Rustlers upended by state No. 1 in season finale

Huntington Beach, Calif. - Fullerton scored early and often, never taking its foot off the gas pedal en route to a 55-17 shellacking of Golden West Saturday afternoon on campus.

Rustlers upended by state No. 1 in season finale
November 11, 2017
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Huntington Beach, Calif. - Fullerton scored early and often, never taking its foot off the gas pedal en route to a 55-17 shellacking of Golden West Saturday afternoon on campus.
 
After the Rustlers were forced to punt on the first series, Fullerton made its presence felt with a 55-yard touchdown pass on the fourth play of the drive. Quarterback Ladarius Skelton hit Gerald Hulett near the Rustlers' sideline and turned on the jets towards the endzone. From that point forward, the Hornets put its head down and continued to score with a balanced run/pass attack. 
 
Skelton proved to be the leader on the ground and through the air. He passed for 155 yards and rushed for 159 yards, giving him 314 total yards of offense. To go along with the first score, Skelton added 3 more touchdowns on the ground. 
 
Even though regular passing threat Kane Wilson was unavailable, Fullerton stayed true to its two-quarterback system. Third-stringer Johnny Feauto saw plenty of field time and took advantage of it. He finished as the leading passer going 11-17 with 159 yards and 1 touchdown. 
 
With Rustlers' starting quarterback Joe Pyle injured, John Buksa was given the task of navigating the top-ranked Hornets' defense. Buksa led some promising drives early and stayed out of trouble for the most part, but was unable to find the endzone until the third quarter. With 30 seconds left in the third quarter, Buksa connected with Derrick Deese for a 14-yard score. Deese and Buksa linked up again in the fourth quarter on a 21-yard fade route, but the game was already out of reach. 
 
More than the supreme talent of Fullerton, what did the Rustlers in were penalties. Yellow flags were thrown 31 times this afternoon and 21 were aimed at the Rustlers. This resulted in 184 yards lost and the loss of momentum on promising drives.
 
Golden West finishes the season 4-6 (2-3 NSL) and are on the outside looking in regarding postseason bowl selection. Visit cccaasports.org over the next few days to see if the Rustlers are selected.

 

written by: Kyle Infante, PA Announcer