Impromptu game leaves Griffins flat
- Updated: November 13, 2021
Grossmont College's Brady Abt is grabbed by Pasadena City on Saturday. / PCC Athletics
2021 GROSSMONT COLLEGE FOOTBALL
Pasadena 41, Grossmont 10
ECS staff report
PASADENA —- In order to snap a 3-way tie for a bowl berth out of the American Conference/Mountain Division, the powers-at-be in the CCCAA Southern California Football Association needed to quickly determine a tie-breaker.
And all scenarios proved to be a detriment to Grossmont College entering Saturday’s (Nov. 13) ballgame.
Mt. San Jacinto was the highest-ranked among the trio (4-1 in league play), so they were given a date with fourth-place College of the Desert. That left Grossmont to play Pasadena, with the home-road sites determined by flipping the site from the regular-season meeting.
Plus, the Griffins were not expecting to play, especially coming off a late bye when winless Compton decided to fold the balance of its schedule.
Thus, including a 3-hour bus ride — love that L.A. traffic — the result was predictable.
Pasadena took dominated its opponent by a 28-0 count in the third quarter to mount a 41-3 advantage, as the Lancers avenged an earlier loss to paste the Griffins, 41-10, at historic Jackie Robinson Stadium.
The lone Grossmont foray into the end zone was a cosmetic score in the fourth period. Perry Steele hauled in a 14-yard pass from Brady Abt, capping a mammoth 10-play, 89-yard drive. Nathan Hughes booted the PAT after earlier booting an impressive 45-yard field goal in the first half.
But when Pasadena answered with a 23-yard field goal to end the half, all of the momentum was with the Lancers to expand a 13-3 halftime advantage to a massive 41-3 cushion.
Abt, the Griffins’ quarterback, ends the regular season ranked second in total passing yards. Abt is averaging 284.0 yards per contest, second only to Pablo Garcia (292.4) of Hartnell College of Salinas.
Still, it was a good way for both programs to conclude their best seasons in a decade by sharing a conference championship.
Overall, Pasadena finished 8-2 overall, while the Griffins are 7-3.
In making a comparison from community college programs to high school football, there has only been one 3-way deadlock for a league title among Grossmont District leagues over the past 40 years.
