GLENDALE — Right from the start, Glendale Community College second-year football Coach John Rome figured his defensive unit would be up to speed.
Rome surmised correctly after the Vaqueros opened the season Sept. 5 with a 51-29 home victory against West Los Angeles College.
Now, Rome will look for another strong defensive performance when Glendale college meets East Los Angeles College in a nonconference road game at 6 p.m. today.
“From the first day they were able to put the pads on, our defense was willing to hit and tackle,” Rome said. “We are happy with our defense, and we’ve got more speed.”
Glendale college limited West L.A. College to 175 yards of total offense en route to snapping a five-game losing streak. The Vaqueros will look for a similar effort against the Huskies, who started their season with a 49-7 nonconference road loss to Cerritos College.
Glendale college might have something to build on after a pair of freshmen made impressive debuts.
Defensive back Rene Howard finished with a team-high seven tackles, while linebacker and Glendale High graduate Jean Khajarian added six. Sophomore linebacker Kalii Robinson had six tackles for the Vaqueros.
“We will take that kind of defensive effort week in and week out,” Rome said.
There are some things that need to be addressed by Glendale college.
For instance, Rome would like to see the Vaqueros get up to par on offense. Glendale college turned the ball over four times in the first half against West L.A. College.
“We are hoping for a better effort,” said Rome, whose team finished with 482 yards of total offense. “We won’t know until the game starts.
“We hope that we’ve addressed it. The good thing is you know that repairs can be made.”
Glendale college sophomore quarterback Steve Miller completed 16 of 21 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns. Miller, who started the final three games at quarterback last season, had a rushing touchdown and also threw a pair of interceptions.
Sophomore wide receiver Brian Williams caught a team-high four passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns to ignite the Vaqueros. Sophomore running back Joe Wiggan also caught a touchdown pass for Glendale college.
The Vaqueros will look to make things difficult for the Huskies, who suffered a 75-21 loss to Glendale college last season at Sartoris Field. East L.A. College is 10-61 since the start of the 2002 season, including 1-9 last season.
The Huskies, who are coached by former Atlanta Falcons fullback Lynn Cain, will turn to sophomore quarterback Pedro Velasquez to try to get them back on track. Velasquez threw for 1,468 yards last season.
“I hear they are much improved,” Rome said. “They’ve got some good-looking athletes over there.
“They are much faster and bigger than last year. Velasquez also has some good wide receivers to throw to.”
