Dec. 10,
2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Fred Baer 650-483-3733 (mobile)
GROSSMONT
HOLDS OFF LATE CCSF RALLY TO WIN FOOTBALL CROWN, 41-38
FRESNO (December
10, 2005)-- Grossmont College took advantage of five first half City College
of San Francisco turnovers to take a 31-10 halftime lead and held on for a
41-38 victory in the 2005 California Community Colleges Commission on Athletics
Football Championship at Grizzlies Stadium.
San Francisco
scored the final touchdown with just nine seconds left on a 12-yard pass from
Andrew Strom to Maurice Purify. Grossmont star Derrell Hutsona fair caught
the ensuing kickoff on his own 35 and the Griffins needed only a kneel down
to secure the title.
Grossmont’s
Jared Ballman had kicked his second field goal of the game, 30 yards, for
the winning points with 1:46 left. After CCSF closed to 38-31 with 6:04 remaining
on a 20-yard Strom to Purify pass, the Griffins took 4:18 off the clock with
their drive. And they forced CCSF to use its remaining timeouts.
Grossmont
quarterback Reilly Murphy, the game MVP, completed 18 of 29 passes for 270
yards and the game’s first TD, 39 yards to Chris Johnson, just 1:37 after
the opening kickoff.
CCSF came
right back to tie it, driving 87 yards to score on quarterback Tim Sonnenburg’s
one yard keeper. The Rams took their only lead, 10-7, on a 32 yard field goal
by John Abrams with 5:01 remaining in the first quarter.
The next
five scores belonged to Grossmont, however. Jared Ballman tied it at 10 with
a 29-yard field goal and Hutsona put the Griffins on top for good at 17-10
on a 15-yard run with nine seconds left in the initial period. He was the
game’s top rusher with 129 yards on 19 carries.
Sonnenburg
was intercepted on consecutive possessions by Devon Jones, Terry Mixon, and
Brett St. James – and the Rams fumbled the ball away on their next (and
last) drive of the first half. CCSF had eight turnovers in the game –
to just two (fumbles) by Grossmont.
Grossmont
continued to take advantage of the opportunities. Kevin Smith scored on a
three-yard run and Murphy tallied on a one-yard sneak. Mixon ran back his
second interception 17 yards to give Grossmont its biggest lead, 38-10, with
7:50 left in the third quarter.
At that
point Strom took the helm for the Rams and completed 16 of 20 passes for 158
yards and three touchdowns, with one interception. Purify, voted the offensive
player of the game, caught seven passes for 104 yards and two scores. CCSF
defensive end Julian James also recovered a Grossmont fumble in the end zone
for a TD. San Francisco was led on the ground by running back Tyreece Jacks
with 83 yards on 24 carries.
Grossmont
defensive back Lee Paleafei was selected defensive player of the game. Michael
Omar led Grossmont pass receivers with six catches for 154 yards.
The championship
was a fitting retirement present – and a bit of revenge for Grossmont
head coach Dave Jordan, who first took the Griffins’ helm in 1971 and
had an undefeated state champion team in 1974. San Francisco, which finished
10-2, won its last state title, in 2003, defeating Grossmont, 38-35, in the
championship game.
Grossmont
ended the year 13-1, defeating every opponent. Although the Griffins lost
their second game of the season, 32-22, to defending state champion College
of the Canyons, they came back to eliminate the state top-ranked Cougars (12-1),
24-19, in last week’s Southern California finals. Ranked fifth in the
state, Grossmont finished the season with a 12-game winning streak. Fourth
ranked CCSF defeated second ranked Reedley (10-1), 40-35, for the Northern
California Championship.
None of
California’s 72 teams survived the 2005 season with an undefeated record.
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