Riverside Handles Long Beach in Dominant Fashion

It was an offense melee from the get go as the Riverside City College football team hosted the Long Beach City College Vikings at Ramona High School on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers flexed on both sides of the ball as they forced turnovers and capitalized on offense leading to a commanding 48-20 victory.

While offense was far from at a premium after tattooing the scoreboard for 48 points, the defense ultimately shapes the headline by forcing four turnovers; three by the secondary wrecking ball in the form of sophomore safety Demarco Moorer.

After a light roster last week, Riverside had the full defensive brigade ready to rumble. Moorer was like a magnet to the ball as he reeled in a career-high three interceptions.

Moorer's first interception came in the middle of the third quarter by catching an errant pass that landed right over his back shoulder and into his arms with ease. The defensive takeaway shaped into a 33-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Jacob Marroquin on the ensuing possession to give Riverside a 3-0 lead.

Moorer was back at it later in the first quarter as he laid out for an ESPN, Top-10 worthy pick that found him parallel with the ground and pigskin in hand. The second takeaway lead to a 12-yard touchdown reception from sophomore quarterback Jake Retzlaff to sophomore wide receiver Juwan Tucker, putting the Tigers up 24-7.

His third interception of the game came with the Tigers up by 29 points. He picked off an attempted pass over the middle and brought it back 23-yards, setting up another offensive opportunity for the Tigers. The result of the ensuing RCC possession was a five-yard scurry to the end zone by freshman running back Robert Valentine.

Sophomore corner Eupeterson Lewis had the other Tiger interception with under a minute remaining in the first quarter.

The Tiger defense held Long Beach to a mere four yards-per-play and under 100 yards rushing. Freshman defensive back Robert Waters paced the team with seven total tackles, while sophomore linebacker Gage Summers and freshman linebacker Johnny Alo each had six stops.

Freshman duo Adrian Williams and Kyle Jordan teamed up for the lone sack of the day for a loss of three yards.

Offensively, Riverside shined. J. Retzlaff was as dynamic as ever by going 20-for-35 with 376 yards and five touchdowns. His work outside of the pocket was just as impressive as he carted the rock nine times for a team-leading 75 yards.

His targets continue to be a crucial gear to the offense as he located three different receivers for a touchdown and 11 wideouts for at least one grab.

His go to target continues to be connected not only by chemistry, but blood in the form of sophomore Reggie Retzlaff. The two connected for the Tiger's first touchdown of the game on a 65-yard bomb in late in the first quarter. It was a one-play drive. They linked up late in the second quarter once again on a three-yard connection to put Riverside up 31-10.

Sophomore wide receiver Roshawn Lacy led the aerial strike in yardage after hauling in three grabs for 98 yards and a pair of tuggers. His first snag came on a seven-yard reception later in the first half, backed by a season-long 77-yard touchdown connection early in the fourth quarter.

Freshman running back Bryce Strong led Riverside with 10 carries and accumulated 68 yards to highlight the backfield's efforts.