Only 26 yards away from the end zone, an incomplete pass thrown by quarterback Jake Basmajian ended the chance of winning for the Pierce College’s football team against Santa Monica City College on Saturday.
The Brahmas were down from the beginning and came back to tie it at 31 with nine minutes left, but couldn’t complete the task as they dropped their second conference game 37-31.
A 46-yard pass completed to wide receiver Joseph Morris put Pierce on the scoreboard within the first five minutes of the game.
Although the Brahmas received ten penalties creating a total loss of 107 yards, less than last week, they suffered from too many turnovers too early in the game.
Both touchdowns scored by Santa Monica in the first quarter were made by opportunities missed by Pierce’s offense; one being an interception and the other a fumble recovery by the Corsairs.
Quarterback Jake Basmajian completed only 11 of his 29 attempted passes, however gained 65 rushing yards throughout the game.
“We played a pretty bad first half, we were behind from the get go. We showed some heart and some effort in the second half and almost came back but the damage was already done,” said Basmajian. “We turned the ball over way too much in the first half, five turnovers isn’t going to get you a win.”
Due to offensive mistakes, second string quarterback Matt Rasmussen came in to take over for Basmajian.
Running back Gregory Wanamaker accounted for two of the four touchdowns made by Pierce, one making up for yards lost by a touchback, rushing for 80 yards into the end zone.
“They [offensive line] really tried hard. I talk to them after each play and they always tell me their going to open up holes for me and I believe in them and I have great confidence behind my line.” said running back Josh Johnson.
Defensively the Brahmas held it together and played well causing the Santa Monica Corsairs to lose a total of 46 yards in rushing attempts.
Safety Gerald Bowman made a total of eight tackles as well as an interception accompanied by a 20-yard return and a first down for Pierce.
“The coaches told us to come out, execute our assignments and play fundamental football, so we came out with the right attitude and played football.” said Bowman.
The Brahmas will have their next conference game at LA Southwest College on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 6 p.m.
http://info.piercecollege.edu/departments/athletics/footschd.html