Freshman quarterback Jack Lowary's (Mater Dei HS) two-yard touchdown run with 34 seconds left in the fourth quarter capped an impressive 34-30 come-from-behind win for Long Beach City College at rival Cerritos College on Saturday night in the Southern California Bowl. With the victory, LBCC advances to next Saturday's (Nov. 28) Southern California Regional Championship game at Saddleback College.
Facing Cerritos for the first time since 2011, Long Beach also retained possession of the Crosstown Cup, the perpetual trophy given to the winner of the rivalry game.
On Saturday, the Vikings erased a 13-point Cerritos lead in the third quarter to pull out the win. Trailing 23-10 after a safety, LBCC responded with 17 straight points to jump ahead briefly. Freshman Sergio Garcia (Wilson HS) nailed a 28-yard field goal to take momentum away from the Falcons. On the ensuing kickoff, LBCC's Anthony Brittman (Cabrillo HS) recovered the short kick to give the Vikings excellent field position late in the third. Three plays later, sophomore Darren Johnson (Cabrillo HS) ran in from 14 yards out for a touchdown to get LBCC within three points at 23-20.
Long Beach went up 27-23 after a 24-yard touchdown reception by freshman Jaylen Watson (St. Anthony HS) from Lowary with 14:21 to play in the fourth.
Cerritos responded with a nine-play, 80-yard drive to take back the lead at 30-27 after a 26-yard TD reception by Dashawn Gordon from Jimmy Walker at the 4:08 mark.
But that was too much time left for Lowary and the Vikings. LBCC went 73 yards over 12 plays on its final drive, including a crucial first down on 3rd & 28 when freshman Mike Wilson (Washington Prep HS) hauled in a 47-yard reception to take the ball down to the Cerritos two-yard line. Lowary snuck in off the left end to put Long Beach out in front for good and secure the Vikings' spot in the Southern California championship game.
Lowary was named the Southern California Bowl's Offensive Player of the Game after completing 24 of 46 passes for 350 yards and two touchdowns. Wilson caught nine passes for 197 yards, including a 52-yard TD on his way to being named the game's Most Valuable Player.
Wilson can add the LBCC single-season reception record to his touchdown record. For the season, Wilson has caught 78 passes for 1240 yards and 16 TDs. He is just 15 yards away from setting a new receiving yards record as well.
Also turning in a record-breaking performance was sophomore corner back Kiante Goudeau (Edison HS). His state-leading eighth interception of the season in the first quarter set a new school record.
Johnson turned in his sixth 100+ yard rushing game of the season, collecting 123 yards on 22 carries with a TD.
Long Beach is 10-1 heading into next week's SoCal showdown at 9-2 Saddleback. The winner advances to the CCCAA State Championship at the site of the Northern California champion on December 12.
