the third quarter. PCC trailed 23-7, then cut it to 30-21. Trailing by 12, 33-21, the Lancers were in a third down-and-3 at the Santa Ana 48-yard line. Bobadilla lofted a pass down the sideline as Williams, known for his ability to make two-hand, extended grabs, got his finger tips on the throw but couldn't cradle it at the 25 as it fell for an incompletion. The near miss would have been another TD for the speedy Williams and a possible one score deficit but was not to be.

PCC again had a chance to cut the lead late in the third quarter. This time, PCC reached the Santa Ana 40. On a fourth-and-5, Bobadilla rolled out on a strong Dons' pass rush and with no open receiver, took off toward the sideline. His run reached a half-yard short of the first down marker as Santa Ana's Brett Ferguson tackled the freshman QB shy of the 35 to end the series.

On the very next play, the Dons extended their lead to 40-21 as Deven Boston broke free for a 64-yard touchdown gallop. Boston totaled 130 yards in 16 carries and three TDs. Boston is fifth in the state in rushing with 1,143 yards and was tied for third in California in touchdowns scored with 17. Another of Santa Ana's weapons was quarterback Conner Miller, who completed 21 of 35 passes for 331 yards and three TDs. Boston and Miller connected on a flea-flicker, 35-yard TD pass as Boston took a pitch, rolled out and then threw to a wide open Miller across field for an easy six.

For PCC, the Lancers running game impressed with their second highest total (209 yards) and best average-per-rush of the season at 7.2 yards per carry (29 attempts). Sophomore Amad Andrews ran eight times for 77 yards, including an 8-yard TD carry in the second quarter. Freshman Kevin Thomas added 71 yards in only seven attempts (including a 45-yard scamper) and sophomore James Shaw had 60 yards in eight touches. 

Williams finished with nine catches for 81 yards and Torres four grabs for 88 yards. Defensive back Albert Louis had four tackles, a breakup and intercepted a Miller pass in the end zone. It was the team's 21st pickoff of the season as PCC was second in the state in that category, just behind San Diego Mesa (22 interceptions). Safety Kavior Clark made a team-high seven tackles. Linebacker Jasper Chavez had four tackles, including a sack and linebacker Kimani Williams added five tackles, a sack and a hurry. 

Lozano, who had had a storied 2-year career as PCC's kicking specialist, once again made news in his last game. He bombed a season-long, 65-yard punt and landed three punts inside the 20. He once again delivered an onside kick recovered by special teams only to be reversed on a PCC penalty. Finally, Lozano lofted a pass on a fake punt and while the ball was broken up downfield, the play resulted in a roughing the passer penalty and a Lancers first down. 

Overall, Williams tied for the seventh highest reception season in PCC football history with 55 catches for 830 yards (15.1 yards per reception). While PCC did not have a 1,000-yard rusher for the ninth straight year, the team did have two players total that in leading rusher Shaw (530 yards, second consecutive team-leading season) and Andrews (512 yards). Torres was the Lancers' all-purpose yards leader with 1,020 yards (447 in kick returns, 33 catches for 573 yards). For the first time in 13 years, the team had no quarterback reach 1,000 yards passing as Bobadilla finished with 947 and 14 TD throws as part of a 4-QB unit over the season. 

On defense, linebacker Chavez led the team in tackles with 55 (team best 27 solos). Lineman Javier Wallace was the sacks leader with four. Louis, Jshoun Wolfe and Ty Apana-Purcell tied for the PCC lead in interceptions with three each. 

Lozano's 61 kick points is the second most by a PCC kicker in the past 29 years (Joe Timchenko scored 81 in the team's Mission Conference championshp season, 11 games, in 2001). Lozano reached the fourth best, single-season total in school history. His 108 points for his career placed him third in school history for kick scoring behind former NFL and PCC Hall of Famer Mike Lansford and Timchenko. Earlier this year, Lozano set a new school record for longest field goal at 50 yards and tied the school mark for extra point kicks in a game (8 against West LA). 

"We had some highs and lows this year," Mojarro said. "We did a good job of moving the chains, scoring. The defense had some really outstanding efforts and the secondary was an interception machine for us. With Lozano, we had one of the best all-around kicking games in the state. In the overall, we competed to the final game in trying to win a conference title."