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By Hayden Kulick
This loss can’t be blamed on the rain.
Losing a football game 55-0 can’t be chalked up to brutal weather.
Sure, Riverside City College plays in a drier climate compared to the College of San Mateo. But, the rain is not the reason they lost.
A lopsided game like this doesn’t happen often and it surely doesn’t happen often in rain games. And it certainly doesn’t happen in the State Championship.
Generally when you think of football in harsh weather conditions, you think of teams running the football a ton while also keeping the score low.
So why wasn’t that the case in this game? The Tigers were not prepared.
On all three levels the Tigers were dominated.
Offensively, this game was a disaster. On multiple occasions RCC players fumbled without being touched. Yes, the rain can make the ball slippery. Why wasn’t San Mateo dropping the ball like that? Maybe the Tigers were simply unprepared.
Fumbles weren’t the only blunders.
In the third quarter, RCC was attempting to mount a comeback. But instead of taking a sack on third down, quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw the football directly into the hands of one of the San Mateo defensive linemen for a pick six.
You’re already getting blown out. It is four down territory. Why not take the sack? Live to see another down. Don’t play hero ball when you’re already down by 35.
San Mateo clearly saw something on film about how to attack the defense. The Bulldogs found holes anytime they ran sweeps.
Even on special teams RCC couldn’t hold it together. The opening kick off was returned to the Tigers’ 35 yard line. Later, one of their punts got blocked in their own territory.
Special teams had been an issue for the Tigers all season and in the championship game it was exposed by a better team.
The blame for this historic championship loss can’t be put on one person. However, the preparation leading into this game clearly wasn’t good enough.
The team may have been one of two undefeated junior college football teams heading into the weekend but that doesn’t excuse the horrific performance that was put on in the championship by the Tigers.
