Keeping Up With Cerritos Too Tough for Orange Coast

Even if Nick Higgs had scored on the final play of the Strawberry Bowl Saturday night at Cerritos College it wouldn’t have mattered.

But Higgs lunged for the goal line anyway and came up just short, the way the Pirates had all night in a 31-17 loss to Cerritos.

Higgs was stopped at the two-yard line with about six seconds remaining, but it was the inability to get those yards and prevent the Falcons from gaining them during most of the game that led to the loss.

Orange Coast (6-5), playing in the postseason for the first time since 1993, didn’t convert a fourth-and-goal from the 7 when a touchdown would have pulled them within seven points.

After pulling within 14, at 31-17, at the end of the third quarter, the Pirates allowed Cerritos to convert a third-and-16 and a third-and-14 in the same drive before finally forcing a punt with 8:53 to play.

“We just didn’t make the big, big plays,” Higgs said. “Every game we have at least one 50-yard run or long pass for a touchdown. We didn’t have any of those tonight.”

Cerritos (8-3) did. The Falcons, who lost three games this season by a total of 10 points, got touchdown pass plays of 52 and 64 yards from quarterback Doug Baughman, the Bolsa Grande High graduate who holds the county single-game high school passing record.

Baughman, who completed 21 of 33 passes for a career-high 346 yards, connected with Justin Anderson on the third play of the second half to give Cerritos a 31-3 lead.

“The ball bounced in our court,” Baughman said. “Sometimes we make those big plays and sometimes you don’t, but tonight we executed real well.”

Orange Coast trailed, 24-3, at halftime, but battled back in the second half.

Higgs found tight end Ben Fredrickson on a three-yard pass for a score with 5:55 left in the third to make the score 31-10. Later in the quarter, James Dawkins took a pitch on the left side and scored from four yards out, making the score 31-17.

But when Higgs’ pass to Alex Blanco fell to the ground on fourth and goal from the seven, the Pirates’ hopes of a comeback were deflated.

“We were already thinking about an onside kick,” Orange Coast Coach Mike Taylor said. “We should have had a touchdown, but that’s a credit to [Cerritos]. They are a good club. We can’t spot them 21 points.”

Higgs completed 19 of 36 passes for 196 yards and a touchdown, 13 of 25 for 124 yards in the second half.

“This team has battled all year,” he said. “We play with heart. There was no way we were going to just roll over for them.”