Corsair Football Falls to Santa Ana Dons

Santa Monica College (SMC) Corsairs defensive back Logan Polk (4) intercepts ball that was aimed for Santa Ana College (SAC) Don wide receiver James Farmer (2) during a football game against SAC Don, on Sept. 28, 2024 at the Corsair Stadium in Santa Monica, Calif. The Corsairs lost 34-20. (Carmen Talavera | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) Corsairs quarterback Michael Cruz (13) aims to throw the ball into wide receiver Sean Grier (9) during a football game against SAC Don, on Sept. 28, 2024 at the Corsair Stadium in Santa Monica, Calif. The Corsairs lost 34-20. (Carmen Talavera | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College Corsairs wide receiver Sean Grier (9) celebrating his touchdown with his wide receiver teammate Cody Lambert (10) during a football game against SAC Don, on Sept. 28, 2024 at the Corsair Stadium in Santa Monica, Calif. The Corsairs lost 34-20. (Carmen Talavera | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) Corsairs punter Diego Caldera’s (85) punt gets blocked by Santa Ana College (SAC) Don linebacker Jake Giles (30) during a football game against SAC Don, on Sept. 28, 2024 at the Corsair Stadium in Santa Monica, Calif. The Corsairs lost 34-20. (Carmen Talavera | The Corsair)

Santa Ana College Don defensive back Joey Fox (7) picks up the punt and runs down the field to give his team points on the scoreboard during a football game against SAC Don, on Sept. 28, 2024 at the Corsair Stadium in Santa Monica, Calif. The Corsairs lost 34-20. (Carmen Talavera | The Corsair)

On Sept. 28, 2024, the Santa Monica College Football team (2-2) played at home against the Santa Ana College Dons (3-1) at the Corsair Field. During the first quarter, the Corsairs scored a touchdown as quarterback Micheal Cruz completed a pass to wide receiver Maurice Herrera. The first quarter ended with Santa Monica College taking the lead 6-3.

“I think we didn’t come out as strong as we should have,” running back Jevan Dorbor said. “The defense gets good plays but our offense needs to be more consistent.”

The Dons outscored the Corsairs 14-7 in the second quarter, taking a 17-13 lead into halftime. The Dons added a field goal in the third quarter and two touchdowns in the fourth to extend their lead. The Corsairs cut into the lead with a touchdown pass from Cruz to Darren Tenner, but with less than two minutes left to play, it was too little too late for the Corsairs.

 “It was good for the first part,” safety Carson Cox said, “The second half got away from us in the end.”

“Our guys played extremely hard. They had great effort, great intensity. They work together.” Head coach Kelly Ledwith said, “We committed 5 turnovers and made a couple big mistakes at the wrong time on the special teams that lead to touchdowns. You can’t overcome that against a team that is playing well, you know. We play really well at times, but those mistakes that cost us a game.”
The game ended in a 34-20 victory for the Santa Ana College Dons. The Corsairs play their next non-conference game on Oct. 5 at 6:00pm at Compton College. For more information on SMC Football games and statistics click on the link here.