Mechanical Engineering and Football

By Michael Ashcraft --

When he was a tyke, David Redden built legos.

On Saturday, the mechanical engineering major was called upon to build a second-half comeback for Santa Monica College. On a long pass in the fourth quarter, he cut inside of his coverage, clutched the ball and sped for an 80-yard touchdown to tie the score 41-41. SMC had overcome a third quarter deficit of 24-41 to Moorpark College.

"We got out of our style of play in the second quarter, but our guys were so resilient they played tough and came out in that second half and played hard," said Coach Kelly Ledwidth. "Shoot, I'm proud of our guys. We haven't ever battled back from something like that to make it a competitive game."

But a heart-breaking missed pass interference call on the last play of the game on the Corsairs' drive left the score at a disappointing 41-44. A 19-yard Raiders field goal sealed the victory at Moorpark College.

Santa Monica started brightly, scoring from the first kickoff. But a bad hike -- and bad hikes were the order of the day -- led to a safety on a punt. The score was 7-2.

But the Corsair defense conceded too much ground in much of the first quarter. Meanwhile the offense sputtered with a pick, a shanked punt and some other issues.

It was fairly even until Santa Monica again did what it has done in every game so far this season: It conceded a TD in the last two minutes of the half. The score was 17-26.

In the second half, Moorpark scored in TD in three plays.

SMC responded with a drive culminating in a TD pass to Hassan Biggus to make it 24-34.

Not long after, Hassan performed some mind-boggling heroics to chase down a breakaway run in which Moorpark picked a pass. Hassan even hurdled a blocker and turned up the speed to tackle the Raider runner two yards from touchdown.

Unfortunately, his heroics didn't inspire his teammates enough to stop the TD. It became 24-41.

Gunnison Bloodgood caught a pass to score and bring it to 31-41.

In the fourth quarter, the Corsairs scored a field goal to bring the game within reach.

It was then that Redden, who as a freshman got his first start, executed the sensational catch and run.

"I was adjusting to the ball," Redden says. "I've been doing that in high school when I had a bad quarterback. No matter how bad that ball is, I'm still going to get that ball. Every single time I step on that field, I try to do the best I can for the team and for myself. I'm playing my heart out."

The quiet Los Angeles high school graduate is a brain, not just brawn. "I'm into building stuff," he says. "I'm into cars. Ever since I was little, I was into legos. I do anything. I'm the quietest player on the team."

The youngest of six siblings started with the pigskin only in ninth grade. His dad and brothers didn't think he would last in the sport. "When I was in 9th grade, my two brothers and my dad were betting I wouldn't last beyond a week. But I'm here now, thanking God. He got me here."

With Redden's scintillating catch and run, the momentum was with Santa Monica. With the score tied at 41-41, the Corsairs circled their prey. When Moorpark fumbled and SMC's Nicolas Omole recovered, they thought to win.

But Quarterback Sam Vaulton threw his third interception of the game, and the Raiders brought the ball to within field goal range and capitalized.

There were only 18 seconds left in the game. In two plays, the Corsairs successfully moved the ball closer to striking range.

Then the fateful pass interference happened. Refs didn't see it or call it but it appeared plain to (SMC) fans. Not only did the physically interfere with the receiver, the Raiders also intercepted the pass.

Coach Kelly downplayed the unfortunate play.

"We like to get calls on close plays, but we left a lot of other plays on the field. It never comes down to just one play," he said. "We had our chances, and shoot, we'll be back."

Read the rest of the Santa Monica College's football games:

• Victory against Orange Coast.
• Loss against Pasadena.
• Victory against Compton.

Michael Ashcraft teaches journalism at the Lighthouse Christian Academyin Santa Monica. Two of his former students are on the SMC team.