GROSSMONT HOLDS OFF LATE CCSF RALLY TO WIN FOOTBALL CROWN, 41-38

Dec. 10, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Fred Baer 650-483-3733 (mobile)

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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