Smartt & Figueroa Sweep Player of the Year Honors, Craft Named Coach of the Year
Following a season in which the Riverside City College Tigers football team reached its fifth-consecutive Southern California Football Association (SCFA) Regional Championship game and earned a National Southern Division championship, the Tigers saw 17 student-athletes receive All-Conference accolades. Highlighting the bunch is sophomore quarterback Stone Smartt and sophomore defensive lineman Nickolas Figueroa. Smartt was named the Offensive Player of the Year, while Figueroa was crowned the Defensive Player of the Year. Furthermore, Head Coach Tom Craft was named the Coach of the Year for the second-consecutive season.
Craft earns his second-consecutive Coach of the Year accolade following a season where he earned his eighth conference title in his 10th year at the helm. He coached his team to an undefeated regular season record and completed the season on a 11-1 note. Furthermore, he has coached two-straight offensive players of the year both coming at the quarterback position. He currently holds an overall record of 90-15.
Smartt was deemed the Offensive Player of the Year after helming an offensive that averaged 42.3 points-per-game and 499.6 yards-per-game. The Loomis, CA native started 12 games under center and boasted the strongest efficiency rating in the state at 182.2 percent. He tossed 31 touchdowns and only three interceptions leading to 9.9 passing yards-per-attempt. He averaged 229.5 passing yards-per-game leading to 2,754 yards through the air complimented by a 63.9 completion percentage (177-for-277). On six separate occasions, he threw for three or more touchdowns highlighted by a five touchdown pass affair in a victory over Orange Coast. Additionally, he passed for a season-high 335 yards in a playoff victory over El Camino. Furthermore, his rushing skills were some of the best amongst the quarterback field. He carted the rock 132 times for 583 yards and nine rushing touchdowns. He rushed for three touchdowns in the playoff victory over El Camino and rushed for at least one touchdown in six games.
Figueroa proved to be the most dominant defensive threat in the conference earning him the title of Defensive Player of the Year. He accumulated a monstrous 11.5 sacks throughout the season to complement 38 tackles. He recorded at least one tackle in every game and recorded one sack in 10 of the 12 contests. He recorded two sacks in three games. Furthermore, he recorded 19.5 tackles for a loss leading to 85 yards.
Below is a complete list of the other 15 All-Conference awards.
First-Team |
Position |
Second-Team |
Position |
Offensive Lineman |
Offensive Lineman |
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Tight End |
Offensive Lineman |
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Wide Receiver |
Offensive Lineman |
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Wide Receiver |
Running Back |
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Running Back |
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Kick Returner (WR) |
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Linebacker |
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Linebacker |
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Cornerback |
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Punter/Kicker |
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*unanimous selection