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2004 MISSION CONFERENCE AMERICAN DIVISION CHAMPIONS
Game
Stats | Season
Stats
November 13, 2004
Football:
Long Beach beats Mt. SAC in overtime to capture American Division championship
In its biggest game of the 2004 season, Long Beach City College defeated visiting Mt. San Antonio College 31-28 in overtime at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday night. The win gave the Vikings the Mission Conference American Division championship and earned them an automatic berth into the Southern California Regional Playoffs.
Long Beach scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to force the deciding overtime period. Mt. SAC led 28-14 late in the fourth before the Vikings scored twice during the final three minutes of regulation to even the score at 28.
The Vikings moved to within seven points after freshman quarterback Alex Aispuro (Jordan HS) connected with sophomore running back Richard Nichols (Jordan) for a 14-yard touchdown reception with 2:04 left in the fourth.
On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore Jeffrey Hastings’ (Poly) onside kick attempt was recovered by the Vikings, giving them the ball back on the Mt. SAC 49-yard line with 2:01 left in regulation.
The Vikings drove those 49 yards over eight plays, capping the drive with a seven-yard TD reception by sophomore wide receiver James Wilson (Jordan) from Aispuro that tied it up with 20 seconds left.
In the overtime period, the Mounties went on offense first. After three plays, Brian Giambastiani’s 38-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right, giving the Vikings the opportunity to capture the win with just a field goal.
And Hastings did just that, delivering the game-winning 32-yard field goal to give Long Beach the amazing come-from-behind victory.
For the Vikings, Aispuro tossed three touchdowns for the third straight week and ended the game with 249 yards passing, completing 21 of 36 attempts with an interception.
Nichols led the Vikings on the ground, rushing for 100 yards on 19 carries with a touchdown. He also caught two passes for 22 yards with a receiving touchdown. Freshman wide receiver Joe Garcia (Los Alamitos) had the big game of the night, catching six passes for a career-best 131 yards, including a 66-yard TD reception in the first quarter.
Derek Devine threw for just 103 yards for the Mounties, completing 14 of 25 passes with an interception. Kesena Ekpre-Olomu led Mt. SAC in rushing with 13 carries for 60 yards.
Despite closing the regular season with identical 4-1 American Division records, Long Beach (6-4 overall) will receive a higher playoff seed over Mt. SAC (8-2) because of the head-to-head win.
The 2004 Mission Conference championship is Long Beach’s seventh since 1993. The Vikings last captured the title in 2002 when current head coach Jerry Jaso was an assistant under former coach Larry Reisbig.
The Vikings will be making their 16th bowl game appearance next Saturday (Nov. 20). Long Beach was victorious in its last postseason contest, defeating Compton College 52-24 in the 2002 Western State Bowl.
Long Beach will host a team to be determined in the American Bowl. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 pm at Veterans Stadium.
The California Community Colleges Commission on Athletics (COA) will release the names of the 2004 California Community College football bowl game participants, as selected by the COA Football Bowl Game Selection Committee, on the official COA website, www.coasports.org, no later than 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, November 14.
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