Long Beach City College improved to 3-2 on Saturday with a 30-14 victory against Cerritos, bringing their win streak up to 3 games as well as reclaiming the Crosstown Cup, which was not brought to the game by Cerritos.
This was wide receiver Matthew Berenji’s breakout performance, as he compiled 7 catches for 97 yards and 2 touchdowns, and this was the game where all the adversity and tough challenges he faced paid off with the constant hard work he’s put in.
“It was a tough journey coming. I had to bounce back from a lot of adversity… And shout out to Will [Madonna], he’s a for sure leader. He kept me in there, going back to the adversity I faced, he kept my head high and brought me back to it,” Berenji stated in his response to his dominating performance.
The chemistry started once the first quarter began as Madonna and Berenji were clicking on all cylinders, with Madonna completing three passes to Berenji for 51 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown on the first drive of the game.
Some troublesome moments for LBCC took place as the second quarter arrived as Cerritos took advantage of a bobbled pass by LBCC sophomore wide receiver Jaquavion Caldwell as it fell into the hands of Cerritos cornerback Tyler Henry.
Cerritos capitalized on the interception as quarterback Dylan Eldridge threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to running back Cheo Medina to get the score tied 7-7.
Three plays later, Madonna got intercepted again by Cerritos defensive back Zedekiah Rodriguez-Brown.
Cerritos stepped up once again with a 39-yard pass from Eldridge to wide-receiver Isaiah Blair, which was capped off by a nine yard touchdown pass from Eldridge to wide receiver Gavin Porch.
LBCC’s defense put a stop to Cerritos’s offensive momentum as freshman defensive back Geo Bowers recovered a fumbled punt by Cerritos to give Madonna a second chance to make something happen for LBCC before halftime.
And that’s exactly what Madonna did as he connected again with Berenji for a 31-yard touchdown, making it 20-14 at the half.
LBCC would go on to score a field goal by kicker Ethan Smithlin and two more touchdowns in the third quarter.
The first being a 27-yard touchdown pass from Madonna to freshman wide receiver Cieonta Davis.
The other touchdown came from LBCC’s defense once again as linebacker Jalen Johnson recovered a blocked punt caused by wide receiver Kyle Miller on special teams and took the ball into the end-zone for a 51-yard scoop-and-score touchdown.
“I feel like we’re one of the (community colleges) that take special teams seriously in our conference. We spend constant minutes and hours on special teams with the meetings and all that, so I just got to give it out to Coach Jericho, our special teams coordinator,” said Johnson.
LBCC’s defense would come alive again in the fourth quarter as sophomore defensive back J’vyion Curry secured a major interception to keep the tide rolling for LBCC.
Madonna then connected once again with Davis for a 37-yard touchdown for his second touchdown of the night, which would also be the the final score of the game as the whistles sounded and LBCC brought back the Crosstown Cup by the final score of 30-14.
Cerritos College decided to not bring the Crosstown Cup to the game according to head coach Brett Peabody, and LBCC wasn’t able to hold up the trophy and celebrate with it in their hands because of this situation.
“We brought the cup back home even though they decided not to bring it to the game, but we beat our rival. I’m really, really impressed by our defense tonight. Our guys got after their quarterback and their offense,” said Peabody.
LBCC looks to reclaim another trophy after this week’s bye, playing against East Los Angeles in the “Clash of the Presidents” game, which is also their homecoming game, on Oct. 14 at 6 p.m.