Grossmont stellar in win against Harbor!

The Grossmont Griffins football team was looking for a rebound performance as well as the opportunity to make a positive statement this Saturday versus Los Angeles Harbor College.  The Griffins literally jumped on the Seahawks from the opening kick-off when they recovered the game's only fumble and began their 1st drive inside the Seahawks red zone.  Sophomore Kicker Nels Haltom from Bountiful, Utah began the scoring with a 33 yard field goal just one minute into the start of the game.  The Griffins and Seahawks fought a tightly contested and very well played football game that finished as a 13-13 tie at the half.  However, both offenses erupted in the second half and the fans were treated with 48 second half points between the two teams.  With 12:31 left to go in the 4th quarter it appeared that the Griffins had closed the door on the visitors when sophomore Brad Cagle from El Capitan High School in San Diego launched a perfectly thrown pass to Luqman Barcoo from Castle Park High School in Chula Vista.  Associate Dean of Athletics, Thomas Armstrong comments "I had the best seat in the house for that play - I could have reached out and touched Luqman from the sidelines, that ball was thrown perfectly, I watched it drop out of the sky and right into the receivers outstretched hands, Luqman never had to break stride, slow down, or reach for the ball, it was that beautiful."  The Cagle to Barcoo 72 yard touchdown pass put the Griffins up 34-21 with just 12 minutes left in the contest.  However, the Seahawks came immediately firing back and scored two touchdowns; the first just two minutes later and the second with just over 5 minutes left in the game.  With five minutes remaing the score was once again tied - this time at 34 a piece.  The Griffins ground game was exceptional on this afternoon and they controlled the time possession stat line by holding onto the football for over 33 minutes.  Grossmont carried the ball 36 times for 135 yards as a team; 6'3 - 240 lb freshman running-back Jerome Johnson III led all rushers with 82 yards on 16 attempts and 1 touchdown.  However, despite a perfectly executing offense that had controlled the time of possession all day, the Griffins made one of their very few and rare mistakes of the day - Grossmont scored too quickly.  Johnson's 5 yard touchdown run capped off a 4 play - 47 yard drive that took only 1:58 off of the clock and thus leaving the Seahawks nearly 4 minutes of 4th quarter clock time to play with.  After failing on the extra point conversation - the Griffins kicked off to the visitors with a 6 point lead and the game in jeopardy.  However, the "dark side" of the ball held strong in the final drive despite a very game and determined Seahawk offense.  Linebacker Ernie Garcia from West Hills High School led all Griffins in tackles with 8 while Defensive Lineman Chris James from Chaparrel High School recorded a sack and two tackles for loss.  The visitors took the entire 3 minutes and 40 seconds the game had left to move down the field and attempt a score, but the defense held solid and denied the Seahawks the opportunity.  Final score: Grossmont College 40 over Los Angleles Harbor 34.  The Griffins will travel to El Camino College for a 6:00 PM game on Saturday September 16th.