Football Runs All Over Corsairs in Season Opener at Santa Monica

SANTA MONICA, Calif. --- El Camino College returned to the gridiron Saturday in impressive fashion, posting a 52-14 road victory at Santa Monica.

The Warriors (1-0) exploded for 623 total yards of offense including 343 yards rushing while scoring 44 unanswered points to rout the host Corsairs in ECC's first football game since November 23, 2019.

Saturday's meeting marked the 32nd time the Warriors and Corsairs faced off and the first since Sept. 21, 2002. The Warriors now hold an 18-13-1 overall record over the Corsairs and improved to 7-8 on the road against Santa Monica. It was also the most points the Warriors have scored in a victory over the Corsairs since Nov. 11, 1950 when ECC walloped Santa Monica 49-0 at the old Murdock Stadium.

Running back Stephen Bradford Jr. shined brightest for the Warriors on Saturday, running for 140 yards on just 14 carries and scoring two touchdowns. Mehki Jordan was 15-for-22 for 158 passing yards and two touchdowns in his Warriors debut under center. He was one of four quarterbacks that combined to throw for 280 yards and three touchdowns.

The defense was in the Santa Monica backfield all day as they recorded 12 tackles for a loss including two quarterback sacks from Lando Brown and Isaiah Pualani.

The Warriors also got four interceptions from four different players on the defense.

With the win, the Warriors opened the year with a road victory for the first time since 2017 when they set a program scoring record with a 74-8 win at L.A. Southwest. That is also the last time the Warriors scored a victory in the season opener.

The Warriors will look to open the year 2-0 for the first time since 2017 when they travel to Bakersfield for the Peace Pipe game against one of their longest rivals. The teams have played 53 times with the Renegades holding a 28-24-1 advantage. The Warriors won the last meeting between the teams in 2019 with a 26-23 decision at Murdock Stadium.

Kickoff next Saturday is set for 6 p.m