Joseph Butler made a diving interception in the end zone with no time remaining to preserve Laney College’s 18-13 upset victory over defending state champion City College of San Francisco on Sept. 2 in Oakland.
Fate was not kind to the Eagles the next week. Battling 96-degree heat, a three-hour drive and dubious air quality from recent fires in the area, Laney lost to Butte College in Oroville 38-20 on Sept. 10.
Laney’s next game is on Friday, Sept. 16, at home against the Feather River College Golden Eagles. Game time is 7 p.m.
But getting back to the epic victory in the season opener, the Eagles (1-0) scored three times in the second half to erase a 13-0 CCSF lead.
The victory broke a 10-game losing steak against CCSF (0-1). It was the first victory for Laney over the Rams since 1995. There were some years when the two teams did not play each other.
Eagles quarterback Noah Suszckiewicz threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Devond Blair, Jr. with 3 minutes, 28 seconds left in the game to give Laney its first lead. Suszckiewicz’s touchdown pass ended an eight-play, 96-yard drive.
Laney pulled to within 13-12 when Suszckiewicz (13-21, 169 yards, interception) threw a 32-yard TD pass to Sean Pinson with nine minutes left. The Eagles scored their first touchdown when Andrew Ve’e threw 3 yards to Armani Levias with 11:29 left in the third quarter.
Rams quarterback Zach Masoli, despite throwing three interceptions in the first half, got CCSF on the scoreboard first when he threw an 80-yard TD pass to Chikwado Nzerem with 53 seconds left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.
CCSF increased the lead to 13-0 when Masoli threw a 21-yard scoring pass to Easop Winton with 7:13 left in the second quarter.
Laney running back Marcel Dancy ran 22 times for 129 yards, which included a 51-yard run in the third quarter. CCSF, which pretty much eschewed the run in the second half, rushed for 58 yards.
In the game against Butte, quarterback Andrew Ve’e threw one touchdown pass and ran for another as the Eagles were outscored 21-13 in the fourth quarter.
Ve’e (12-24, 160 yards) threw a 23-yard scoring pass to Sean Pinson in the second quarter and then ran 14 yards for another score in the fourth. Ronald Thomas had a 3-yard TD run with 1:22 left in the game for the Eagles’ final score.
FEATHER RIVER: This will be only the second meeting between the Eagles and the Golden Eagles, who are located in Quincy. Laney defeated Feather River 48-35 at home in 2008 in the Eagle Bowl.
