Fifth-Ranked RCC Football Wins Offensive Slugfest over #16 El Camino, 70-45

Fifth-ranked Riverside City College racked up 761 yards of total offense and used a 35-point third quarter to defeat host 16th-ranked El Camino College, 70-45, on Saturday night at Murdock Stadium. 

The Tigers, 2-1 overall, turned a 21-17 halftime lead into a 56-24 rout after three quarters of play thanks to five scoring series in the third period. Four of those third-quarter series culminated in scoring passes from sophomore Brady Jones (Murrieta/Vista Murrieta HS), with strikes of 57, 26, 32, and 69 yards to four different receivers.

El Camino, which fell to 1-2 on the season, scored three touchdowns in the final quarter. The Warriors' Hunter Herrera threw three touchdown passes in the final 15 minutes, sandwiched around two RCC scores in the period. 

In a game highlighted by offense, it was the RCC defense that scored the first points of the evening. Less than two minutes into the contest, freshman Timiko Jackson (Cincinnati, Ohio/La Salle HS) scooped up a fumble and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown, and freshman Luis Marin's (Covina/Charter Oak HS) extra point made it a 7-0 Tiger lead.

The score see-sawed back and forth most of the first half, as El Camino picked up its first score midway through the first quarter, and neither team scored again until the 9:27 mark in the second quarter. Freshman Ross Nickson III (Los Angeles/Cathedral HS) caught the first of Jones' seven touchdown passes at that juncture, only to see El Camino match the points on its next possession. The Tigers then retook the lead – which proved to be for good – on a 15-yard pass from Jones to freshman Dominic Cox (Upland) with 2:24 left before halftime. El Camino would kick a field goal just before the intermission to close to within four points, but that is as close as the Warriors would get the rest of the way.

Jones' passing onslaught in the third quarter included scoring passes to Cox and sophomores Kaden Willerford (San Bernardino/Aquinas HS), Omar Hammond (San Diego/Patrick Henry HS), and Jackson Owens (Chanhassen, Minn./Minnetonka HS). Sophomore running back Devyne Pearson (Temecula/Chaparral HS) then punctuated the explosive quarter with a 15-yard run with 20 seconds left, extending the margin to 56-24.

RCC accumulated its massive offensive numbers, which included 226 rushing yards in addition to 535 passing yards, while possessing the ball for just 24 minutes and 15 seconds. The Tigers averaged 10 yards per offensive play, converted on 9 of 13 third-down opportunities, and scored on their only takeaway of the game.

Cox (161 yards) and Owens (155) combined for 11 receptions and 316 yards, and 11 total players hauled in at least one pass. Freshman Marquis Monroe (Chino/Ayala HS) led a balanced running game with 89 yards on 11 carries, while sophomore Andre Branch (Laveen, Ariz./Betty Fairfax HS) added 60 yards on eight carries and Pearson totaled 58 yards on 10 rushes.

Defensively, RCC held El Camino to fewer than one yard per carry (43 yards on 46 carries), including five quarterback sacks. Sophomore linebacker Ja'wuan Nickson (Tuscaloosa, Ala./Hillcrest HS) led all players with 16 tackles for the Tigers, while sophomore teammate Peter Eyabi (San Diego/Mission Hills HS) was credited with 12 stops including two quarterback sacks and three total tackles for loss.

Two quarterbacks – Herrera and starter Tyler Karen – combined for 429 passing yards for the host Warriors.

RCC opens National Southern League play next Saturday (Sept. 28), hosting Palomar College in a 1 p.m. kickoff at Wheelock Stadium.