City College’s football team received a surprise bid to the Golden State Bowl Sunday following the ban of Victor Valley College.
After a 47-14 loss to Glendale College last Saturday, City College was prepared to start looking forward to next season. With no hope for a bowl bid without a top two finish in the conference, all that changed Sunday.
Victor Valley, the state’s top ranked team, was set to take on Santa Monica College in the American Division Championship Bowl. But after a post-game brawl during handshakes with San Diego Mesa College, the CCCAA handed down the ultimate punishment of a Bowl Ban for the Rams.
“We had an almost flawless season, with none of our kids being ejected or disciplined,” Victor Valley Athletic Director Jaye Tashima said on Monday. “We don’t want this one negative action to overshadow what our team accomplished. We’re No. 1 in the entire state — don’t take that away from our kids.”
City College stepped into fill the open position after the spot opened up and some rearranging was made to the bowl game schedule.
City College (7-3), who was handed their first bowl game in 17 seasons, will play visitors to the Cerritos Falcons (7-3).
“It’s a reward for a very good season,” said head coach Craig Moropoulos. “We’re looking forward to it and we’re going to have some fun.”
Cerritos is led by a tandem of freshman quarterback Jimmy Walker and sophomore wide receiver Domonique Young. Walker has completed 142-of-273 passes for 2,171 yards and 23 touchdowns, with Young pulling in 50 of those passes for a school-record 921 yards and nine touchdowns. Sophomore Justin Caines has 26 receptions and seven touchdowns, with seven different players catching at least one touchdown pass.
On the ground, Cerritos has three strong running backs, led by sophomore Travis Newberry with 592 yards, while sophomores Joseph Donnell and DeVonte Carter have combined for 704 yards and 11 TDs.
The game is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday Nov. 22 at Cerritos College.
