With only one quarterback available due to injuries in Joshua Andrade, Pasadena City College Director of Football Operations/Head Coach Robert Tucker scrambled this week in trying to make sure he had reserve options. But Andrade not only played every offensive down, the freshman from Las Vegas hit a jackpot with three straight touchdown passes as the Lancers downed host Compton, 35-14, on Saturday night.
The Lancers evened their overall record to 4-4 and won for the first time in three SCFA American Mountain League games in moving to 1-2. Compton fell to 3-4 and 0-2.
Andrade raced PCC to a 21-0 lead with TD throws of 8 yards to tight end Isaiah Smalls, 46 yards to receiver Daniel Schwam and 9 yards to running back Isaac Glover. A 24-yard TD run by Juaquin Elliott late in the second quarter meant Andrade had led the Lancers to four touchdowns in their first four offensive series.
A 12-yard TD scamper by Caleb Gardner in the third quarter upped the Pasadena lead to 35-0. Tucker pulled most of his defensive (and offensive) starters in the second half as Compton made the score respectable with two touchdown passes by James Rafkin.
Andrade, however, played throughout as he completed 13 of 22 passes for 198 yards. One of his best throws was a 38-yard bomb to wide receiver Ivan Ostry in the third quarter. He completed passes to eight different receivers.
"We pulled Josh's red shirt a few weeks ago and he is learning with every rep," Tucker said. "When he was running the scout team for the first five weeks, we could see that he had some moxie to him. We need to keep accelerating his development. I'm so proud of the way he has stepped up and when the team needed him. His teammates absolutely love him and he is doing a great job of leading and learning on the run."
PCC's rushing attack was also efficient as nine different players carried the ball to total 167 yards in 29 carries for a 5.8 average per attempt. Elliott led the parade with 43 yards in four carries, followed by Glover with 35 yards in four attempts and Armando Guardado 29 yards in four touches.
The Lancers' first-string defense was stellar, led by a 9-yard sack and two quarterback hurries by outside linebacker Jaylon McGee. Also recording sacks were linemen Michelangelo Loretto and Carlos Ramirez and inside linebacker Michael Prappas. Defensive back Drake Vickers (five solos) and outside linebacker Mark Anderson III (two solos) tied for the team's high in tackles with five each.
Defensive back Nathaniel Palacios intercepted a pass near the PCC end zone at the end of the first half for his team-leading third pick. Jacob Leazenby made four special teams tackles and the wide receiver by trade caught his first pass of the season of six yards. In the secondary, Palacios, Osvaldo Raigosa, Jonathan Chavez, Nesty Montfleury, and Devin Mason all were credited with pass break-ups.
Schwam (from Vienna, Austria) had a strong performance to lead the receiving corps with 79 yards in three receptions. He took a short pass from Andrade and showed some speed to turn it into his long touchdown in the first quarter.
Kicker Justin Vergara was perfect on extra points with five.
"I'm very proud of the team effort," Tucker said. "Every active player who travelled to Compton played in the game. The offensive line did a very good job of protecting Josh."
Tucker played a season-high 61 players as the offensive line stood out with Guadalupe Cedillo, Erick Contreras, Mario Luna, Jacob Lopez, Ruben Sanchez, Steven Ortiz, Isaiah Auguste, Aldo Sanchez, Daniel Guerrero, Angel Garduno, Bernardo Brito and Jacen Guerra all seeing action.
PCC GRID NOTES: The Lancers broke a tie in the all-time series v. Compton, now leading the Tartars, 27-26-3 in 56 meetings...The 35 points are a 2022 season high for the Lancers, who reached that mark and more five times last year when they won the AML title and the SoCal Bowl...Raigosa tops the Lancers in overall tackles with 45 and Ramirez took over the team lead in sacks with 7.5...The team's offense is balanced having rushed the ball 234 times and passed on 245 plays.
OSTRY REPEAT SCFA SPECIAL TEAMS/ALL-PURPOSE AWARD WINNER
Ostry, a sophomore slot receiver from La Canada High, had the distinction of being selected the SCFA Special Teams Player of the Week in two consecutive games. The feat is impressive in that there is only one award each week for special teams among 36 colleges playing in the SCFA.
After earning the honors in the team's AML opener at College of the Desert, he put on a show with 231 all-purpose yards, including his 100-yard TD kick return and 72-yard touchdown reception in the team's loss last week v. Grossmont.
Ostry leads the SCFA in kick return average at 31.6 yards per game and he is the first Lancer to ever return kickoffs for TDs in back-to-back games.
Next week, the Lancers play their Homecoming Game against visiting Victor Valley on Saturday, Nov. 5. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Robinson Stadium.
VVC is 3-4 overall and 1-1 after a 31-16 win over Grossmont on Saturday. Kenyard Edwards rushed for 177 yards in 25 carries and one TD. Last year, Edwards ran for 132 yards in 26 carries in PCC's 17-14 win over the Rams. That was also the first-ever meeting between the two colleges which means that the game #9 matchup is the first home game ever v. Victor Valley.
