Top-ranked Tigers Throttle No. 18 Bakersfield, 45-7, Saturday; RCC Visits Ventura Next Saturday

RIVERSIDE -- Needing about a quarter and a half, not to mention a quarterback change to get untracked, the Riverside City College (RCC) football team -- the top-ranked team in the state -- built a 17-0 second-quarter (and halftime) lead en route to a 45-7 non-conference home victory over the visiting Bakersfield College (BC) Renegades Saturday night (Sept. 17) at RCC's historic Arthur N. Wheelock Stadium.

And although Riverside City (3-0 overall) was having difficulty getting its offense moving, backup sophomore quarterback Collyn Anderson (Durham, NC / Hillside HS '12), who guided RCC to a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown drives to turn a 17-6 deficit into a 20-17 win over host Golden West last Saturday (Sept. 10), picked up right where he left off as he guided the Tigers to a pair of second-quarter touchdowns to get RCC going.

Anderson called his own number on a one-yard sneak to cap a seven-play, 74-yard drive with 9:24 left in the second quarter. Freshman place kicker John Hilfer (Redlands / Redlands East Valley HS), who missed field goal attempts of 39 and 40 yards in the first quarter, made the first of six points after touchdown (PAT) and RCC led, 7-0.

Three minutes later, sophomore wide receiver Jacoby Herring (Riverside / Citrus Hill HS '15) capped a modest four-play, 43-yard drive with a 23-yard TD reception from Anderson with 6:22 remaining in the first half. Herring made a nice a spin move around the 15-yard line to elude a BC defender and sprinted into the end zone. Hilfer's second PAT gave the Tigers a 14-0 lead.

Hilfer booted home a 34-yard field goal as time expired and RCC led, 17-0, at halftime.

RCC outscored BC, 21-7, in the third quarter for a 38-7 lead. The Renegades avoided the shut-out when sophomore WR Derrick Vickers capped a four-play, 63-yard drive with a 23-yard sprint up the middle with 2:59 left in the third period.

In the fourth quarter, freshman RB Tyree Range (San Diego / Rancho Bernardo HS '15) capped a 16-play, 90-yard drive with a five-yard TD run with 5:32 left in the game. Of the 16 plays, 11 were rushes by Range.

Officially, Anderson completed 11 of 20 passes for 229 yards and three passing TDs. RCC sophomore WR Darius Hunter (Prosper, TX) -- son of former Major League Baseball outfielder Torii Hunter -- had a co-team-high three receptions for a game-high 80 yards. Herring (45 yards, one TD) and sophomore WR Dominique Maiden (Temecula / Temecula Valley HS '15) (49 yards, one TD) each had three receptions as well.

RCC sophomore tailback Seth Acda (Murrieta / Vista Murrieta HS) led all rushers with 175 net rushing yards (zero for losses) on 23 carries and the one TD. Through three games, Acda (pronounced AWK-dah) has ran the ball 52 times for 342 net yards rushing and has but a loss of minus one yard (last week against Golden West).

On defense, RCC freshman linebacker James Reeder (Moreno Valley / Rancho Verde HS '16) led with six total tackles (two solo).

For Bakersfield (2-1 overall) sophomore starting QB Dalton Gallis (Kern Valley HS) completed 12 of 18 passes with one interception for 116 yards. Vickers had a game-high five receptions for 48 yards and the one rushing TD. Freshman RB La Meshio Hill (Bakersfield HS) had 11 carries for 32 net yards rushing and Vickers had eight totes for 29 net yards rushing.

Riverside will take to the road when it travels to face the host Ventura College Pirates on Saturday, Sept. 24, in a 6 p.m. kickoff. Bakersfield will host the Los Angeles Harbor College Seahawks next Saturday at 6 p.m.

Against Ventura, the Tigers trail in the all-time series, 6-4, with the last meeting occurring in 2014, a 51-37 National Bowl (SCFA semifinal) home win (Nov. 22). RCC posted a season-opening 59-41 home win over Ventura to lift the lid on the 2013 season. The last time Riverside visited Ventura was on Sept. 1, 2012 when the Pirates came away with a surprising 28-27 season-opening win.

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With the win and a 3-0 start, Riverside figures to remain in the top spot in the next poll, which will be released Tuesday, Sept. 27, by the California Community College Football Coaches Association (CCCFCA) and the Junior College Athletic Bureau (JCAB).

Riverside City now leads the all-time series against Bakersfield, 3-2, and has posted solid victories over Bakersfield in each of the last three meetings. RCC won the 2015 season opener for both, 33-14, at mammoth BC Memorial Stadium (capacity 19,000) to tie the series.

Nearly 56 years elapsed between meetings in the all-time series before 2014's 51-3 RCC victory in Riverside. 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).

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RCC head coach Tom Craft, who is his seventh season at the Tigers' helm, brings an overall record of 61-10 (through the previous six seasons, 2010-15, plus the first three games of 2016) into next Saturday's game at Ventura. Craft has guided the Tigers to five bowl victories and five conference championships (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, co-2015).

In 2015, RCC was 8-3 overall, 5-1 in the National Central League (NCL). In 2013 and 2014, Riverside was 10-2 overall, 6-0 in the National Central Conference (NCC) each season.

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