Late score by Cerritos beats SBCC in Golden State Bowl

SBCC rose to the occasion and led Cerritos for most of the way in the Golden State Bowl football game on Saturday night in Cerritos.

But the Falcons scored with 3:53 left on a fourth-and-nine pass from the 19 and defeated the Vaqueros 22-19.

Quarterback Jimmy Walker hit Justin Caines for the touchdown and then completed a 2-point conversion pass. On SBCC’s next possession, Anthony Stevens intercepted a pass from Brandon Edwards to 2:07 to go. The Vaqueros got one more possession but time ran out on them.

SBCC got off to a good start, driving 68 yards in 10 plays on its first possession and scoring a touchdown on a 5-yard pass from Edwards to Claudio Santos.

The defense stepped up as lineman Jay Terry recovered a high snap in the end zone for a touchdown. The PAT went wide, leaving the Vaqueros with a 13-0 lead.

Cerritos gets on the board on a 5-yard run by DeVonte Carter, capping a 75-yard drive.

SBCC responded with a drive that ended in a 27-yard field goal by Blake Levin with 5:06 left in the second quarter. That gave the Vaqueros a 16-7 lead.

Cerritos came back and scored just before halftime. Walker hit Caines on a 12-yard touchdown with 15 seconds remaining in the first half to pull to within 16-14.

The Vaqueros expanded their lead to 19-14 on a 47-yard field goal by Levin with 11:04 to go in third quarter.

The score remained until Cerritos put together its game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter.

SBCC’s Luigi Dorzin was named the game’s defensive MVP. The overall MVP was Cerritos linebacker Aaron Porter.