Eagles in control
Sac City bounced, 26-21 --Two more wins and Laney takes Mid-Empire title
Scott Strain
Issue date: 11/1/07 Last update: 11/1/07 at 3:07 PM PST
Section: Sports
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SACRAMENTO--Sometimes the ball bounces your way--and that is one reason Laney College is now leading the Mid-Empire Conference.
The Eagles (7-1, 3-0 Mid-Empire) knocked off Sacramento City College 26-21 on Sept. 27 and, coupled with College of the Siskiyous' 30-21 victory over Merced College, now are in sole possession of first place.
Laney took advantage of two blocked punts, a safety and a recovered fumble of a punt return to sink the Panthers (4-4, 2-1).
"I like the way we came back after their first play," Laney coach Jay Uchiumi said. "It showed we had some intestinal fortitude to hang in there."
That first play was a 55-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Andrew Gardner to Ahmad Lewis that put Sac City up 7-0 just 20 seconds into the game.
The Eagles tied the score with 5:11 left in the first quarter when Thomas Porter blocked a Cameron Lancaster punt in the Panthers end zone and Jonathan Ve'e fell on the ball for a touchdown.
Sac City retook the lead with 1:30 left in the first half when Gardner threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Marcus Cole. The PAT kick was missed and the Panthers led 13-7 at the half.
Laney quarterback Matt Dardenne, who was pretty much held in check in the first half, got it going in the third quarter with a pair of 58-yard scoring passes that gave the Eagles a 21-13 lead.
Dardenne's first scoring toss went to Andrew Allen, who broke three tackles to score with 13:09 left in the third quarter. One series later, Dardenne threw a strike to Charles Walker on a cross and the receiver raced into the end zone, fumbling the ball but gathering it in before the ball went out of bounds.
The Panthers came back on their next series, Gardner throwing another 20-yard touchdown pass to Cole. Gardner threw a two-point conversion pass to Jonathan Krebs, and the game was tied a 21-21 with 49.4 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Eagles took the lead for good when Sac City, faced with a 4th and-15 on its own 11, snapped the ball out of the end zone on a punt attempt. The safety gave Laney a 23-21 lead with 10:58 left in the game.
The Eagles made it 26-21 when Daniel Ayers kicked a 35-yard field goal with 7:31 left in the game.
Sacramento had one last shot with just over a minute left when the Panthers forced an Eagles punt. Cole, who was the returner, let the ball hit him and Laney's Tino Sao fell on it on the Sac City 35. The Eagles were able to run out the clock.
The Eagles (7-1, 3-0 Mid-Empire) knocked off Sacramento City College 26-21 on Sept. 27 and, coupled with College of the Siskiyous' 30-21 victory over Merced College, now are in sole possession of first place.
Laney took advantage of two blocked punts, a safety and a recovered fumble of a punt return to sink the Panthers (4-4, 2-1).
"I like the way we came back after their first play," Laney coach Jay Uchiumi said. "It showed we had some intestinal fortitude to hang in there."
That first play was a 55-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Andrew Gardner to Ahmad Lewis that put Sac City up 7-0 just 20 seconds into the game.
The Eagles tied the score with 5:11 left in the first quarter when Thomas Porter blocked a Cameron Lancaster punt in the Panthers end zone and Jonathan Ve'e fell on the ball for a touchdown.
Sac City retook the lead with 1:30 left in the first half when Gardner threw a 20-yard scoring pass to Marcus Cole. The PAT kick was missed and the Panthers led 13-7 at the half.
Laney quarterback Matt Dardenne, who was pretty much held in check in the first half, got it going in the third quarter with a pair of 58-yard scoring passes that gave the Eagles a 21-13 lead.
Dardenne's first scoring toss went to Andrew Allen, who broke three tackles to score with 13:09 left in the third quarter. One series later, Dardenne threw a strike to Charles Walker on a cross and the receiver raced into the end zone, fumbling the ball but gathering it in before the ball went out of bounds.
The Panthers came back on their next series, Gardner throwing another 20-yard touchdown pass to Cole. Gardner threw a two-point conversion pass to Jonathan Krebs, and the game was tied a 21-21 with 49.4 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Eagles took the lead for good when Sac City, faced with a 4th and-15 on its own 11, snapped the ball out of the end zone on a punt attempt. The safety gave Laney a 23-21 lead with 10:58 left in the game.
The Eagles made it 26-21 when Daniel Ayers kicked a 35-yard field goal with 7:31 left in the game.
Sacramento had one last shot with just over a minute left when the Panthers forced an Eagles punt. Cole, who was the returner, let the ball hit him and Laney's Tino Sao fell on it on the Sac City 35. The Eagles were able to run out the clock.
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