Laney advances to state championship!

The Laney College football team advanced to its first-ever state championship game with a 24-7 victory over Fresno City College in the Northern California Regional title game that was played Nov. 24 in Oakland.

The second-seeded Eagles (10-2) will play Ventura College (11-1) for the California Community Colleges Athletic Association championship on Saturday, Dec. 8, at Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College. Game time is 1 p.m.

This is the first time both at-large qualifiers have advanced to the state title game. The second-seeded Pirates upset previously unbeaten Riverside College 31-21 to win the Southern California Regional on Nov. 24.

Laney finished second to College of San Mateo in the National Bay 6 Conference, but shut out the Bulldogs 14-0 in a NorCal Regional semifinal game on Nov. 17 at Cabrillo College in Aptos. That game was scheduled to be played at Laney, but was moved due to poor air quality.

In the game against Fresno, Laney jumped ahead of the Rams 7-0 when quarterback Jordon Brookshire (Cardinal Newman High School-Santa Rosa) scored on a 2-yard run with 1:52 left in the first quarter.

The Eagles went 50 yards in seven plays for the score. Big plays in the drive were a Brookshire 18-yard run to the Fresno 32 and a 10-yard run by John McDonald (Lincoln HS-Stockton) that put the ball on the Rams’ 8-yard line.

After FCC tied the score at 7-7, Laney went ahead for good when Balewa Byrd (John Swett HS) fell on a fumble in the end zone with 2:38 left in the first half. The Eagles led 14-7 at the half.

The Eagles extended the lead to 17-7 with 12:00 left in the third quarter when Isaak Parada (Arroyo HS) kicked a 25-yard field goal. The opportunity came when FCC fumbled a punt and the Eagles took over at the Rams’ 9.

Laney’s final score came when running back Harold Tidwell (Concord HS) capped an 11-play, 65-yard drive with a 1-yard scoring run. Big plays on the drive included a 14-yard run by McDonald and a 13-yarder by Brookshire.

The Eagles gained 327 yards in total offense. McDonald had the best individual game—102 yards rushing on 16 carries. Brookshire had 46 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown.

The Laney defense held the Rams to 70 yards rushing and 245 overall. Linebacker Armani Turner-Jenkins (Berkeley HS) finished with 11 tackles (7 solo). Linebacker Jahari Kay  (San Leandro) had seven tackles (3 solo) as did Jack Lutz (Granada HS). Turner-Jenkins also had a sack and a tackle-for-loss (DFL). Kay had a half-sack and one TFL; Lutz was credited with one TFL.

In all, the Eagles defense was credited with 10 TFL, good for 67 yards in losses.

NOTES: Ticket prices are as follows:

$12 general admission

$8 general admission (seniors 60+, children 12-under, students, faculty and staff (with ID)

$4 CIF Special

Free: First responders (fire, police, etc.)

THERE WILL BE NO ADVANCE TICKET SALES

TV: Eleven Sports Network [National Broadcast: Direct TV—623 (HD), Verizon FiOS—597 (HD), AT&T U-verse 1665]

ONLINE: BAOSN [http://baosn.tv/]

PARKING: SAC CITY [$10 per vehicle]

By Scott A. Strain, Laney College Sports Information

The Road to Sacramento goes through Oakland

The second-seeded Laney College football team advanced to the Northern California Regional championship game by defeating No. 3-seed College of San Mateo 14-0 in a NorCal semifinal game played Nov. 17 at Cabrillo College.

The game, initially to be played at Laney, was moved to Cabrillo due to poor air quality in Oakland.

The championship game is scheduled to be played Saturday, Nov. 24 at Laney. Game time is 6 p.m. The Eagles’ opponent will be No. 4 seed Fresno City College, which upset top-seeded Butte College 29-26 on Nov. 17.

The victor will play the winner of the Riverside College-Ventura College Southern California title game. The California Community Colleges Athletic Association state championship game will be played at Hughes Stadium at Sacramento City College on Dec. 8 at 1 p.m.

This is the first time Laney has advanced to the NorCal championship game. Last year, the Eagles qualified for the NorCal regional, but lost at American River College 41-35 in the semifinals.

The Eagles (9-2) scored two touchdowns in the second quarter and utilized a stingy defensive effort to stifle CSM (8-3).

The teams battled to a 0-0 tie in the first quarter. Laney drove down to the CSM 9 on its opening drive, but a lost fumble on 4th-and-goal negated the drive.

The Eagles got on the scoreboard with an 11-play, 42-yard drive in the second quarter, quarterback Jordon Brookshire (Cardinal Newman High School-Santa Rosa) scoring on a 1-yard plunge with 10:10 left in the period.

The big play on the drive was a 13-yard pass from Brookshire to El-Joshua Allen (Washington HS-Fremont) on 4th-and-2 from the CSM 34.

Laney’s next chance came after linebacker Josh Bolding (Alameda HS) intercepted a pass and returned it five yards to the Bulldogs’ 30.

It took the Eagles four plays to go 30 yards. Brookshire threw a 13-yard scoring pass to Angelo Garrett (McClymonds HS), who made a leaping catch in the end zone with 1:13 remaining in the half. Isaak Parada (Arroyo HS) kicked the PAT for 14-0.

Neither team did much offensively in the second half. The Laney defense made the Bulldogs’ passing game virtually disappear as their two quarterbacks completed just five of 24 passes for 65 yards and were sacked six times.

CSM had 130 yards of total offense; the Eagles finished with 245 yards.

Bolding had a monster game for Laney on defense with 11 solo tackles (12 overall) and three sacks. He also had five tackles-for-loss (TFL) for 79 yards and had one interception.

Linebacker Armani Turner-Jenkins (Berkeley HS) had seven solo tackles (eight overall) and defensive lineman Ramone Sanders (McClymonds HS) had two sacks and two TFL. Defensive lineman Timmy Dorsey (McClymonds HS) had the other sack.

Ticket prices for the Fresno City College-Laney College game will $12 for general admission and $8 for students, staff, faculty with ID, children under 12 and seniors.

NOTES—The victory was Laney’s first over College of San Mateo since 2001…the Eagles defeated Fresno City College 30-23 in 2017…Laney’s last shutout was on Nov. 15, 2013, when it beat Sacramento City College 68-0…FCC holds a 12-7 advantage in games played vs. Laney…The Eagles lost to CSM 27-18 on Oct. 19.

This is perhaps the biggest game Laney has played on its home field. In 1966, the Eagles defeated City College of San Francisco 35-13 in the Prune Bowl at San Jose State before an estimated 12,000 fans. CCSF was led by NFL Hall of Fame running back O.J. Simpson.

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By Scott A. Strain, Laney College Sports Information

Laney College Wins at Santa Rosa Junior College

Quarterback Jordon Brookshire threw for 312 yards and accounted for five touchdowns as the Laney Eagles football team scored 35 points in the second half to come from behind and defeat Santa Rosa Junior College 42-35 at Santa Rosa High School on Oct. 27.

The Eagles (6-2, 2-1 in the National Bay 6 Conference) scored five touchdowns in the second half to erase a 17-7 halftime deficit against the Bears Cubs (5-3, 1-2).

Laney remains tied with College of San Mateo and City College of San Francisco for the conference lead and travels to Pleasant Hill on Friday, Nov. 2, to play Diablo Valley College in a 7 p.m. game.

Laney’s only score in the first half came on Brookshire’s 2-yard run with 8:54 left in the first quarter. It was a homecoming of sorts for the Laney QB; Brookshire graduated from Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa and played for SRJC for half a season.

The Eagles’ first touchdown in the third quarter came with 12:34 left when Brookshire threw a 35-yard scoring pass to Angelo Garrett (McClymonds HS).

Two more scores wiped out the Bear Cubs’ lead in the period. Running back Harold Tidwell (Concord HS) scored on a 28-yard run with 7:23 left and Brookshire made the score 27-24 on an 11-yard run with 23 seconds left in the quarter.

The Eagles added two more scores in the fourth quarter, just enough to withstand a SRJC comeback. Garrett caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Brookshire with 10:08 left in the game and Brookshire scored his third rushing touchdown on a 4-yard run with 8:24 left.

Brookshire had a mammoth game in front of his hometown fans, completing 29 of 38 passes for 312 yards with two touchdown passes and two interceptions. He also ran for 49 yards on 12 carries and scored three touchdowns.

Tidwell rushed for 113 yards on 12 carries and scored once.  Garrett had eight receptions for 145 yards and two touchdowns. Balewa Byrd (John Swett HS) had 10 catches for 99 yards and Jared Smart (Dublin HS) had eight receptions for 50 yards.

Linebacker Cameron Nathan (Antioch HS) had six tackles (four solo) and 1.5 sacks. Imani Moore (4-1, Dublin HS), Jahari Kay (3-2, San Leandro HS), Jordan Whittley (2-3, Castlemont HS) and Josh Bolding (2-3, Alameda HS) were credited with five tackles apiece.

Moore and Nahshon Wright (James Logan HS) had interceptions and Armani Turner-Jenkins (Berkeley HS) had a sack.

Placekicker Isaak Prada (Arroyo HS) was a perfect 6-for-6 on PAT attempts.

By Scott A. Strain, Laney College Sports Information

The Laney College football team is now the top-ranked team in Northern California

The Laney College football team is now the top-ranked team in Northern California.

The Eagles moved up to No. 3 in the JC Athletic Bureau/California Community College football coaches poll after overwhelming mistake-prone West Hills College 77-12 on Sept. 21 in Oakland to improve their record to 4-0.

Laney now faces its toughest test of the nonconference portion of the season when it plays host to Butte College (3-1) of Oroville on Friday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. The Roadrunners are coming off a big 42-21 home victory over City College of San Francisco on Sept. 22.

The Eagles blocked two punts and returned an interception for a touchdown as they scored the most points in the 53-year history of football program.

Quarterback Jordon Brookshire (Cardinal-Newman High School-Santa Rosa) completed 11 of 16 passes for 167 yards and two touchdowns, both to Jared Smart () for 1 and 30 yards respectively.

Running back John McDonald (Lincoln HS-Stockton) rushed for 125 yards and scored two touchdowns on runs of 8 and 11 yards.

The Eagles led 42-6 at the half and 70-6 at the end of three quarters. Running back Jerrell Alberty (McClymonds HS) rushed for 58 yards on five carries and scored on runs of 15 and 26 yards.

Quarterback Junior Diala (American HS) threw a 38-yard scoring pass to Angelo Garrett (MClymonds HS) and also scored on a 1-yard run.

The Lane defense held the Falcons to 171 yards of total offense and reached the end zone twice. Nahshon Wright (James Logan HS) scored on a 20-yard interception return and, after Damon Lynch (Manteca HS) blocked a punt, Jaelyn Thomas (Freedom HS) fell on the ball in the West Hills end zone for a touchdown.

Ryan Mackey (Rio Vista HS) scored the Eagles’ last touchdown on an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter.

Defensively, linebacker Armani Turner-Jenkins (Berkeley HS) had seven solo tackles—eight overall—and Laney defenders had six sacks and 12 tackles for losses, spread among 11 players.

By Scott A. Strain, Laney College Sports Information

Laney gets offensive in win over Feather River

Feather River may have struck first on Saturday night in Quincy, but it was all Laney from that point forward, as the Eagles rolled up over 700 yards of total offense during an explosive 55-24 victory to stay unbeaten.

Feather River drove 50 yards before settling for a field goal midway through the first quarter for a 3-0 advantage, but it was short-lived, as Laney quarterback Jordon Brookshire (Cardinal Newman) connected with Balewa Byrd (Swett) for a 74-yard touchdown and a 6-3 lead after one quarter.

The Eagles started to pull away in the second quarter, thanks to a pair of John McDonald (Lincoln-Stockton) touchdown runs, including a 58-yarder with under two minutes remaining in the first half. It appeared as if Laney would go into halftime up 20-3, but Feather River’s Antoine Patton broke loose for a 73-yard score on the next offensive play. The Eagles, however, refused to let that end the first-half scoring, as McDonald reached paydirt one more time, this time from 29 yards out, capping a five-play, 71-yard drive which took just 46 seconds.

Feather River closed the gap one more time on a short touchdown run by Patton to open the third quarter, but Brookshire connected with Quintus Hall and Angelo Garrett (McClymonds) to extend the lead, and fourth-quarter touchdown runs from Kerrion Hadnot and Josh Blocker (Berkeley) put the game away for good.

Brookshire finished the night 14-of-21 passing for 318 yards and three scores, while Byrd led the way with five catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. McDonald led the rushing attack with 127 yards, while Hadnot added 70 yards on just four carries, and Ledre McCullough (Amador Valley) had eight carries for 58 yards. The Laney defense notched 12 total stops behind the line of scrimmage, including three tackles for a loss from linebacker Cam Nathan (Antioch).

Patton was the lone standout for Feather River, carrying the ball 13 times for 130 yards and three touchdowns.

NorCal juco roundup: Laney storms past ARC, and more

In a marquee showdown this past Friday night between two of Northern California’s top junior college football programs, Laney College scored the final 28 points of the game against visiting American River to overcome a one-point deficit after the first quarter and roll to the 41-14 victory.

A 56-yard touchdown pass from Jacob Cruz to Nate Thomas gave ARC a 14-13 lead with 27 seconds left in the first quarter, but it was all Eagles from there, as a pair of short touchdown runs in the second quarter from quarterback Jordon Brookshire gave Laney a 27-14 halftime advantage and they continued to dominate play in the second half. The Eagles finished the night with a whopping 547 yards of total offense, while holding American River to just 213 total yards.

Brookshire, who was a league MVP at Cardinal Newman in Santa Rosa before sitting out last season, controlled the game with his arm and legs for Laney. The dual-threat signal-caller completed 17-of-23 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing for 46 yards and two scores. His effort was complemented by a big night on the ground from John McDonald, who ran for 122 yards and one touchdown each rushing and receiving.

“It always feel good to win, especially against a strong opponent, but that game is over now and we just need to be ready for the next one and take it one step at a time,” Brookshire said. “Even with my own performance, there were mistakes that I made, things for me to improve on and correct before the next game.”

McDonald’s 20-yard scoring run in the first quarter capped an opening statement by the Laney offense, a nine-play, 90-yard drive on the first possession of the game. After American River tied the game on a one-yard touchdown pass from Cruz to Logan Paulson, the Eagles regained the advantage on a 29-yard pass from Brookshire to Jared Smart (Dublin HS), who had eight catches for 153 yards.

Dior Walker (Deer Valley-Antioch) also had a big night receiving for Laney, with four catches for 70 yards. Linebacker Cameron Nathan (Antioch) led the defense with eight tackles, while Jahari Kay (San Leandro) made his presence felt with four tackles, including a tackle for a loss, and a sack. Armani Turner-Jenkins (Berkeley) had five total tackles, while Derrick Quesada (John Swett) rounded out a strong performance by the linebackers with another four tackles, including a tackle for a loss.

Laney improved to 2-0 with the win, while ARC fell to 1-1.

Laney Defeats American River College 41-14

Laney College quarterback Jordon Brookshire scored two touchdowns and wide receiver Jared Smart had eight receptions for 153 yards as the 10th-ranked Eagles defeated fourth-ranked American River College of Sacramento in impressive fashion, defeating the Beavers 41-14 on Sept. 7 in Oakland.

Laney (2-0) will travel to Quincy on Saturday, Sept. 15, to play Feather River College. Game time is 5 p.m. The Golden Eagles (1-1) lost at Diablo Valley College 29-21 on Sept. 7.

Laney and ARC combined for four touchdowns in the first quarter with the Beavers holding a 14-13 lead. John McDonald (Lincoln High School-Stockton) scored on a 20-yard run on the Eagles’ first drive of the game for a 7-0 lead.

After the Beavers tied the game, Brookshire (Cardinal Newman HS) threw a 29-yard scoring pass to Smart (Dublin HS).  

The Beavers scored again with 37 seconds left, but that was it for the visitors.

Laney took solid control of the game in the second quarter, scoring twice to take a 27-14 lead. Brookshire (12 carries 46 yards) scored twice on runs of 4 and 1 yards.

At the half, the Eagles had already rolled up 356 yards in total offense; they finished with 547 yards.

Brookshire threw his second touchdown pass when he connected with McDonald on a 1-yard toss with 5:44 left in the third quarter.

Freshman running back Aquantay Morris (Clark HS-Las Vegas) scored on a 3-yard run in the fourth quarter to complete the scoring.

For the game, Brookshire completed 17 of 23 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns. McDonald carried 15 times for 122 yards, his second straight game of over 100 yards rushing.

Defensively, linebacker Cameron Nathan (Antioch HS) had eight tackles (two solo). Levon Barnett (Dwyer HS-Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Rejzohn Wright (James Logan HS) had interceptions.

By Scott A. Strain, Laney College Sports Information

Laney Defeats Modesto Junior College 31-17 in their Season Opener

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