PALM DESERT — With less than 5 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, the College of the Desert football team was one yard away from tying the No. 2 team in Southern California.

But Cerritos stuffed COD quarterback J.D. Buonantony on the fourth-and-goal play and then sealed its 27-17 victory with a 42-yard field goal with 1:49 to go.

Roadrunners coach Dean Dowty was pleased with his team's effort, but COD couldn't execute in key moments Saturday.

“Those guys played hard,” Dowty said. “It's just frustrating because we're not getting any breaks.”

Trailing 24-7 at halftime, the Roadrunners, ranked No. 17 in the Southern California regional community college poll, fought back.

Late in the third quarter, the defense made a big play after Brett Symonds kicked a 41-yard field goal. On the ensuing drive, Nick Lewis stripped the ball from Cerritos receiver Michael Willie, and La Quinta's Komani Harper recovered.

Eight plays later, receiver Tonez Abraham made a leaping catch in the end zone on a 16-yard pass from Buonantony.

A frightening moment occurred on the ensuing drive in the fourth quarter. Cerritos running back Tylik Carter lay motionless on the field for 10 minutes after picking up a first down on a 4-yard carry. An ambulance arrived, and Carter was taken to the hospital for observation.

The Roadrunners forced a punt once the game resumed and then drove within one yard of tying the game.

COD held Cerritos to 277 total yards, but it couldn't overcome poor field position and miscues on special teams in the first half. Cerritos' four scoring drives in the half started on average at COD's 19-yard line.

“That's ridiculous,” Dowty said. “We can't play like that.”

COD's most costly error on special teams was a blocked punt. Jack Francis blocked the kick by Nathan Krasniak near midfield, and Cerritos recovered it at COD's 15-yard line. Four plays later, quarterback Chris Morales found tight end Lucas Mealy for a 6-yard touchdown.

“I'm going to have to watch film to find out what happened on the punt block,” Dowty said. “They only brought two guys.”

A 41-yard punt return and 60-yard kickoff return set up two other scores.

The loss eliminated COD (4-5, 2-3) from bowl contention. The team closes the season at home next week against Chaffey.