John McDonald ran for 121 yards, scored two touchdowns and a ferocious defense recorded 10 sacks as Laney College defeated Modesto Junior College 31-17 in the season opener for both teams on Sept. 1.
McDonald (Lincoln High School-Stockton) scored on runs of 29 and 23 yards for the Eagles (1-0), who open their home season on Friday, Sept. 7, against American River College of Sacramento. Game time is 7 p.m.
Linebacker Armani Turner-Jenkins (Berkeley HS), led a sterling effort with 11 solo tackles, two sacks (for 15 yards) and two tackles for losses (15 yards). Jordan Whittley (Castlemont HS) had 21/2 sacks and two TFL (Laney had 14 TFL overall). Defensive back Imani Moore (Dublin HS) had an interception.
The Eagles took the opening kickoff and drove to the Pirates’ 9-yard line, but the drive stalled. MJC drove 90 yards to take a 7-0 lead, but Laney answered back when quarterback Jordon Brookshire (Cardinal Newman HS-Santa Rosa) threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Angelo Garrett (McClymonds HS) and the Eagles tied the game at 7-7 with 2 minutes, 20 seconds left in the first quarter.
Laney took the lead for good when Brookshire threw 9 yards to El-Joshua Allen (Washington-Fremont) for 14-7 with 2:20 left in the second quarter. Brookshire finished 16-of-28 for 201 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 13 times for 43 yards.
Whittley sacked Modesto quarterback Jacob Perez for a 6-yard loss on a 4-and-5 play with 41 seconds left in the half. The Eagles managed to a jam in a six-play drive in the waning seconds, culminating with a KC Onwuemeka (Hercules HS) field goal of 43 yards with six seconds left for a 17-7 lead.
The Pirates cut the lead to 17-10 with a field goal in the third quarter, but McDonald his first touchdown on a 29-yard run with 9:15 left in the game to extend Laney’s margin to 24-10.
MJC scored again with 7:11 left, but McDonald answered back again with a 23-yard run with 4:02 remaining for the final score of the game.
By Scott A. Strain
Laney Sports Information
