WEED – College of the Siskiyous President Randall Lawrence told the COS Eagle football team that it will be “Homecoming every game from now on,” following the Screamin’ Eagles 24-14 win over the Laney College Eagles.

Early in the contest, it didn’t appear that the COS homecoming bash was going to be all that happy, as Laney drove deep into Screamin’ Eagle (Eagles from here on) territory on its first possession. With the ball on the Eagle 10-yard-line, Laney completed a pass, but the receiver fumbled. Eagle Devin Howard picked up the loose ball and rumbled 25 yards to the COS 31 to give the Eagles a temporary reprieve.

Laney took the lead on their third possession of the game, when they drove 80 yards for a touchdown, capped by a 3-yard run by Dominiq Ferrell, with 3:44 left in the first half. The PAT was blocked by Eagle Jared Johnson.

It took the Eagles less than three minutes to respond. Jamal Pannell returned the Laney kickoff 61 yards to the Laney 29-yard-line. Patrick Lunney carried the ball the first three plays of the possession for a total of 25 yards, moving the ball to the Laney 4-yard-line. A loss on a running play and a penalty moved the Eagles back to the 13. Josh Hudson then threw a pass intended for Isaac Silafua that was deflected and caught by Kyson Culp for the TD with :55 left on the clock before the intermission. The PAT was blocked, leaving the score tied, 6-6.

After Laney missed a field goal on its first possession of the second half, the Eagles took over on their own 20-yard-line. COS marched down the field to the Laney 22-yard-line. On second down, Hudson hit Alex Coleman for a 22-yard TD. Aaron Sinnott added the PAT, and the Eagles led 13-6, a little over midway through the third quarter.

The COS lead didn’t last long, as Laney drove 60 yards on its next possession. Laney quarterback Jeff Murphy connected with Taulib Ikharo for a 14-yard TD pass reception to finish off the drive. Murphy then passed to Clifton Brown for the 2-point conversion, giving Laney a 14-13 lead with 3:11 remaining in the third quarter.

Following a Laney punt, the Eagles started what would turn out to be the game-winning drive at their own 47-yard line with about half a minute left in the third quarter. The winning TD came via a Hudson pass to Hakeim Pearson for a 16-yard score.

The 2-point conversion attempt proved to bit a bit of an adventure. On the Eagles’ first try, Hudson handed off to Zach Young, who then threw to a wide open Hudson for the apparent score. However, an ineligible man down field penalty negated the play and cost COS five yards. On COS’ second try, the pass went incomplete, but Laney was flagged for pass interference. On the third, and final, attempt, the Eagles simply handed the ball to Lunney who crashed through the Laney defense for the 2-point conversion, putting COS up 21-14, with 14:16 left in the game.

Laney fumbled on the ensuing kickoff, and the ball was recovered by Eagle Donovan Cunningham at the Laney 21-yard-line. The Eagles had a first-and-goal from the four-yard-line, and moved as close as the one-yard-line, but were hurt by an illegal procedure penalty that moved them back to the six. COS wound up with insurance in the form of a 23-yard field goal by Sinnott, to make the score 24-14 with 11:49 to go in the contest.

Laney was unable to mount a serious scoring threat the remainder of the game.

Following the game, Eagle Coach Eric Young praised his team’s effort and reminded them about the future.

“That was a great win. Nice job,” said Young. “We talked about it, right? The run has begun, We’ve got Yuba next week.”

Young also reminded his team that he had guaranteed a homecoming win against Laney, and that he wasn’t crazy after all.

Offensively, Patrick Lunney rushed for 108 yards, and a 2-pt conversion. Josh Hudson was 17/24 passing for 220 yards and three TDs. Isaac Silafau had five catches for 97 yards. Alex Coleman had 59 yards on four grabs and a TD. Kakeim Pearson caught two balls for 22 yards and a TD. Kyson Culp also pulled down a pair of passes and a TD, with 20 receiving yards. Aaron Sinnott had an extra point and a field goal.

Donavon Cunningham led the Eagles in tackles with10. Jasen Meyers had 6.5 take downs, and Tyson Stephens had six. Devin Dyer had a sack. Devin Howard and Donovan Cunningham each recovered a fumble.

COS came into the contest ranked 18^th in Northern California, while Laney was ranked 10^th. The Eagles should move up in the new poll, which will be released on Monday. COS hosts Yuba on Saturday, October 10 at 1:00 pm.