Riverside City College football battles hard but falls short in its first away game of the season

For the second consecutive year, the Tigers lose on the road against Golden West College 42-35. 

Riverside City College’s offense caught fire early, storming out to an early 21–7 lead. However, defensive lapses allowed the Rustlers to score on two consecutive running touchdowns, tying the game at 21-21 at the end of the half.  

Defense was an issue for the majority of the game. The Rustlers scored two straight possessions to go up 35-21 to end the third quarter.  The Tigers would immediately respond with a two-yard rushing touchdown from freshman running back Kayvion Sibley. 

However, the Rustlers went on to burn out nine minutes and 23 seconds of the clock and finish the drive off with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Noa Banua, going up 42-28 with three minutes left in the game. The Tigers did not go out without a fight. With an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Golden West, RCC got the ball at the 45-yard line.  

After two short runs, Tigers’ quarterback Jared Doolittle hit fellow sophomore wide receiver Ross Nickson III for a 25-yard gain and was set up at the 1-yard line. Running back Kayvion Sibley punched it in, rushing for his second touchdown of the day. The game was now in the hands of the defense, who needed just one stop to give the offense a chance to tie the game. Riverside eventually got the ball back with 28 seconds left on the clock on their own 20-yard line. 

Doolittle completed two passes to Nickson, but with no time and no timeouts, the clock ran out before they could tie the game and the Tigers took their first loss of the season.  

Doolittle got his first career start and he did not let the opportunity slip away.  Doolittle completed 23 of 40 passes for a total of 385 yards and tossed three touchdowns. 

The defense was the biggest question mark of the day and it showed.  

RCC gave up 238 rushing yards, 467 total yards and 18 penalties for 173 yards, continually extending the Rustlers’ drives.  The Tigers continuously found themselves fighting to stay in the game.  

“We weren’t good enough defensively,” head coach Kevin Craft said.  “We would have liked to win those third-down battles to get ourselves off the field and continue drives on offense.” 

For Craft, this early-season loss is less of a setback and more of a chance to grow. He said he is determined to build off what the team learned and keep the Tigers moving forward.  

“Our message is always focusing on the process,” he said. “That’s the focus of our program, focusing on each day of practice and trying to find improvements every single day we’re on that field.”

The Tigers head to Santa Clarita to face off against College of the Canyons on Sept. 13, looking to bounce back and make a statement.