Andre Fuller / Roundup
Sloppy play and a plethora of penalties throughout the game lead to the defeat of the Brahmas.
Coming off an impressive victory against Moorpark College, the Brahmas couldn’t seem to put it all together the following week as the football team fell short to the Fullerton Hornets 37-21.
From the start, the Hornets looked to be in sync as Fullerton’s Damon Smith returned an 89-yard fumbled kickoff return for a touchdown on the opening kickoff of the game.
Big plays early and often by the Hornet offense impaired the Brahmas as their defense couldn’t get off the field. Fullerton running back Kenny Turner was a big contributor to the worn-out Brahma defense.
After missing last year with a season ending knee surgery, Davis has had a couple games since coming back from the injury. With 131 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 17 attempts, Turner had a fantastic game against the Brahma defense.
“I came off a knee injury last year and so it feels pretty good to come out here and help my team win a game,” Turner said. “Well the defense played pretty aggressive, but I was able to make some plays and get the job done tonight.”
Turner had help though. With bad penalities caused by the Brahmas and the apparent injury bug on the Brahmas’ defensive side of the ball, the Pierce team didn’t have a lot rhythm throughout the first half.
Lack of tackling on defense, an inconsistent offense, and poor special teams by the Brahmas in the first half is a big reason why they went into halftime down 24-0.
Even when the Brahma offense effectively moved down the field, it was their special teams that would hold them down with a blocked field goal and a missed field goal. The running game, which is a strong point in the Brahmas offense, was also shut down early as they could only muster 13 yards on 22 attempts.
“They are a pretty good team. We are still nervous and lack that confidence, but they just played well,” said Brahmas head coach Efrain Martinez. “They were gonna make sure Prince Young, our running back, wasn’t going to run so they keyed on him.”
Starting off the third quarter with a bang, the Brahma defense showed more energy forcing Fullerton into several punting situations.
Brahma defensive back Brandon Turner got the Brahmas back in the game with an interception early in the third quarter.
After the defense started to show up in the third quarter, the Brahma offense showed some signs of maturing and learning how to deal with pressure.
Led by quarterback Matt Wabby, who made three touchdown passes all in the second half, the Brahma offense seemed to be getting it together by scoring 21 unanswered points through passes to wide receivers Ty Harris, Coleman Edmond, and Damon Juliwan.
However, after getting intercepted with 3:11 left in the fourth quarter, it seemed as if the momentum the Brahmas gained was fizzling out.
“We hung tough with one of the best teams and you gotta feel good about that,” Martinez said.
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Kenny Turner (bottom, with ball) of Fullerton stretches out for a touchdown against the Brahmas on Friday. The Hornets went on to win 37-21. (Homer Perez / Roundup)
