The Laney College Eagles continued on their offensive roll, pummeling De Anza College 60-7 on Sept. 22 in Oakland

The Laney College Eagles continued on their offensive roll, pummeling De Anza College 60-7 on Sept. 22 in Oakland.

It was the fourth time in Eagles’ football history that the team has scored 60 or more points in a game.

The victory moved Laney up five spots to ninth in the JC Athletic Bureau of California Community College poll.

Ahmari Davis (16, carries, 77 yards) scored three touchdowns and Marcel Dancy (10 carries, 131 yards) scored twice as Laney piled up 300 yards on the ground. The Eagles gained 481 yards of total offense.

Laney took the lead on its opening drive, driving 64 yards in 10 plays and finished when Noah Suszckiewicz threw a 12-yard scoring pass to Keith Tracy with 11:53 left.

Dancy caped off the Eagles’ second series when he bolted 65 yards for a score to make it 12-0.

Laney scored three times in the second quarter to put the game away. Quarterback Andrew Ve’e ran 4 yards for one score, Suszckiewcz threw 27 yards to Devond Blair Jr., for another, and Dancy ran 4 yards to cap off the 39-7 halftime lead.

The Eagles scored three more times in the second half, with Davis scoring on runs of 9 and 11 yards and Kendall Prater going 1 yard for the final touchdown.

Defensively, Laney held De Anza to 186 yards and just 22 yards rushing. The Eagles had four sacks, resulting in 18 yards in losses. Leo Rodriguez was credited with 1.5 sacks; Vili Paea one; Cameron Nathan one; and Jordan Whittley had a half.

Zach Zimmerman recovered fumble and Erin Austin blocked a punt.

Laney’s next game is at home against Contra Costa College on Friday, Sept. 29. The Eagles defeated the Comets 21-20 in 2016 and are 5-0 against the San Pablo team.

Game time is 7 p.m.

NOTES: Laney’s other 60+ point games:

Nov. 11, 1965—Laney 60, Gavilan College 0

Oct. 24, 2008—Laney 66, Los Medanos College 17

Nov. 15, 2013—Laney 68, Sacramento City College 0

By Scott A. Strain

Laney College Sports Information

Week 4 Players of the Game

Congrats to our Week 4 Players of the Game!

Offensive Player of the Game - RB Marcel Dancy

Lineman of the Game - DL Leo Rodriguez

Defensive Player of the Game - DL Sione Mesui

Special Teams Player of the Game - DL Erin Austin

The Laney College Eagles football team continues to roll on both offense and defense.

The Laney College Eagles football team continues to roll on both offense and defense.

The Eagles’ latest victim: The Feather River Golden Eagles, who were blasted by Laney 47-13 on Sept. 18 in Quincy.

For the Laney fans who made the four-plus hour trip up a winding Highway 70, they were treated to a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter when quarterback Noah Suszckiewicz (Berkeley High School) threw touchdown passes of 50 yards to Keith Tracy (Antioch HS) and 31 yards t o Ronald Thomas (San Leandro HS).

The Eagles extended the lead to 20-0 when Ahmari Davis (12 carries, 68 yards, James Logan HS) scored on a 3-yard run with 12:29 left in the second quarter. Marcel Dancy (12 carries, 94 yards, West HS-Oakland) scored on a 3-yard run with 2:40 left in the first half.

Laney led 27-13 at the half.

The second half was all Eagles. Armani Turner-Jenkins (Berkeley HS) picked off a pass and raced 35 yards for a touchdown just 15 seconds into the third quarter.

Laney made it 40-13 when quarterback Andrew Ve’e (Encinal HS) threw a 4-yard scoring pass to Devond Blair, Jr. (Bunche HS-Oakland) with 5:11 left in the third quarter. Dancy capped off the Eagles’ scoring when he ran 34 yards for a touchdown with 3:22 remaining in the third period.

Suszckiewicz completed 9 of 16 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns as Laney rolled up 451 yards in total offense.

The Laney defense was sterling, especially in the second half when it held Feather River scoreless. Imani Moore (Dublin HS) led the effort with six solo tackles and two assists. Armani-Turner, besides his interception, had three solo tackles and four assists.

Joseph Butler (Sam Houston HS, San Antonio) and Cameron Nathan (Antioch HS) each had two solo tackles and three assists. The Eagles intercepted three passes—Turner-Jenkins, Da’Meak Brandon (La Salle HS-Cincinnati) and Zach Zimmerman (Monroe HS-Monroe, WA). Thomas was also credited with a blocked punt.

The Eagles’ ‘D’ held Feather River to 263 yards of total offense with just 74 coming in the second half.

Laney’s next game is Friday, Sept. 22, when it plays host to DeAnza College. It is Laney Alumni Night.

By Scott Strain

Laney College Sports Information

Week 3 Players of the Game

Congrats to our Week 3 Players of the Game!

Offensive Player of the Game - RB Marcel Dancy

Lineman of the Game - OL Brian Robinson

Defensive Player of the Game - DB Da'Meak Brandon

Special Teams Player of the Game - WR Beejay Byrd

Week 2 Players of the Game

Congrats to our Week 2 Players of the Game!

Offensive Player of the Game - RB Ahmari Davis

Lineman of the Game - Andres Guzman

Defensive Player of the Game - LB Joseph Butler

Special Teams Player of the Game - LB Joseph Butler

Week 1 Players of the Game

Congrats to our Week 1 Players of the Game!

Offensive Player of the Game - RB Ahmari Davis

Lineman of the Game - DL Malik McPherson

Defensive Player of the Game - Erin Austin     

Special Teams Player of the Game - Christian Brown

Eagles open season at CCSF on Saturday, Sept. 2

Is the third time a charm for the Laney College football team?

The Eagles open their season on Saturday, Sept. 2, at City College of San Francisco and are looking to defeat the Rams for a third consecutive time. Game time is 1 p.m.

Last season, en route to a, 9-2 finish Laney, for the first (and only) time, defeated CCSF twice in one season. The Eagles stunned the Rams 18-13 in Oakland on Sept. 2, and then knocked them off again on their home field, 49-35, on Dec. 3 in the San Francisco Community College Bowl.

“Wining lets everybody know they can be beat. (Beating them twice) took a little luster off them,” Laney head coach John Beam said. “They can be beat. The coaches are confident, the players are confident and our fans are confident.”

It was a fitting end to a fine season. Question is: Can Laney do it again in a hostile environment against a team thirsting for revenge?

The answer is yes, probably. Despite losing six players to Division I schools, the Eagles return both quarterbacks from last season and the top two running backs from an offense that led the state in rushing yards per game.

Quarterback Noah Suszckiewicz threw for 257 yards and four touchdowns in the bowl victory over CCSF and Andrew Ve’e provided a dual threat at QB with his running and passing ability.

“He has really matured and is throwing the ball very well,” Beam said of Suszckiewicz. “Andrew has really been steady.” Both quarterbacks could see action against CCSF.

In 2016, Suszckiewicz completed 65 of 166 passes for 1,076 yards and nine touchdowns. Ve’e was 53 for 99, 778 yards and 12 touchdowns.

Also returning are running backs Marcel Dancy (162 carries, 961 yards, four touchdowns) and Ahmari Davis (95-684, seven touchdowns). 

The top return receiver is Devond Blair Jr. (12 receptions, 232 yards, two touchdowns). Beam is evaluating a group of talented freshmen to fill the other spots. Jared Smart (5-11, 170) from Dublin High School and Angelo Garrett (5-9, 155) from McClymonds are two of the prospects.

Returning linebacker Joe Butler (6-foot-4, 215) leads the defense. Butler made the game-saving interception in the end zone in the first CCSF game.  Erin Austin (6-3, 280, Heritage HS) anchors the defensive line. “He is as good as anybody in Northern California,” Beam said of Austin.

Defensive back Je’Vari Anderson (6-0, 220, De La Salle) comes from a wining program and is a “tremendous player,” Beam said.

“But this is community college football and you worry about depth, injuries and how life experiences affect players.”

NOTES—Laney is ranked 12th in the preseason JC Athletic Bureau poll, CCSF is 10th…The Eagles play three of the Top 25 schools: CCSF (10th), Butte (3rd) and Modesto Junior College (11th), the latter two at home…the last time Laney defeated CCSF two years in a row was in 1984-1985.

By Scott Strain

Laney College Sports Information

End of an era

Greg Smith, the respected athletic trainer for the Laney Eagles’ athletic teams for over 37 years, will be retiring on July 31. He will be missed by students and faculty alike.

At the 2017 Spring Sports Awards Banquet Athletic Director John Beam called Smith up to be recognized for his work over the years and presented him with an Eagles letterman jacket.

Smith was a baseball player at Pinole Valley high school before going on to play ball for Contra Costa College and later went to Cal, where he majored in chemistry.

As an athlete Smith had been around athletic trainers and had received treatment for an ankle injury. Smith was struggling with his major, so he decided to weigh his options, and he switched his major from chemistry to physical education.

“I knew what I wanted to do. These trainers didn’t have any grease under their nails and they were wearing the latest athletic gear,” he said.

He started his career with Peralta in 1980 at the College of Alameda, but would also cover games at both Merritt and Laney. As funding for sports programs at COA became shakier, he began to work full-time at Laney in 1986.

“Working with young people, you feel like you’re about their age”

Greg Smith, Laney Eagles’ athletic trainer

His job title was athletic trainer and equipment manager. At that time there was no certification required to be an athletic trainer. Smith could see the future was going to be about rehabbing injured athletes. He got certified as an athletic trainer.

Over the years he has helped countless athletes. He works with all of the sports at Laney. When asked what sport he liked to work with the best, he replied, “That’s too tough a question. I like being a ‘team’ player for each sport as it’s in season.”
Laney Head Baseball Coach Francisco Zapata remembered being worked on by Smith when he played baseball here in the mid-80s and broke his arm.

Smith says that he always enjoyed working at Laney because the students kept him feeling young.

“Working with young people, you feel like you’re about their age,” he said.

Smith is retiring as the Athletic Trainer/Equipment Manager, but he will still be around campus teaching Health Ed, First Aid and CPR.

John Beam Welcomes Athletes to OAL Champions Luncheon

Marshall football should get help in mid-year signing period

After its most difficult season in nearly a decade, it became clear Marshall needed immediate, athletic help at many positions.

As the mid-year junior-college signing period begins Wednesday, such help may be on the way. The Thundering Herd is expected sign as many as four juco standouts to binding letters of intent.

Two of those played in the California juco circuit, one is a Florida native who played in Iowa and the other is a Georgia native who played in Kansas.

To hear their juco coaches talk — they’re biased, of course — they just might be playmakers the MU programs need.

Armani Levias stands out in that group because of stature, at the least. He is a big tight end from Laney College in Oakland, California, who was once a pocket-passing prospect in high school.

That was when he was 215 pounds.

“He’s a difference-maker because he’s 6-5, 250 pounds and can move,” said Laney coach John Beam. “He’s got really good hands — most of his catches are for touchdowns because when we get in the red zone, he creates a lot of mismatches. And he’s learning to become a physical blocker.”

Levias hails from of Pittsburg, California, not far east from Oakland. He would follow the footsteps of Laney alums Chuck Walker and Troy Evans, both Herd wide receivers.

In the Fresno area, Artis Johnson wasn’t cheated out of playing time at Reedley College. He played strong safety, but did so much more.

His coach says he won’t sign Wednesday, but expects the Texas native to do so later in the period, which lasts through Jan. 17. Johnson redshirted after an injury his first season, so he would have two years to play two at Marshall.

“He was our strong safety, outside linebacker and also our ‘wildcat’ quarterback,” said coach Eric Marty. “He returned kicks, he did it all.

“He’s 6-1, 210 or 215 and looks the part. He’s explosive and changes directions well. He’s going to bring a lot of versatility as far as the ability to play field safety, or roll down into that outside linebacker position. He’s one of the best athletes on our team.”

The Herd could be picking up a quick slot receiver in Marcel Williams. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound native of Bunnell, Florida, played at Ellsworth Community College in Iowa City, Iowa.

His 2016 season was cut short by an injury to his thumb, for which he had surgery. His coach, Jesse Montalto, expects Williams to be full-go next month.

“He’s a very good football player, smart player. He actually played both ways for us a freshman,” Montalto said. “But he’s explosive. He’s as fast a kid as you’ll find at this level. He ran good times this summer; I think he ran as low as a 4.41 [40-yard dash].”

The fourth reported juco commitment is cornerback Kereon Merrell, a native of Vienna, Georgia, who played at Dodge City Community College in Kansas. It is not clear when he will sign.

Those who sign this week are expected to begin classes at Marshall in January and participate in spring practice.

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.

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.