Riverside Reaches SoCal Final, Hangs On to Defeat Ventura, 51-37, Saturday

RIVERSIDE -- Capitalizing on three first-half takeaways and overcoming several missed tackles which led to three long kick returns for touchdowns, the Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers football team outlasted the visiting Ventura College (VC) Pirates, 51-37, in a California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional semifinal game Saturday night (Nov. 22) at RCC's legendary Arthur N. Wheelock Stadium.

In a game which had the feel of "Whatever you can do, I can do better," Riverside (10-1 overall) opened the scoring when it recovered a VC fumble and, six plays later, freshman PK Jimmy Camacho (Citrus Hill HS) booted home a 35-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead with 11:16 left in the first quarter.

(Camacho would finish with six PAT kicks and three field goals (35, 29, and 52 yards). His 52-yarder tied for his second-longest of the season and tied for fourth-longest in RCC history and gave Riverside a 37-23 lead with 3:40 left in the third quarter.) 

On the ensuing kickoff, VC sophomore runningback Paul Harris (Marion Franklin, OH), who would later be named Ventura's Most Valuable Player (of the game), returned the ball 100 yards for a 6-3 Pirate lead with 11:03 remaining.

Later in the first quarter, RCC sophomore tight end Ryan Ramirez (Bonita HS) hauled in a 13-yard TD strike from sophomore QB Nicholas King (Westchester HS) and the Tigers led, 10-6.

Once again, on the ensuing kickoff, Ventura scored. This time freshman wide receiver Aaron Davis (Groveport Madison, OH) brought the ball back 82 yards to give the Pirates a 13-10 lead with 2:33 left in the opening stanza.

Early in the second quarter, the Pirates fumbled the ball away and RCC sophomore linebacker Jonah Moi (Citrus Valley HS) scooped up the ball at the RCC 40 and raced 60 yards for a score with 12:59 left in the second quarter to help Riverside to a 27-13 lead.

Ventura (6-5 overall), the National Northern Conference champion, played much higher than its SCFA National Division No. 8 seed. Late in the game, VC narrowed its deficit to 44-37 with 4:53 left in the game. But RCC freshman runningback Christopher Anderson (West Valley HS), who was named Riverside's Most Valuable Player (of the game), broke off a 51-yard TD run with 2:22 left and help the Tigers build the final 51-37 margin.

King, who was named the Player of the Game, completed 22 of 30 passes (zero interceptions) for 259 yards and two TDs. King also had ten carries for 45 net rushing yards. Sophomore wide receiver Alejandro Marenco (Alief Taylor HS, TX) led the Tigers receiving corps with six catches for 69 yards. 

Anderson, who was starting in place of injured sophomore runningback Denzel Foster, had 29 carries for 182 net rushing yards and two touchdowns.

On defense, RCC freshman linebackers AJ Hotchkins (Tigard, OR) led the squad with a co-game-high nine tackles (six solo stops).

For Ventura, which played like it had nothing to lose, sophomore quarterback Marc Evans (St. Bonaventure HS) completed 19 of 37 passes with the one interception for 223 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Chris Marshall (Del Sol HS, NV) had six receptions for 76 yards and one TD. Sophmore linebacker Matt Singleton (Thousand Oaks HS) led the Pirates with a co-game-high nine tackles (seven solo stops).

In the all-time series, which began in 1931, RCC trails, 6-4. In was the second playoff meeting between the two clubs as RCC shaded VC, 16-13, in the Southern California championship playoff game in 1935. (No state title game was held that season.)

Next week in the Southern California regional championship game, Riverside will host the Mt. San Antonio College (MSAC) Mounties (9-2 overall, SCFA National Division wildcard), which posted a 44-14 SoCal semifinal win over the No. 2-seeded Fullerton College Hornets earlier Saturday.

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RCC fifth-year head football coach Tom Craft has compiled a 50-6 overall record (2010 to present) at the Tigers' helm. Craft was head football coach at Palomar College for 16 seasons (1983-93, 1997-2001) where he won nine conference championships and three state championships (1991, 1993, 1998), as well as a state runner-up finish in 2001. While at Palomar, he compiled an overall record of 115-56-1.

The CCCAA Football State Championship game will be played at the home of SCFA regional champion on Saturday, Dec. 13.

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