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By Mia Magana
Another spectacular Riverside City College football season has come to an end.
RCC battled against Ventura College on Nov. 24 and suffered their first official loss of the season, 31-21.
Despite an early lead, the Tigers allowed Ventura to score 21 points in the second quarter to hold a lead that they would keep, thus concluding the Tigers football season.
The Tigers struggled to maintain their winning streak. They concluded the season on a high note with hopes of aspirations for next season.
The Tigers’ head coach, Tom Craft, has led the team for eight years. He has successfully brought the team to the playoffs nine-consecutive seasons and to the California Community College Athletic Association Southern Regional playoffs six consecutive seasons.
Coach Craft was unavailable to comment but with the ferocity displayed in the recent game provides a possible rest for the team so they may return stronger and hungrier next season.
As RCC played against Costa Mesa College on Nov. 3, Fullerton College team was cited which resulted from the breach in agreement with the CCCAA which stated that college football teams are prohibited from allowing “subsidizing, inducements and special privileges” to the players of the team.
This would result in Fullerton’s disqualification from the CCCAA postseason, the forfeiture of their 2017 state and conference championships, as well as their nine wins in the 2018 season.
This also applied to a Sept. 8 victory over the Tigers where the initial result was a 34-33 victory for Fullerton.
The Tigers attained their win from Costa Mesa’s breach in agreement with the CCCAA that earned them the title of undefeated and held the streak of 11-0.
With RCC continuing against Ventura on a technicality, the teams battled out on a cold night with only one team advancing to the championship.
Several Tigers this season displayed top tier talent. Sophomore quarterback Stone Smartt totaled 2,759 yards and 31 touchdowns with only two interceptions.
Sophomore running back Malik Walker rushed for a total of 950 yards with nine touchdowns, while wide receivers, sophomore Tyrone Marshall caught for 707 yards with seven touchdowns and freshman Jammal Houston would follow close behind with 637 yards and eight touchdowns.
On the defensive side, sophomore linebacker Vic Viramontes led the team in total tackles with 37.
Sophomore defensive lineman Nick Figueroa registered 11.5 sacks total, the seventh most in the entire state.
As for the end of the season of 2018, the Tigers will show their drive in next season’s trek to the championship where the ultimate goal of winning the CCCAA State championship trophy still holds high.
