Sophomore quarterback Derrach West ran for a pair of late touchdowns but Long Beach City College fell behind early and couldn't come back in a 37-20 loss at Golden West College in Huntington Beach on Saturday afternoon.
The Vikings found themselves in a 10-0 hole after the first quarter but a pair of field goals by Ryan Padilla (38, 32-yards) to open the second got LBCC within four points at 10-6 at the 12:03 mark.
But Long Beach would get no closer. Golden West (4-1) put together a pair of touchdown drives to close out the half and take a 24-6 lead into the locker room at the break. A Rustlers' field goal early in the third quarter made it a 17-0 Golden West run and the Vikings faced a 27-6 deficit.
West ran in for the first of his touchdowns with 1:15 left in the third. His seven-yard run capped a long 12-play, 89-yard LBCC drive that put life back into the Vikings.
Golden West quickly dashed any hopes of a comeback, responding on the ensuing drive with a 56-yard TD run by Gianni Hurd.
After a Rustlers' field goal, West closed out the scoring for Long Beach with a three-yard run with 5:29 left to play. West led the Vikings' offense, rushing 16 times for 82 yards. He also completed 14 of 21 passes for 201 yards.
Jayden (JD) Davis totaled eight tackles and broke up a pass to lead the Long Beach defense. Thaddeus Dixon had seven tackles and an interception while Allen Parrish recorded seven tackles with a sack.
Long Beach fell to 2-3 overall this season. The Vikings have a bye next week and return to action on Oct. 16 when they travel to Ventura College to open National Northern Division play. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.