Sophomore quarterback Ryan Craighead threw for 463 yards and five touchdowns but it wasn't enough as the Long Beach City College football team came up short in a 45-44 non-conference loss at Santa Ana College on Saturday.
The loss dropped the Vikings to 1-4 overall as they head into a much-needed bye next week while Santa Ana improved to 3-2.
It was another offensive explosion for Craighead and the Vikings as he passed for 460+ yards for the second consecutive week. His target of choice on Saturday was sophomore wide receiver Willie Bobbitt as he caught 12 passes for 188 yards with three touchdowns.
But it was also another tough game for the Vikings' defense. With today's loss, the defense has allowed nearly 45 points per game.
The Vikings almost pulled out the win late in the fourth quarter. Santa Ana staked itself to a 45-31 lead after a 32-yard field goal from Dillan Freiberg with 3:32 left in the game.
But on the ensuing kickoff, freshman Kendall Miles gave the Vikings good field position after his 48-yard return. Craighead then marched LBCC downfield 45 yards over six plays and closed the drive with nine-yard TD pass to Bobbitt. Craighead used just 59 seconds on the scoring drive and Long Beach trailed 45-38 with 2:22 to go.
Long Beach was successful on its on-side kick attempt and hope was still alive as the Vikings had the ball on their own 40-yard line with 2:19 remaining in the game. Three plays later, Craighead found freshman running back Emeka Agamegwa open for a 25-yard touchdown reception with 1:28 remaining.
Trailing by one point (45-44), LBCC head coach Mike Reisbig elected to go for two points. But the PAT got off to a bad start as the snap to Craighead in the shotgun formation was short and hit the ground. Craighead had nowhere to go and was tackled behind the line.
LBCC couldn't recover another on-side kick attempt and Santa Ana was able to run out the clock to secure the win.
Craighead completed 30 of 50 passes for 463 yards with one interception. His 463 yards ranks No. 4 on the all-time LBCC single game passing list and trails the 468 yards he threw for just last week. And just like last week, his five touchdown passes ties for No. 3 in the single-game category.
Sophomore wide receiver Sean Morris also had a big game with six catches for 153 yards and a touchdown. Freshman DB Ariel Arguello led the LBCC defense with nine tackles (4 solo) and an interception. Sophomore defensive end Holman Faatili also totaled nine tackles (5 solo) with a sack.
Long Beach is off next week and returns to action on October 15 when it opens SCFA West Conference play at Los Angeles Harbor College at 6 pm.