Corsairs Football Achieve First Win of the Season
Missed tackles, sacks, and a crucial offside call seemed to spell more of the same for the Corsairs, but they were able to hang on just enough to force an overtime win.
On Saturday, Oct. 1, the Santa Monica College (SMC) Corsairs football team played against the West Los Angeles College (WLAC) Wildcats. Both teams exchanged the lead quite a bit while struggling on both sides of the ball, but eventually the Corsairs were able to force overtime where they were able to hold the Wildcats just enough to get their first win of the season for their homecoming game.
The Corsairs received the kickoff in the first half, but a quick three and out handed the ball to the Wildcats where they were able to make quick use of their drive. They scored a touchdown, but a blocked point after touchdown (PAT) only put them up 6-0. The Corsairs received the ball where they were able to equalize quickly. SMC quarterback Forrest Brock primarily utilized running plays on the drive before ultimately throwing a 30 yard pass to Wide Receiver (WR) Jaboree Thornton on fourth down. Their PAT was blocked as well and the score was 6-6.
WLAC received their kickoff after the touchdown but it was fumbled and recovered by SMC. Brock seemed to be playing the drive well until he was intercepted in the endzone from just 14 yards out. The Wildcats couldn’t make use of their gifted drive, however, and the Corsairs received the ball again after a punt. This time, the Corsairs took advantage and Brock was able to throw a touchdown to WR LJ Holmes, and kicker William Romero was able to complete the PAT, putting the Corsairs up 13-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Hardly any offensive production came out of the second quarter except the Wildcats equalizing the score less than five minutes into the quarter. The quarter featured punts, fumbles, an interception, and a missed field goal attempt, but the first half ended at 13-13.
The Wildcats received the second half kickoff and wasted no time to get ahead, using mostly rushing plays to get downfield. They ended up scoring a passing touchdown and an extra point to put them up 20-13. Both teams had one possession each without being able to do anything until the Corsairs were able to take advantage of their final drive in the quarter. Brock completed a long key pass to running back (RB) Jaden Bridges to get them yards downfield. He utilized running plays after the pass before eventually scoring the touchdown himself. The PAT tied the game again at 20-20.
Each team didn’t give up in the fourth quarter with both teams getting two touchdowns each. The Wildcats got their first touchdown twelve seconds into the quarter with a 20 yard rush and an extra point, putting them up 27-20. The Corsairs caught up six minutes later with a combination of both rushing and passing plays and WR Myles Parker receiving the touchdown pass and Romero kicking in the equalizer. The Wildcats went up again using mostly rushing plays for their fifth touchdown and fourth PAT. With only three minutes left, the Corsairs were able to catch up, ending with a score of 34-34, forcing overtime.
For overtime, each team started 25 yards away from the endzone. The Corsairs were up first. Brock had three passes total, with the final touchdown going to Thornton and Romero kicking the crucial PAT. The Wildcats scored their touchdown and opted to go for a two-point PAT, which was stopped by the Corsairs to win the game 41-40.
Head Coach Kelly Ledwith spoke post game about the win, and the decision to go for it on fourth down instead of going for field goals and punts throughout the game. A few things Ledwith mentioned were the wind not being optimal for kicking, and Romero missing a few kicks early in the game. Besides that, Ledwith said “a lot of the times I just like when we’re playing aggressive and having confidence in our guys.”
Ledwith was frustrated just before overtime started. There were some calls that weren’t made that would have benefited SMC and could have avoided overtime altogether. Ledwith reflected on that postgame. He said “after watching the film of the game I can see from their perspective better and think they called a good game.” Think this can be taken out, feels awkwardly placed.
Ledwith praised the team for their dedication in practice knowing it finally paid off with their win.
“I’m proud of the way they showed up and put it all together on the field,” he said.
The Corsairs’ next game is on Saturday, Oct. 8 at El Camino College at 6 p.m., postponed from Sept. 3. Their next home game will be on Thursday, Oct. 13 at 6 p.m. against the Moorpark College Raiders.
