SANTA CLARITA – The 2022 Long Beach City College football season came to a crushing end with a 31-24 loss at College of the Canyons on Saturday night.
LBCC had entered the game in a six-way tie for first place and needed a victory to secure a share of the National Northern League championship. The Vikings appeared to be on their way to the win after going ahead 24-17 late in the third quarter after a 15-yard touchdown pass from Will Madonna to Kyle Miller.
But the Vikings couldn't hold the lead. Canyons tied it up with a touchdown at the 10:42 mark in the fourth quarter and went ahead with the game-winning TD with 2:27 left in the contest.
Madonna threw for 297 yards on 25 of 42 passing while Miller ended with 6 catches for 142 yards. Jonathan Watson scored his 10th touchdown of the season in the second quarter and Dajon Newman found the end zone for the Vikings in the third, his fourth of the year. Both were one-yard runs.
Ventura (7-3), Allan Hancock (5-5), and Canyons (5-5) all finished with 3-2 league marks to share the Northern League championship.
Long Beach closed out the regular season with a 5-5 overall record and 2-3 mark in Northern League play. The Vikings hold a slim chance at being selected for a postseason bowl game to be played on Nov. 19. Selections will be announced next weekend.