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Falcon Stadium in Cerritos was buzzing in anticipation of a play-off date with Fullerton on Saturday, the 29th of December. All they needed to do was dispense with those pesky Palomar Comets.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Comets light up the scoreboard with an 80 yard drive. With back-to-back Tyresse Jones rushes for 13 and ten yards, respectively, Palomar is driving towards a strike. A false start penalty backs them up, but after a few short gains, Nate Ong capped off the drive with a 36 yard touchdown pass to his receiver Saalim Hakim. The point after is good and Palomar takes a 7-0 lead.

The Falcons are the #3 seed for a good reason. Eric Russell returned the ensuing kick-off 23 yards; the Cerritos drives began on their 43. After a five yard gain from a Palomar penalty Dion Curry rips one for 41 yards down the sideline to the Palomar 11 yard line and a first down . Another Palomar penalty advances Cerritos to the two yard line. Demetre Chamber gained one yard on the ground. Chamber gets the ball again and he muscles his way in for the touchdown. Franc Rodriguez splits the uprights and the score is tied at 7 apiece.

With 9:29 left in the half Cerritos has the ball again. The drive begins at the 20. Ray Craig rushes for a first down. On the ensuing play, from the Cerritos 30, Chris Morales completes a 7 yard pass to Lemuel Johnson. Comets’ Jamar Fleming forces Johnson to fumble; Samuel Spence recovers the ball and runs it back for a touchdown. The Falcon fans are stunned as Palomar takes a 14-7 lead.

Cerritos answered. After a Palomar fumble, Cerritos started the drive from midfield. Chamber rushed for eight yards followed by a Morales-to-Curry 29 yard connection to the Palomar 16 yard line. Chambers picks up two yards but Morales cannot connect with either Lucas Mealy or Michael Willie, so Cerritos has to settle for three points from Rodriguez who nails a 30 yard field goal. Palomar’s lead is cut to four: Palomar 14, Cerritos 10

The Comets were not satisfied with a four point lead. They drive 67 yards in seven plays culminating in an Ong to Javon Reynolds touchdown pass and a 21-10 halftime lead.

Cerritos did not answer until over seven minutes are taken off the clock in the third quarter. The 68 yard drive started at their 32 yard line. The big play of the drive was a 54 yard rush by Jason Davis to the Palomar 7. On third and goal, Morales completed the pass to Mealey for the touchdown and the Falcons trim the Palomar lead 21-17. This would be the last of the Falcon points in this game.

The Falcon’s defense stops the next Comet drive cold at the 13 yard line. Palomar has to settle for three and the lead widens to 24-17.

There were many big plays in the game, but this was perhaps the biggest of the night. Cerritos, down by seven points, is threatening from the their 13 when a Morales pass was intercepted by Tevin McCaskill who ran it back 98 yards for the touchdown. Kevin Ditch adds a point leaving Cerritos 51 seconds on the clock. Cerritos goes three and out and Palomar upsets #3 Cerritos College 31-17.

Palomar Coach Joe Early has the deepest respect for Cerritos. “There is a reason Cerritos was 9-1. They are a good ball team and they are well coached,” he said. The coach believed that the victory was attributable to key turnovers which limited Cerritos’ scoring opportunities. “We were able to capitalize on their mistakes. We made big plays and are fortunate to come out with a big win, he said.

Palomar will have to get past Fullerton next week to meet Mt. SAC for the division championship. “We always have good solid games with Mt. SAC, so that’s not going to be any different than playing Fullerton,” said Coach Early.

“ The conference we are in is the toughest in the country: Fullerton, Mt. SAC, El Camino, Saddleback, Cerritos and Bakersfield: they are among the best teams in the country. You need to be ready to play every week,” he said.

Palomar will play Fullerton on Saturday, 29 November 2009 in the second round of playoffs.