POWERING PAST THE BOBCATS
The Hornets earned a 37-22 win at home on Saturday afternoon in a non-conference game against Saddleback College.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 22 |
|
|
13 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 37 |
Team Stats
Saddleback
| Game Statistics | Saddleback | FULL |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 373 | 319 |
| Rushing Yards | 171 | 172 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 0 |
| Time of Poss. | 29:24 | 30:36 |
The Hornets earned a 37-22 win at home on Saturday afternoon in a non-conference game against Saddleback College.
The win improves Fullerton to 2-1 on the season, while Saddleback drops to 2-1.
The Hornets and Bobcats have battled it out 39 times since they first played one another back in the 1982 Pony Bowl, in which the Hornets won 38-6 under legendary coach Hal Sherbeck. After today's win, Fullerton has a slight edge over Saddleback for the overall series, 21-18.
Saddleback struck first when quarterback Joseph Walter connected with Gage Galbreath for a 47-yard touchdown pass midway through the opening quarter. But the Hornets quickly answered back with a great Flea-Flicker from Chris Lundsberg , who found a wide-open JT Weir for a 52-yard strike to tie the game at 7-7.
Running back Graelyn Kelly capped off a steady drive with a 3-yard touchdown run that put the Hornets ahead 13-7 after a missed extra point. Lundsberg stayed hot in the second quarter engineering an 8-play 74-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Logan Lester pushing Fullerton's lead to 20-7 with a minute left in the second quarter.
Saddleback cut the deficit on the last play in the second half when Francisco Martinez brought in a 3-yard touchdown from Tyler Dudden that trimmed FC's lead to 20-14 by the break.
The Hornets opened the second half determined to take command as Kelly powered in a 7-yrad rushing TD for his second score of the game to give the Hornets some breathing room at 27-14. Kicker Michael Vatkin extended the margin to 30-14 with a 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Saddleback kept things interesting with a 2-yard touchdown run by Leonidas Bell, followed by a successful two-point conversion from Malachi Pierce to close the gap to 30-22.
Fullerton immediately responded on Lundsberg's deep connection with Luke Indorf for a 56-yard touchdown handing FC a commanding 37-22 lead with just over 7 minutes remaining.
The FC defensive unit did its job and held off the Bobcats for the win holding Saddleback to only one scoring drive in the second half. Linebacker Ethan Charpentier was everywhere recording 15 total tackles (5 solo) with 1.5 tackles for loss. Eric Rory II added 8 tackles, while Muhammad Hassouneh tallied 7 stops with 1.5 TFLs. David Frankling chipped in a drive-stopping sack and 2 tackles for loss.
Offensively, Fullerton QB Chris Lundsberg led the way through the air tossing 3 touchdown passes to 3 different receivers. Luke Indorf contributed 3 catches for 75 yards and a TD. JT Weir had 5 catches for 71 yards and a TD, while Logan Lester hauled in 5 receptions for 48 yards and a touchdown. Running back Graelyn Kelly carried the load on the ground by punching in 2 touchdowns (3 and 7 yards). Fred Hunter had another strong day on the ground racking up 106 yards on 11 carries. Kicker Michael Vatkin contributed a 37-yard field goal and went 2-for-2 on PATs.
Up Next: The Hornets (2-1 overall) will get back on the road next Saturday, September 20th with they take on East Los Angeles College for the SCFA Central Conference opener. Kickoff is at 6:00 pm.
*Photo by Matt Brown
