No. 3 Riverside Routs Roadweary Renegades, 51-3, in Season Opener Saturday

RIVERSIDE -- In the teams' first meeting on a football field since 1958, the host Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers football team didn't waste much time as it rolled to a 51-3 season-opening home win over the visiting Bakersfield College (BC) Renegades Saturday evening (Sept. 6) at historic Arthur N. Wheelock Field.

Riverside (1-0) -- the No. 3-ranked team in the state behind defending state champ Butte and 2013 state runner-up Fullerton -- jumped to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter when sophomore Alejandro Marenco (Alief Taylor, TX) returned a punt 50 yards for a touchdown with 5:51 left. RCC freshman place kicker Jimmy Camacho (Citrus Hill HS) booted home the first of his seven PAT kicks and the Tigers led, 7-0. 

BC (0-1), ranked No. 20 in the state preseason poll after going 5-5 overall in 2013, got on the board with a 31-yard field goal with 12:38 left in the second quarter to pull to within 14-3. And then the Tigers scored 37 unanswered points, including 14 in each of the last two quarters, to win going away.

Sophomore RB James Norman (Scotlandville, LA) scored twice in the third quarter and freshman RB Christian Anderson (Hemet / West Valley HS) scored twice in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.

Riverside had 400 yards of total offense, including 326 passing, thanks to sophomore QB Kelly Hilinski (Notre Dame HS), who completed 14 of 22 passes. 

Bakersfield had 249 yards of total offense on 103 net rushing yards and 146 passing yards. Sophomore WR Marquise Johnson (Channel View, TX) led the 'Gades with nine receptions for 65 yards.

BC had a 2-0 lead in the series with a 12-7 home win in 1939 and a 7-0 victory in 1958 (11th Annual Potato Bowl, Dec. 6).

Next week, Saturday, Sept. 13, Riverside will visit the Saddleback College Gauchos and Bakersfield will host the Golden West College Rustlers.

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