Sitting at the top of the conference with a record of 7-2 the Cerritos Falcons face a must-win game as they square off against the College of the Canyons Cougars on Nov. 14.
Season Overview
The game will determine who will win conference and would likely move onto one of the four positions in the playoff bracket.
Quarterback Jimmy Walker acknowledged that playing in the postseason would mean the world to this team.
“It’s always good to play in the postseason be it in a bowl game or the playoffs; to get that extra game it’s definitely a plus for everyone,” Walker said.
Before the final showdown of the season the team finally gets its bye week. Walker feels the bye week couldn’t have come at a better time.
“It’s time for us to rest up, get healthy. We have two weeks to prepare for the conference championship game. That’s really what it’s going to be,” Walker added.
Prior to the season head coach Frank Mazzotta said in order to play for a State Championship you had to have luck on your side.
Now his team has the luxury of controlling its own destiny.
“All I know is we’re in the driver’s seat and that’s a good place to be,” Mazzotta said.
After firing out of the gates strong with road wins against Saddleback and Orange Coast, the team fell in its first home game against Fullerton.
That one loss set up a string of five straight wins for the Falcons, including an improbable comeback on Homecoming night against rival El Camino College.
The latest stumbling block the team will have to overcome is the most recent loss to a 2-5 Moorpark.
The game went into double overtime and would end with a walk-off read option by the Raiders as the Falcons fell 41-35.
The team’s offense has been on fire this season scoring over 33 points per game.
Including a 44-point explosion over reigning conference champ Ventura. While the defense compliments its offense with 24 points allowed per game.
Walker’s Improvements
Last season Walker accounted for 25 touchdowns, however he threw 20 interceptions.
Before the season kicked off Walker admitted that he made it a point of emphasis to be a year smarter and make better decisions.
So far this season with one more game to play Walker has thrown 24 touchdowns to just nine interceptions.
“It’s a part of the growing process. I had some growing pains last year,” Walker stated. “I’m making some better decisions, that’s helping me a lot.”
Walker has thrown for almost 2,500 yards on 148 completions.
One point of emphasis that stands out is the 49.8 completion percentage.
Despite the positive numbers along with the negative ones, offensive coordinator Dean Grosfeld admitted during the season that he is demanding of Walker.
Yet he is still extremely proud of him.
“I’m proud as heck of him,” Grosfeld said.
Walker attributed to Grosfeld and the coaching staff for why he wanted to be a Falcon.
“[The coaching staff] want me to be the best player I can be. That’s why I came to Cerritos,” Walker explained.
Holmes Breaking Out
Running back Robert Gordon said before the season it would be a team effort in order to replace the top three rushers from last season.
However, despite that being the notion in preparation for the season freshmen running back Kishawn Holmes has emerged as the starter and leader of the running back core.
Holmes said, “My mindset going into the season was to work hard and contribute to the team as much as I can. If that means me playing a little bit more than I’ll excel in supporting the other running backs.”
“We all have each other’s backs,” Holmes made clear.
Coach Mazzotta has admired the work ethic that Holmes has put in this season.
“We are really pleased with him, he took the time to work his way into the starting lineup. Hard work and dedication, that’s just who he is,” Mazzotta said as he praised Holmes.
Running back by committee was the case during the first month of the season.
Once the calendar turned to October, Holmes reached new heights.
In the month of October, Holmes attributed for 520 yards and seven touchdowns. Versus 205 yards and two touchdowns in September.
“I don’t really worry to much about my stats, I just play. Whatever comes out of it comes out,” Holmes said.
This was all done while the offensive line has battled a multitude of injuries all season long.
“It starts with the line and the play-calling,” he said.
The offensive line has been plagued with injuries all season long, but Holmes feels as though it’s still all about believing in the guy next to you.
“If one person falls another person is supposed to step up and we just believed in the next man. We took each other as brothers and kept going,” Holmes added.
Whitaker’s Record Breaking Performance
One of Walker’s biggest targets this far into the season has been wide receiver De’Jai Whitaker.
Whitaker, with the help of Walker, shattered the single-season receiving yards record previously set by Domonique Young.
Walker is still in awe of his teammate’s performance.
“It’s pretty incredible through nine games to have over 1,000 yards receiving. It contributes to his work ethic and how hard he works,” Walker proclaimed.
The previous record was 939 yards set by Young, who is now at Purdue University.
Whitaker has eclipsed that number by almost 100 yards as he now stands at 1,027 with one game left to play.
“It means a lot because it’s the first record I’ve ever broken, like ever!” Whitaker said with a glaring grin.
Whitaker has more than doubled his receptions from last season to this season 24 to 49 and his yards per game average has climbed from 34.5 to 114.
Whitaker who is usually pretty reserved and quiet has received high praise from his teammates and even more so his coaching staff.
“He’s grown up. [Whitaker] is a triple-jumper, long jumper, he’s a freaking athlete and a half,” Mazzotta declared.
Stingy Defense
Defensive tackle David Fangupo said before the season started that the defensive unit has to be stingy in order to win games.
The defense has allowed 24.3 points per game, much to the enjoyment of coach Mazzotta.
Mazzotta conceded to his defense that “teams are going to score 25 points per game there’s no way around that.”
The team has answered the tall task when it’s needed.
Including the first game against Saddleback as linebacker Keith Walker reeled in an interception and sealed the first victory of the season.
Fangupo stated that it started with the front line of defense.
The front line of Danny Harry, Raymon Price, Alonzo Hansen and Fangupo have accounted for 169 tackles and 45 of the tackles have gone for loss of yardage.
“We all just lean on each other that’s what it comes down to. When one of us are down we all have to pull the slack,” Fangupo said. “We’re all animals on the line, somebody has to eat. We all came to the party.”
The secondary hasn’t been shy either account for nine of the 11 interceptions.
Defensive back Anthony Murray leads the team with four interceptions after only playing in eight games. Not including being knocked out of the Orange Coast game in the first quarter due to injury.
His counterpart on the other side of the field is Thadd Daniels, who has an interception on the season as well, have both admitted to playing off of each other’s energy.
“We set the tone. Not just for the both of us, but for the team,” Murray explained.
Murray and Daniels both had an interception in the same game for the first time this season against Moorpark.
“We do feed off of each other. If I have to make a play I know [Anthony] is holding it down on that side and if it comes my way, it’s [on] me,” Daniels added.
Both of these players are close knit much like the rest of this team.
Furthermore, Murray and Daniels both have scheduled visits to Stephen F. Austin Dec. 5.
“Having that opportunity is always a blessing,” Murray concluded.
