The No. 13 Riverside City College football team’s playoff hopes took a hit after falling to No. 7 El Camino College on Nov. 1.
Trailing by two with four seconds left, freshman kicker Timothy Tynan missed a 34-yard field goal from the Warriors’ 20-yard line and the Tigers went on to lose 44–42.
Riverside stormed out of the gate, punching in a one-yard touchdown from sophomore running back Marquis Monroe before freshman quarterback Bryan Wilson connected with sophomore running back Kiylor Tyler on a 41-yard strike, closing the first quarter up 14-0.
In the second quarter, both offenses were unstoppable. The Warriors punched in three rushing touchdowns, two of them coming from running back Jaden Moore.
The Tigers responded when Wilson tossed a 23-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Ross Nickson III, followed by an 8-yard rushing score from Tyler, his second touchdown of the day and the half would end with the Tigers up seven.
They found success through the air, however, as Wilson threw for 308 yards and three touchdown passes. He leads the Southern California Football Association National Southern League in passing yards per game and is tied for second in total touchdowns.
“He was dealing with a lot because of the snaps,” head coach Kevin Craft said. “Overall, he (played) pretty well, he really hustled.”
In the second half, both teams engaged in a defensive battle with multiple three-and-outs. Tigers’ sophomore Defensive Line Philander Lee getting the only sack of the day.
The Warriors had taken possession with 8:57 left, trailing 41-42 and methodically ran down the clock before kicker Christian Miran drilled a 26-yard field goal with 2:14 remaining to take the lead 44-42.
After a holding call on the kickoff, Riverside took over at its 30-yard line with 2:02 remaining. Following two straight runs, Wilson connected with Tyler for a 22-yard completion, moving the Tigers to the Warriors’ 36-yard line.
The Tigers gained 15 more yards, and after a 1-yard rush from freshman running back Devon Nofoa-Masoe, they set up Tynan for a potential go-ahead, game-winning field-goal attempt.
With the clock hitting zero, Tynan’s game-winning field-goal attempt sailed wide left, handing the Tigers a heartbreaking 44-42 loss.
The Tigers struggled on the ground, managing only 137 rushing yards in one of their weakest performances of the season, averaging 3.7 yards per carry.
Riverside’s special teams, though, struggled, as freshman kicker Timothy Tynan missed all three field-goal attempts, including a potential game-winner in the final seconds.
“We made mistakes in every phase on special teams,” Craft said. “We weren’t good enough to overcome all those mistakes.”
Defensively, freshman linebacker Micah Valenzuela finished with 13 tackles, while freshman linebacker Caden Arellano followed with 12 tackles, including two tackles for loss. Sophomore defensive back Donald Smith III had an interception for 30 yards.
The Tigers fall to 6-3 overall and 4-2 in the National-Southern League. They play their final regular-season game against San Diego Mesa College at Wheelock Stadium on Nov. 8.
“We want to go out there and compete, we’re here to compete and we want to finish the season strong,” Craft said.
