The defensive struggles continued for the Long Beach City College football team as the Vikings suffered a 59-7 loss at El Camino College in both teams' Central Conference opener on Saturday night at Murdock Stadium.

With the loss, LBCC dropped to 0-4 overall and 0-1 in conference play. The Vikings have lost six straight dating back to last season.

The Long Beach defense allowed 50 or more points for the third time this season while the Vikings' offense turned the ball over five times.

Trailing 17-0, sophomore Jared Ginter (pictured) finally got the Vikings on the scoreboard with his 20-yard touchdown run with 8:47 left in the second quarter.

But that was the lone shining moment on a dark night in Torrance. El Camino led 24-7 at halftime and poured it on with five touchdowns in the second half.

Ginter led Long Beach with 98 yards on 19 carries. His rushing touchdown was the first of the season for the Vikings.

Freshman quarterback Casey Nielsen completed 9 of 21 passes for 111 yards with two interceptions. He was also under constant pressure as LBCC quarterbacks were sacked six times.

 Freshman Brandon Auguste led the Vikings with eight tackles (7 solo) and also had a pass break up.

For El Camino (2-2, 1-0), quarterback Jesse Scroggins completed 7 of 16 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns. Luckner Brady was his prime target, catching four passes for 147 yards and a touchdown.

The Warriors also retained possession of the Battle Axe, the perpetual trophy awarded the winner of the rivalry game.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Vikings as they host Riverside City College next Saturday (Sep 29) at 1 pm.

Photo by Chris Ruiz