Football: Vikings complete fourth-quarter comeback, shock Mt. SAC 38-31 in double overtime

Freshman quarterback Jack Lowary (Mater Dei HS) threw for 432 yards and five touchdowns while freshman wide receiver Mike Wilson (Washington Preparatory) collected 218 yards and four touchdowns in Long Beach City College's amazing 38-31 come-from-behind, double-overtime win at Mt. San Antonio College on Saturday night.

LBCC was down 31-17 with 9:30 to play in the fourth quarter before rallying for 21 straight points, including the game-tying touchdown with 27 seconds left that sent the game to overtime.

Long Beach trailed Mt. SAC 10-7 at halftime but jumped ahead 17-10 at the 4:41 mark in the third quarter after Wilson's second TD reception of the game and a 23-yard field goal by freshman Sergio Garcia (Wilson HS).

From that point, momentum definitely shifted towards the home-team Mounties. Mt. SAC rallied for three straight touchdowns, including an 88-yard punt return for a TD and a 12-yard run by Aaren Vaughns that put the Vikings in the 14-point hole in the fourth.

But Lowary and the Vikings stayed cool despite the constant pressure by the Mt. SAC defense. Lowary was sacked nine times, but he still managed to lead the Vikings down field for touchdown drives in the fourth.

He quickly stopped the LBCC scoring drought with a six-play scoring drive that lasted just under two minutes. His 26-yard pass to Wilson cut the Mounties' lead to 31-24 at the 7:34 mark.

And with 3:43 remaining in the fourth, Lowary marched the Vikings 91 yards over 12 plays and tied up the contest with a seven-yard TD pass to Wilson, his fourth of the game, with 27 seconds left in regulation.

In overtime, the LBCC defense force Mt. SAC backwards resulting in a missed 46-yard field goal attempt by Brandon Garcia. Long Beach needed just a field goal of its own to pull out the win, but after a sack, Lowary's pass was picked off by Jeffrey Farrar and ran back 98 yards for what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown. But the play was called back because of a Mt. SAC holding penalty to send the game to double overtime.

Lowary opened the Vikings' go-ahead drive with a 10-yard pass to Wilson, before sophomore Deonte Dixon (Paramount HS) ran for three yards to set up Lowary's 12-yard TD pass to freshman Jerin Scroggins (Cabrillo HS).

On their ensuing drive, the Mounties appeared to be sending the game into a third overtime. Mt. SAC had first and goal from the Vikings' two-yard line. But the LBCC defense stopped a run at the goal line before a Mt. SAC penalty and incomplete pass set up the game-ending play. On third and goal, Jerry McConico's pass was intercepted by LBCC sophomore Christian Woo (Mayfair HS) in the end zone to secure the Vikings' win.  

Lowary completed 34 of 62 passes for 432 yards with five touchdowns and one interception, while Wilson hauled in 14 receptions for 218 yards and four TDs to provide most of the Vikings' offense. Long Beach totaled 404 yards, but was credited with -28 yards rushing. LBCC had averaged 171 yards on the ground over its first four games.

Freshman Isaia Rosten (Cabrillo HS) led the LBCC defense with nine tackles (6 solo) and a force fumble. Sophomore Kiante Goudeau (Edison HS) grabbed his state-leading fifth interception of the season. He also broke up three passes and had three tackles.
  
Long Beach, ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 4 nationally by JCFootball.com, is 5-0 overall to open the season for the second consecutive year. The Vikings are 2-0 in National Central League play and will host Allan Hancock College next Saturday (Oct. 10) at 6 p.m. in a non-league game at Veterans Memorial Stadium.