HUNTINGTON BEACH – Ralph Ekechi ran for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns while the Golden West College defense held off a late East Los Angeles College surge to earn a 28-19 victory at home in both teams' National Central League opener on Saturday.
The Rustlers won their second straight to improve to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Central League.
The two squads exchanged leads early in the game before the Golden West offense took over in the second half.
After a scoreless opening quarter, East Los Angeles (2-2, 0-1 NCL) got on the board first. A fumble by the Rustlers gave the Huskies good field position to start within Golden West territory. But the Rustlers' defense limited the damage, stopping the Huskies in the red zone at the nine-yard line. Ethan Rodriguez booted a 26-yard field goal to give East Los Angeles a 3-0 lead at the 13:17 mark in the second quarter.
Golden West responded on the ensuing kickoff as quarterback Parker Awad led the Rustlers on a 9-play, 75-yard drive. Ekechi broke free for his first TD, running in from 27 yards out to put Golden West back out in front, 7-3 midway through the second.
Special teams for the Huskies led to their go-ahead touchdown. DeGabriel Floyd, one of the top return men in the state, ran in a Golden West punt 66 yards for a touchdown. East Los Angeles was back out in front with 1:06 to go in the second and took that 10-7 advantage into halftime.
Down by three, the Rustlers regrouped in the second half by responding with 21 unanswered points. Ekechi capped a big 10-play, 88-yard drive with his second touchdown, a 22-yard run at the 9:36 mark in the third.
Golden West's defense forced a quick three and out drive on the Huskies' next possession to quickly get the ball back. A huge 52-yard run by Jae-Sean Pete led to an easy three-yard TD score for Pete on the next play to extend the GWC lead to 21-10.
The Rustlers' defense once again held steady on ELAC's next drive to get the ball back in the hands of the offense. But a holding call on the punt pinned the Rustlers back to their own 7-yard line to start their drive.
Three plays later on first and 10 from their 20, quarterback Brandon Siri connect with Tru Tanner for the biggest play of the day, an 80-yard reception for a touchdown to give GWC a commanding 28-10 lead with 12 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
East Los Angeles made things interesting late in the contest. Floyd scored his second touchdown of the game for the Huskies, running in from a yard out to cut the Golden West lead to 11 points with under nine minutes to play. And a safety by the Huskies got them within nine points with 1:47 to play, but the Rustlers' defense was able to hold off East Los Angeles and force a final turnover.
Golden West limited East Los Angeles to 239 yards of offense, including just 64 rushing yards. Daniel Viramontes led the Rustlers with 9 tackles and was in on a sack. Harrison Cofell, Christian Petero, and Nick Mendez all chipped in with 7 tackles.
Ekechi ran 15 for 102 yards to lead Golden West rushers. Pete added 90 yards on 8 carries with a TD while Awad totaled 38 rushing yards on 6 carries.
Awad and Siri split time under center. Awad threw for 51 yards on 7 of 12 passing while Siri completed 4 of 5 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown.
Tanner hauled in 3 receptions for 96 yards and a TD to lead Golden West receivers.
Golden West is back in action next Saturday (Sep. 30) when the Rustlers host Citrus College in a 12 p.m. National Central League game.
