Laney makes history with double win over CCS

Wonder of wonders, miracles of miracles.
The Laney College football team has defeated City College of San Francisco twice in one season for the first time ever.
The Eagles (9-2) finished their best season since 2007 when they defeated the Rams 49-35 on Dec. 3 in the San Francisco Community College Bowl at CCSF. Laney had previously defeated CCSF 18-13 on Sept. 2 in the season opener in Oakland.

“I think the emphasis of the season is that we started strong and ended strong,” head coach John Beam said. “They played with tremendous enthusiasm and never quit.
“We won two games in the last minute and it just shows that the players kept fighting.”
Laney gained a school-record 652 yards in total offense against CCSF, including 360 yards rushing.
Quarterback Noah Suszckiewicz had his best performance of the season, completing 11 of 20 passes for 257 yards and four touchdowns. Running back Marcel Dancy ran 19 times for 117 yards.
Wide receiver Sean Pinson caught five passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns.
Laney jumped off to a 14-0 lead in the first four minutes of the first quarter. Suszckiewicz threw a 46-yard scoring pass to Pinson just three plays into the game and Ahmari Davis ran 42 yards for another touchdown three minutes later.
But the Eagles couldn’t hold the lead. CCSF came back to score two touchdowns in the latter part of the quarter to tie the game at 14-14.
It stayed that way after a scoreless second quarter, but things really got going in the third quarter when six touchdowns were scored—four in a span of less than three minutes.
Suszckiewicz threw an 86-yard TD pass to Pinson for a 20-14 lead with 7:46 left in the quarter and, after a CCSF fumble, then threw a 41-yard scoring pass to Michael Maxwell for a 27-14 lead with 7:25 left.
After another CCSF turnover, Suszckiewicz threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game, this one of 3 yards to Bryce Grandison with 5:31 left for a 34-14 lead.
The score stood for 13 seconds. Namane Modise ran the ensuing kickoff back 90 yards for the Rams to cut the lead to 34-21. CCSF scored again with 1:18 left in the period and all of a sudden Laney was clinging to a 34-28 lead.
But on the first play from scrimmage after that score, Laney running back John McDonald ran a scintillating 70 yards for a touchdown with 1:02 left in the period to extend the lead to 40-28. McDonald evaded three CCSF defenders inside the 10-yard line before scoring.
The Rams cut the lead to 40-35 with 14:35 left in the fourth quarter, but Suszckiewicz scored on a 1-yard run with 7:45 left in the game to push the Laney lead to 47-35 and give the Eagles a little breathing room.
From that point on, the Eagles defense stiffened and forced a safety with 4:02 left in the game that gave Laney the final two points of the game.

Senator’s speech inspires athletes

N.J. Senator Corey Booker visits Laney College Field House to talk confidence, success

New Jersey Senator Corey Booker (D) was the featured guest at a gathering of the Laney football team dinner on Thursday, Oct. 20. The team, now ranked fourth in the state, has a tradition of having a meal together following their last practice prior to away games.
The former mayor of Newark, New Jersey, Booker is a rising star in the Democratic Party. He gave the keynote address at this year’s Democratic National Convention, speaking right before First Lady Michelle Obama. Booker was even considered for the role of vice president this year by Democratic Party presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
After a heaping meal of salad, spaghetti and bread, there was excitement in the air.
Laney College President Patricia Stanley, Executive Vice Chancellor of Strategic Planning and Advancement Elñora Webb, and Laney College Dean of Student Services Philip King were also present.
They, like everyone else, were waiting for the senator.
Webb got up and introduced herself to the team. She then introduced Stanley and King. Shortly, after she was finished, Peralta Chancellor Jowel Laguerre arrived.
When the senator entered the room, there was a round of wild applause.
Although he is from New Jersey, he attended Stanford University before becoming a Rhodes Scholar and later attended Yale Law School.
Head Coach John Beam arranged, through mutual friends, to have the senator, who was in town raising funds for Barbra Lee’s re-election campaign, speak to the team.

Laney Football Head Coach John Beam and New Jersey Senator Corey Booker pose for a picture after addressing the team and assorted dignitaries. The Senator, who was an All-American and attended Stanford University, inspired the team.

From the moment he began speaking, Booker had the entire room hanging on every word he said. He told stories about being a football player and about his young adult experiences that the players could relate to.
He talked about mistakes that he had made and the goals that he had set for himself.
He told the players that “any one of you could succeed at Stanford.” He let them know that all they had to do was set the bar high for themselves. He suggested they write all their goals down.
He told them how he had written all his goals on a whiteboard and made a promise to get no grade lower than a “B” at Stanford.
He also told them, “Confidence is a choice, and I have seen people win just through confidence and swagger.”
He also said, “You need to model the changes you want to see in the world.”
Many of the things he said seem like standard inspirational speeches, but because they were coming from such a dynamic speaker, who peppered his advice with personal stories tailored to his audience, his audience was entranced.
After his speech, Booker opened up the floor for questions. The players asked everything from how he got through hard times to how he decided to get into politics.
At one point, Coach Beam interrupted to point out that one player, Bryce Grandison, had been elected president of the Laney Phi Theta Kappa chapter.
Following the question and answer period, Booker was presented with a Laney Football T-shirt.
Coach Beam reminded the players that a United States senator had taken his valuable time to speak to them because of their potential both on and off the field, so they should take his advice to heart.
The coach also reminded them that potential was a “bad” word because it meant they had not yet achieved what they were capable of.
That weekend, the team defeated The College of the Sequoias 35 to 6, moving from fifth to fourth place in the state.

Eagles finally defeat long-time rival Rams

Joseph Butler made a diving interception in the end zone with no time remaining to preserve Laney College’s 18-13 upset victory over defending state champion City College of San Francisco on Sept. 2 in Oakland.
Fate was not kind to the Eagles the next week. Battling 96-degree heat, a three-hour drive and dubious air quality from recent fires in the area, Laney lost to Butte College in Oroville 38-20 on Sept. 10.
Laney’s next game is on Friday, Sept. 16, at home against the Feather River College Golden Eagles. Game time is 7 p.m.
But getting back to the epic victory in the season opener, the Eagles (1-0) scored three times in the second half to erase a 13-0 CCSF lead.
The victory broke a 10-game losing steak against CCSF (0-1). It was the first victory for Laney over the Rams since 1995. There were some years when the two teams did not play each other.
Eagles quarterback Noah Suszckiewicz threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Devond Blair, Jr. with 3 minutes, 28 seconds left in the game to give Laney its first lead. Suszckiewicz’s touchdown pass ended an eight-play, 96-yard drive.

Laney pulled to within 13-12 when Suszckiewicz (13-21, 169 yards, interception) threw a 32-yard TD pass to Sean Pinson with nine minutes left. The Eagles scored their first touchdown when Andrew Ve’e threw 3 yards to Armani Levias with 11:29 left in the third quarter.
Rams quarterback Zach Masoli, despite throwing three interceptions in the first half, got CCSF on the scoreboard first when he threw an 80-yard TD pass to Chikwado Nzerem with 53 seconds left in the first quarter for a 7-0 lead.
CCSF increased the lead to 13-0 when Masoli threw a 21-yard scoring pass to Easop Winton with 7:13 left in the second quarter.
Laney running back Marcel Dancy ran 22 times for 129 yards, which included a 51-yard run in the third quarter. CCSF, which pretty much eschewed the run in the second half, rushed for 58 yards.
In the game against Butte, quarterback Andrew Ve’e threw one touchdown pass and ran for another as the Eagles were outscored 21-13 in the fourth quarter.
Ve’e (12-24, 160 yards) threw a 23-yard scoring pass to Sean Pinson in the second quarter and then ran 14 yards for another score in the fourth. Ronald Thomas had a 3-yard TD run with 1:22 left in the game for the Eagles’ final score.
FEATHER RIVER: This will be only the second meeting between the Eagles and the Golden Eagles, who are located in Quincy. Laney defeated Feather River 48-35 at home in 2008 in the Eagle Bowl.

Bases covered

Laney athletes score high on the field and in class

In community college sports, it’s not always about the Ws and the Ls.
It’s also about the GPAs.
This year, the Laney College baseball team has seven players who made the All-State Academic Team.
The team recognizes student-athletes who demonstrated academic excellence.
The Eagles have five pitchers named to the All-Academic team, whose GPAs are listed below in parentheses:

Ben Clegg (3.59)
John Punla (3.50)
Rory D’Alleva-Keane (3.55)
Peter Fosbery (3.80)
Christian Marquez (3.52)

Other players honored are:

Ryan Myers (3.74)
Brennan Machine (3.58)

Myers is a first baseman, and Machine is a utility player.
“It’s all about commitment,” head coach Francisco Zapata said. “Work on the field, work in the classroom.”
It’s what we are about here at Laney. These guys put in the work.”

Race for the finish

Merritt, Laney represent district at Track and Field championships

The California Community College Northern California Section Track and Field Championships were held May 13 at Chabot College in Hayward.

Merritt College had eight of its athletes representing the school. Laney College had three—freshmen Mariama Hilburn and Bibiana Enriquez and sophomore Alyssa Emerson.

Ali Arsiniega started things off for Merritt by taking fifth place in the 1500-meter run at an official time of 4 minutes, 52.93 seconds.

She was confident about the race the evening before when she took a break from her team bonding over a game of UNO to talk about the race.

Arsiniega was well aware of her competitors. “They are all really talented girls,” she said. Arsiniega said that most of the girls that she was running against are also 5K runners who would have the advantage in endurance.

She felt her advantage in her quest to qualify for the state championships was in her ability to kick.

“It’s all about who can kick the longest at the last lap,” she said.

Arsiniega will be competing Saturday, May 21, at San Diego Mesa College for the state championship along with a few of her teammates.

Thunderbirds sophomore Tyler Daugherty took second place in the men’s 1500-meter run in 3:55.11, narrowly missing first place.

Daugherty finish just nine-hundredths of a second behind American River College’s Conor Wells who ran 13.55.02.

Freshman Asa Allen will be running the 110-meter hurdles for Merritt after qualifying with a fourth-place finish of 14.62.

Ray’Ven Sanders will round out the group of Merritt four after the freshman landed in third place in the women’s high jump with a mark of 1.56 meters.

Merritt track coach Brock Drazen should be happy as he correctly predicted that he would have his hurdlers, 1500-meter runners, and the high-jumping Sanders all qualify for San Diego.

Drazen also thought that his 4×400-meter team would have an outside shot at qualifying but it came short one place and came up just short as it finished fifth.
Before the 4×100 relay team lost their first-leg runner to injury, they were ranked fourth in the state and would have performed well.

Hillburn is the sole qualifier for Laney in the 400-meter dash for Laney after battling for a second-place finish in the event at Chabot. Her time was 57.38.