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FAIRFIELD -- Early in the second quarter on Saturday, Solano College quarterback Boy Humphrey threw a perfect 34-yard strike to Tony Edmondson in the end zone.
Except ...
The Falcons were called for holding and pushed 10 yards back.
No problem. Solano did it again, this time with Edmondson tipping the ball to himself while on the ground for the more spectacular 44-yard touchdown.
The Falcons rode that momentum to a 27-13 win over Monterey Peninsula at Doc Hollister Stadium.
"That was a big-time play," said Solano coach Floyd Burnsed, whose team improved to 4-1. "We have to find a way to get him the ball even more."
Edmondson was primarily a running back in Vallejo High School's double-wing system, but he said he loves his new role.
"I love catching the ball," Edmondson said. "We have coaches here who feel I can catch the ball."
Edmondson hauled in a 12-yard touchdown from Humphrey later in the second quarter as he dove past Monterey defensive back Sarladine Connally and into the end zone.
The Dons (1-4) were as close as 19-13 early in the quarter after a 32-yard field goal from Eduardo Ochoa.
However, Humphrey, who was 18-for-31 for 230 yards and three touchdowns, found Davel Brumfield for a 16-yard touchdown with 6:09 left later in the quarter. The Panthers converted the two-point conversion with Ricky Young catching the ball from Humphrey to give the Falcons the two-score edge again.
Davel's brother, Davonn, returned the opening kickoff 91 yards to the end zone to get the game started. Edmondson fielded the kickoff and then handed the ball back to Davonn, who dashed down the Solano sideline to pay dirt.
Solano's defense was stout all afternoon. Three times, they held the Dons to field goal opportunities -- rather than touchdowns -- in the red zone.
On one series in the first quarter, Solano's Robert Shafer made an open-field tackle on Bret Chernetsky on third-and-goal at the 2-yard line.
"That was huge," Burnsed said about the defensive stops. "It's a different game if they score touchdowns."
Burnsed felt so good about his defense that twice he elected to go for it twice on fourth down late in the game rather than kick field goals.
"I was a little disappointed we didn't score there, but with the way our defense was playing, I figured we'd force them to drive 90 yards rather than risk a blocked kick and have them return it," he said.
Monterey quarterback David Fales threw for 200 yards on 19-for-29 passing, and one touchdown, a 23-yard score to Chris Farias early in the second quarter.
That gave the Dons their only lead of the game at 13-10, but the first of two Humphrey-to-Edmondson touchdowns gave the Falcons the lead back for good.
Monterey backup quarterback Daniel Connors, who beat the Falcons with two fourth-quarter touchdowns last season, threw for 25 yards and one interception.
Norman Fatilua and Erik Marthel both had interceptions for Solano. Scott Johnson had a fumble recovery.
Fatilua, a Bethel High graduate, was at College of Marin before the school closed its football program. He took a redshirt year last season and came into Saturday's game leading the Falcons in tackles.
"I think the redshirt year really helped me," he said. "I learned a lot more about what it takes to be a linebacker."
Burnsed was pleased with the running game as well. Rufus Osby rushed for a game-high 79 yards on 13 carries, and Malachi Kuidis added 52 on just six carries.
"Our rushing game was impressive," Burnsed said. "We really needed to eat up some clock and our guys were picking up six to eight to 10 yards per carry."
Reach Matt O'Donnell at (707) 553-6822 or modonnell@timesheraldonline.com
