Monterey Peninsula College quarterback Dominic Pierini threw his fourth touchdown pass with 23 seconds left Saturday to stun College of the Redwoods 27-26 in Eureka.
Redwoods entered the game 4-0 and state-ranked in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) poll. The Lobos handed them their first loss of the season, as first reported by the Monterey Herald's John Devine.
The victory extends a midseason surge for MPC under head coach Adrian Gallegos. The Lobos opened the 2026 season with a 37-23 loss at Laney on Aug. 27, then beat Santa Rosa on Sept. 12 for their first win. A victory over American River on Sept. 19 set up the trip north to Humboldt County.
Pierini has been the engine of MPC's offense all season. The Herald's Sept. 24 preview listed him second in the state in passing yardage heading into the Redwoods game. He threw for 432 yards in his college debut at Laney and tossed three touchdown passes against American River, two to receiver Karendus Poe.
Against Redwoods, the Lobos trailed 14-6 with 2:30 left in the first half. Pierini connected with Nico Downie on a 3-yard scoring pass to cut the deficit. MPC kept chipping away, and Pierini found the end zone through the air three more times, the last with the game nearly over.
Redwoods was no easy mark. The team had averaged 420 yards of total offense per game and rallied from double-digit deficits in each of its two previous wins, according to the Times-Standard.
Against MPC, the comeback formula did not hold.
Redwoods coach Jason White told the Times-Standard on Sept. 25, the day before the game, that MPC had been improving each week.
"The thing about Monterey to me is that they're a team that's getting better every week," White said. "And they've drastically changed how they are calling their games."
White noted MPC had shifted from a pass-heavy attack early in the season to a more balanced approach. The loss was Redwoods' final non-conference game of the 2026 season before opening league play.
