HORNETS CRASH THURSDAY NIGHT COUGAR PARTY

Fresh off their bye week, the No. 9 Fullerton College Hornets hit the road for a Central Conference matchup at Cougar Stadium in Santa Clarita and came away with a strong 20-10 victory over the College of the Canyons on Thursday night.

With the win, Fullerton improves to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in conference play, while the Cougars drop to 1-5 overall and 1-2 in conference.

The Hornet offense scored on their first drive of the night thanks to a 30-yard field goal by Michael Vatkin (10 plays/62 yards). FC quarterback Jack Schierholz followed that up late in the first quarter by connecting with Logan Lester for a 21-yard touchdown strike that capped off a 9-play 80-yard drive that gave Fullerton a 10-0 lead.

Canyons managed a field goal in the third quarter and tied it 10-10 early in the fourth with a short touchdown run, but Fullerton quickly reclaimed control. In the fourth quarter, QB Chris Lundsberg found Lester Logan for his second TD reception from 41-yards out putting the Hornets back in front for good. Vatkin's extra point made it 17-10. Vatkin put up the final points of the game- a 25-yard field goal with a minute left for the 20-10 finish.

To seal the game, Dez Polamalu came off the edge with a strip-sack and defensive tackle Myles Tyree quickly pounced on the loose ball giving the Hornets possession with 4 seconds left on the clock. From there, FC went into victory formation and took a knee to lock up the win.

Offensively, the Hornets showcased depth at quarterback as both Schierholz and Lundsberg guided scoring drives. Lundsberg finished the night going 8 of 15 for 122 yards and a 41-yard touchdown, Schierholz was 7 of 12 for 95 yards and a 21-yard touchdown. Neither QB had an interception. Logan Lester was the top target hauling in 4 receptions for 75 yards and had 2  touchdowns. Desmond Duffy added 67 yards on 3 catches, while the ground game was paced by Dominic Ancich (8 carries for 59 yards) and Mike Taffe (6 carries for 53 yards).

Fullerton's defense stood tall, holding the Cougars to just 10 points and forcing key stops late. Eric Rory II led the charge with 10 total tackles and a sack. Ethan Charpentier added 9 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss. Dez Polamalu was a force in the trenches recording 5 tackles and a strip-sack.

Including tonight's victory, the Hornets and Cougars have played each other 12 times with Fullerton owning the series record at 8-4. The first time the two teams played was in 2007, a 31-30 shootout that saw the Hornets edge the Cougars in Santa Clarita.

Up Next: No. 9 Fullerton (5-1 overall, 3-0 SCFA Central) will bring it back home on Saturday, October 18^th when Bakersfield College comes to Sherbeck Field for a SCFA Central Conference matchup. Kickoff is at 2:00 pm. Come on out and support your Hornets!