Riverside Rolls to 33-14 Win at Bakersfield Last Saturday

BAKERSFIELD -- Leading from start to finish, the visiting Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers football team scored all of its points in the first half and cruised to a 33-14 non-conference win over the host Bakersfield College (BC) Renegades Saturday evening (Sept. 5) at mammoth BC Memorial Stadium (capacity 19,000) in the season opener for both teams.

After having nearly 56 years elapse between meetings in the all-time series before last season's 51-3 RCC victory, the series is now tied, 2-2. BC had a 2-0 lead in the series with a 12-7 home win in 1939 and a 7-0 victory in the 11th Annual Potato Bowl (Dec. 6, 1958).

Riverside (1-0) -- the No. 3-ranked team in the state behind defending state champion Mt. San Antonio College and state runner-up City College of San Francisco -- jumped to leads of 13-0 in the first quarter and 33-7 at halftime before the RCC defense allowed a touchdown late in the third quarter for the game's final score.

RCC freshman PK Aidan McCarley (Riverside / M.L. King HS) booted home a pair of first-quarter field goals (35 and 27 yards) to give the Tigers a quick 6-0 lead. Sophomore RB Dontel James (Fontana / Summit HS) followed with a pair of short TD runs (three and two yards) and McCarley added a pair of point after touchdown kicks to give Riverside a 20-0 lead at the 14:14 mark of the second quarter.

After the Renegades scored on a two-yard TD with 2:10 left in the opening half, RCC marched down the field and capped nine-play, 83-yard drive with a 12-yard TD pass from Byron Robinson to Durron Burton with :17 left in the second quarter for a 26-7 lead. Moments later, RCC put the game out of reach when sophomore LB Shiloh Pritchard (Leone HS, American Samoa) recovered a BC fumble and scampered into the end zone from 18 yards out with six seconds left. McCarley's PAT kick put RCC up, 33-7, just before halftime.

BC (0-1), ranked No. 13 in the state preseason poll after going 7-4 overall in 2014, concluded the scoring with a three-yard TD pass with :27 left in the third quarter (and subsequent PAT kick).

Riverside more than doubled Bakersfield in two key offensive categories: first downs and total offense yards. RCC had 30 first downs (17 rushing, 11 passing) to BC's 14. The Tigers outgained the Renegades, 468 to 220. RCC had 255 net rushing yards and 213 passing yards, while BC had only 78 net rushing and 142 passing.

Sophomore RB Christopher Anderson (Hemet / West Valley HS) had 22 carries for 93 net rushing yards (no TD), while James had 18 totes for 87 net rushing yards and two TDs. Quarterback Ian Fieber (Mission Viejo HS) completed 12 of 20 passes for 112 yards and freshman WR Dominique Maiden (Temecula / Temecula Valley HS) had seven receptions for 101 yards (no TD).

RCC head coach Tom Craft, who is in his sixth season at the Tigers' helm, brings an overall record of 51-7 (through the previous five seasons, 2010-14, plus last Saturday's win at Bakersfield) into Saturday's home opener against Saddleback. He has guided the Tigers to five bowl victories and four conference championships (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014). In 2013 and 2014, Riverside was 10-2 overall, 6-0 in the National Central Conference (NCC) each season.

This week, Saturday, Sept. 12, Riverside will host the Saddleback College Gauchos at 6 p.m. and Bakersfield will visit the Golden West College Rustlers.

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