The tough season for the Long Beach City College football team continued as the Vikings suffered a 44-0 National Central Conference loss at Mt. San Antonio College on Saturday.

With the loss, Long Beach dropped to 0-8 overall and 0-4 in conference play with just two games left on the 2012 schedule.

The Vikings were shutout for the first time since October 23, 2010 when LBCC suffered a 34-0 loss at Moorpark College.

Mt. SAC, ranked No. 1 in Southern California, led 20-0 after the first quarter before the Vikings held the Mounties to just three points in the second.

LBCC's best chance to score came late in the second quarter. A nine-play, 80-yard drive was halted when backup quarterback Casey Nielsen fumbled the snap at Mt. SAC's three-yard line.

On the drive, Quincy Dickens caught a 34-yard pass, Jared Ginter had a 16-yard run, and Richard Wheeler hauled in a nice one-handed catch for 16 yards.

Mt. SAC (8-0, 4-0 NCC) put up 21 points in the second half to close out the win.

Long Beach totaled just 121 yard of offense. Nielsen (pictured), in for starter Nick Pope after he was injured during LBCC's second drive, threw for 112 yards on 9 of 16 passing. Ginter collected 60 yards on 12 rushes.

On defense, Brandon Auguste led the Vikings with nine tackles (3 solo) and added an interception and a pass breakup. Hayden Gregory had eight tackles (3 solo) including two for losses.

Long Beach will look to snap its 10-game losing streak next week (Nov. 3) at 1 p.m. when the Vikings host Citrus College in their final home game of 2012.

Photo by John Fajardo