Heading into the 2015 season, Long Beach City College football head coach Brett Peabody felt confident about his defense but knew there were question marks about his offense after watching numerous skill position players move on to Division I programs. Some of those questions might have gotten answered as the Vikings totaled 418 yards of offense in a 43-16 opening-night win at Moorpark College's Griffin Stadium on Saturday.
Freshman quarterback Jack Lowary (Mater Dei HS) threw for 235 yards and a touchdown while freshman running back Tyree Harris (Torrance HS) ran for 100 yards and two TDs to lead Long Beach to the win.
The Vikings jumped out to 20-0 second quarter lead and were never threatened. Harris capped LBCC's opening four-play, 31-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run to get the Vikings on the board at the 12:18 mark. Freshman Sergio Garcia (Wilson HS) followed with field goals of 34 and 42 yards before sophomore quarterback Jacob Kalama came off the bench to connect with freshman wide receiver Mike Wilson (Washington HS) for a 36-yard touchdown with 5:49 left in the half.
Moorpark finally scored when Inoke Ngalo picked off Kalama's pass and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown with 3:18 to go. But the Vikings got the points back with just 25 seconds left when Lowary returned and closed out a seven-play, 64-yard drive with a nine-yard TD pass to freshman wide receiver Jerin Scroggins (Cabrillo HS).
The Raiders' defense came up with another big play, scoring a safety thanks to a bad snap by the Vikings that sailed into the end zone on a punt attempt. The two-point safety cut the Vikings' lead to 26-10 with 14:11 to play in the third quarter.
Garcia followed with his third field goal of the game, this time from 38 yards out, before the LBCC defense came up with a big play of its own. With 10:35 to play in the third, sophomore Rob Regpala (Ewa Beach, HI) blocked the Raiders' punt setting up freshman Kwentin Polk's recovery in the end zone for a touchdown.
Moorpark's offense finally scored on the Vikings late in the third, getting a 21-yard touchdown pass by Christian Hammack to KeiWauan Miller at the 5:58 mark before Harris closed out the game's scoring with a five-yard TD run for the Vikings with 3:11 left in the third.
Wilson led Viking receivers with six catches for 91 yards and a TD. Scroggins also caught four passes for 50 yards and a touchdown.
On defense, sophomore Christian Woo (Mayfair HS) led with 5.5 tackles (3 solo). Sophomore Kiante Goudeau (Edison HS) totaled 2.5 tackles and nearly had an interception for a touchdown. Instead, he settled for a 71-yard return.
Long Beach, now 1-0, returns to action next Saturday (Sept. 12) when it travels to Palomar College for a 6 p.m. non-conference game at Escondido High School.