Victory in the Desert: SMC Football pulls out first win of the season

As the sun started its descent on the horizon, the temperature and humidity made standing on the sidelines nearly unbearable. As the temperature neared the triple digits while the clock drew near six o'clock in the evening, the Santa Monica College Corsairs football team were ready to kickoff their 2015 campaign against the College of the Desert. The Corsairs traveled nearly 150 miles to Palm Desert for their opening game of the season to face off in an unfamiliar environment. Coming from the coastal climate of Santa Monica, the Corsairs were thrust into a difficult environment; however, they seemed unfazed.

From the very first play of the game, SMC showed they were by far the better of the two teams.

After an interception by sophomore defensive back Aaron Corbin on the first play of the game, the Corsairs were able to jump ahead to an early lead when quarterback Troy Williams was able to connect with Damaja Young for an early touchdown a mere 40 seconds into the game.

The College of the Desert Roadrunners bounced back with a touchdown of their own a few minutes later, but that was the last time the game would be close.

After commanding play on both sides of the ball, the Corsairs scored 21 unanswered points to push their lead to 28-7 by the end of the first quarter.

The Corsairs never looked back. SMC dominated the game and outscored the Roadrunners 45-14 going into half time.

"You never knew what you're going to get in the first game," said Corsairs head coach Gifford Lindheim. "We had a good fall camp and it truly showed early in the game."

The Corsairs showed no signs in letting up when they took the field in the second half. Five minutes into the half, Troy Williams connected with wide receiver which gave Williams his fourth passing touchdown and fifth touchdown of the game (he ran for a touchdown as well).

"I haven't played like this since my senior year of high school," said Williams as he was the backup quarterback at the University of Washington the last few seasons. "That whole situation [at Washington] pushed me even more, I'm still out here grinding, working hard."

The Corsairs cruised to a comfortable 43 point victory, 68-25.

SMC will host Southwestern College this upcoming Saturday, September 12. The Corsairs will definitely be fired up to play against a team like Southwestern.

"Next week's opponent [Southwestern] has beat us the last three times we've faced them," said coach Lindheim. "We don't take that lightly, but we know it's going to be a good test.

The SMC Corsairs showed that they are definitely the team to beat this year because as Troy Williams puts it, "everybody is hungry now; we are all hungry to get to that next level."