Eagles shut out SMC 14–0 to advance to final for the first time ever
by Eva Hannan
The №2-seeded Laney College football team does not have a perfect record this season, but the Eagles caused a huge “0” on the books with their shutout win over №3-seeded College of San Mateo in a 14–0 victory on Nov. 17 at Cabrillo College in Aptos.
The location of the game, originally to be hosted by the Eagles, changed in the days leading up to the playoffs, when the air quality in Oakland continued to be very poor due to the deadly Camp Fire’s toxic smoke.
The win, Laney’s fourth in a row, sets them up to play the NorCal Championship game at home on Saturday, Nov. 24, at 6 p.m. against fourth-seeded Fresno City College, which upset top-seeded Butte College 29–26 on Nov. 17 and have now won eight games in a row.
Laney’s stellar defense has scored three defensive touchdowns in conference games alone and four overall. Combine that with the Eagles’ incredible offense, and the team has scored 481 points so far this season.
Fresno has the same record of 9–2 as Laney, but with an average of 28.5 points per game going into the championship game. In comparison, the Eagles have scored a solid 38 points per game on average.
If Laney beats Fresno, the team will go on to the state championship against the winner of the Riverside College-Ventura College game, which also takes place on Nov. 24.
The California Community College Athletic Association’s championship game will be held in Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College on Dec. 8, at 1 p.m.
Laney is 4–1 in conference games, their loss having occurred at home on Oct. 19 against CSM.
In the shutout on Nov. 17, Laney allowed just five completions in 24 attempts by Bulldog quarterbacks, who were also sacked six times. It was the first time Laney beat CSM since 2001. Would revenge by any other name be so sweet?
Some of the sticky-icky stats leaders from the Eagles defensive line in their game against the Bulldogs, who were held to just 130 yards of total offense, include the linebackers Josh Bolding and Armani Turner-Jenkins.
These two helped keep CSM from having much of a chance to score. Bolding had 12 tackles, 11 of them solo, with five tackles-for-loss totaling 79 yards.
Turner-Jenkins had eight tackles, seven of them solo, and defensive lineman Ramone Sanders picked up two sacks, while Timmy Dorsey had the remaining sack.
Quarterback Jordon Brookshire scored the first touchdown on a one-yard plunge, after an 11-play, 42-yard drive put Laney within inches of the end zone in the second quarter.
The other TD came after a Bolding interception and a five-yard return near the end of the first half. This put Laney on the Bulldogs’ 30 yard line, and from there it took just four plays to score on a leaping grab by wide receiver Angelo Garrett, when quarterback Jordon Brookshire threw a 13-yard pass to the end zone with a little over a minute left on the clock.
Laney last beat Fresno City College 30–23 in the 2017 season. Go Eagles!