A bittersweet time for all Mounties. With fall ending soon, some of our athletes have played their final games as a Mountie. To all those transferring or graduating, we thank you for your time, commitment, and passion!

With postseason action wrapping up for most, the fall makes way for its winter counterparts to have their season fully underway. Plenty of nail biters and pre-seasons action!

Let’s get you caught up on all the action from last week!

Tuesday, Nov. 22

Women’s volleyball

Heartbreaker. After one of the school’s successful seasons, the 6th seed Mounties’ season ended in the second round of CCCAA Southern California Regionals against the 11th seed Santa Monica Corsairs, 3-1.

The Mounties played their final match before moving into the new stadium complex across campus beginning in 2023. Though this was Coach Samantha Neely second year as head coach of the Mounties, this was her first cycle of the two-year program finishing with an overall record of 19-5 and 11-1 in conference and winning the conference title outright.

As the team broke it down after their match, praises and joy rang from the huddle. This team was thankful for everyone’s contribution, commitment and dedication. Seeing multiple freshmen sitting on the bench last year becoming major contributors this season and to a winning program is truly rewarding.

Sophomore hitters JJ Quarrels (11), Riley DeGroot (20), Angelina Burton (9) and Allison Whiteman (23) each tallied double-digit kill totals: 14, 11, 10 and 10 respectively.
Setters sophomore Kylie Rhodes (7) and freshman Capri Salmon (22) combined for 34 total assists. Rhodes led the team in assists with 21 and tallied six digs.

Congratulations Mounties on a hell of a season! We can’t wait till next year!

Men’s soccer

What a way to finish! Two overtime periods after regulation culminating with penalty kicks to decide the winner; the ultimate nail biter.

The Mounties hosted a familiar foe, the El Camino Warriors in the third round of the CCCAA Southern Region playoffs.

Down 1-0 at the half, sophomore midfielder Alex Mendez (10) tied the game up with an unassisted goal in the 52th minute to make it a 1-1 ball game. Then, freshman midfielder Jason Garcia (23) doubled the score for the Mounties with another unassisted goal less than four minutes after being scoreless in the first half.

The Warriors would tie the game up at 2-2 less than 10 minutes after the Mounties overtook them. Sophomore goalie Jacob Cardenas (1) recorded four saves in 118 minutes of action for the Mounties.

During the first overtime period, the Warriors were able to double the Mounties shot attempts, 2-1. But the Mounties flipped the script and doubled the Warriors shot attempts in the second overtime, 4-2.

In the penalty kick shootout, the Mounties converted all five of their penalty kick attempts to outshoot the Warriors 5-3 and clinched the victory.

Women’s soccer

Riding an 18-game win streak, the Mounties hosted the Long Beach City Vikings for their third round matchup of the CCCAA Southern Region playoffs.

This would mark the third time the Mounties face the Vikings this season, the last two encounters were on Oct. 14 and Nov. 11. Like the two prior contests, the Mounties prevailed, 1-0.

After a shutout in the first half, sophomore defender Fatima Arnold (18) put the Mounties on the board at the 58th minute mark. The Mounties defense tightened and the Vikings failed to score on three attempts that sealed the victory.

Sophomore goalie Leila Peregrina (1) played all 90 minutes and recorded three saves.

Wednesday Nov. 23

Men’s basketball

After taking first place in the Skip Robinson Classic, the Mounties began their four-game home stand beginning against the Santiago Canyon Hawks.

Freshman guard Nick Hopkins (10) was deep in his bag, scoring a team-high 28 points in the Mounties 89-70 loss to the Hawks. When the Hawks entered halftime with a 21-point lead, 47-26, they put it on cruise control and didn’t look back.

Hopkins missed only one shot from the floor, shooting 8-9 on field goals and shot 11-16 at 69% from the charity stripe.

Freshman guard Mikah Gardner (21) chipped in with 11 points on 33.3% from the field and 3 boards.

Though the Mounties outscored the Hawks 34-32 in points in the paint, they would be out rebounded, 48-28.

Sophomore center Matthew Brown (45) and sophomore shooting guard Jay Milner (5) combined for 17 points, nine and eight points respectively.

Women’s basketball

Non-conference action for the Mounties (2-3) as they hit the court and host the Palomar Comets (6-0).

Though the Mounties came up short in the 56-53 loss, they opened the game with a seven-point lead only to be outscored 22-8 by the Comets thanks to defensive adjustments and forcing turnovers.

Sophomore guard Kamesha Moore (14) led the Mounties in scoring with 19 points and sophomore forward Kameria Piggee (50) added 12 points while shooting 4-5 from the free throw line.

Freshman guard Dailani Richardson (11) chipped in with 10 points and made a three-pointer in 32 minutes.

The Mounties return to action against the San Joaquin Delta Mustangs on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 3 p.m.

Saturday Nov. 26

Women’s soccer

The Mounties faced off against the top-ranked Chaffey Panthers in the fourth round of CCCAA Southern Region playoffs.

In a hard fought 1-0 loss, the Mounties saw their 19-game winning streak and season come to an end.

Sophomore midfielder Anahi Corrales (11) received a red card at the 90th minute mark.

In one of the school’s best seasons, the Mounties finished with a 20-2-2 record overall and will return to action in the summer of 2023.

Football

The battle of the No. 2 and No. 3 seeded teams saw the No. 2 Fullerton Hornets end the No. 3 Mounties postseason early in a 45-41 loss in the first round of the SCFA playoffs.

In a high octane offensive affair, the Mounties trailed for most of the game but managed to stay within striking distance. Late in the fourth quarter, sophomore wide receiver Shemar Savage (8) scored on a 22-yard reception from sophomore quarterback Ide Udengwu III (0) with 1:58 left to play.

The Mounties registered more yards on offense, 594-438, but the game ultimately came to who had the ball last.

Savage balled out! He matched his receiving yard totals for the past four games in a single game alone with five catches for 180 yards and three TDs. During the four-game stretch, he posted nine catches for 177 yards with 4 TDs.

Udengwu III was voted player of the game for the Mounties with 407 yards passing, 89 rushing yards and five total touchdowns on 63% passing attempts. Sophomore safety Lantz Russell (22) led the defense with eight tackles six of which were solo.

Men’s soccer

Finally able to get the monkey off their backs, the Mounties handed the top seeded Cerritos Falcons their first loss of the season in the fourth round of CCCAA Southern Region playoffs.

Though head coach Juan Sanchez was not present with the team, assistant coaches Ray Ramirez, Mauricio Barrett and Alex Sanchez, stirred the Mounties to victory in his absence. A team effort through and through.

In another double overtime effort, the Mounties finally got on the board early in the first overtime period thanks to sophomore midfielder Alex Mendez (10) scoring off the assist from sophomore forward Edward Castro (11). Sophomore goalie Jacob Cardenas (1) logged all 120 minutes and recorded three saves in a shutout effort to keep the Mounties in the game all night.

With the win, the Mounties advance to the CCCAA State Championships in Sacramento where they will play against the Taft Cougars for a spot in the state title game.