Published Nov. 29, 2014
James H. Williams | Managing Editor
Quarterback Justin Alo and the Mt. San Antonio College Mounties defeated the Riverside City College Tigers, 35-14, at Wheelock Stadium to win the Southern California Football Championship and advance to the CCCAA State Football Championship.
Alo was named most valuable player, after completing 16 of his 26 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns.
Alo entered the game with a chip on his shoulder against the Tigers defense following a regular season loss to RCC, in a game in which he had thrown four interceptions.
Running back Omaris Tolbert rushed for 172 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries against the Tigers, who entered the game as the No. 1 state ranked team.
Sitiveni Tamaivena lead the Mounties defense with 11 solo tackles and 2.5 sacks. He was also named player of the game.
The Tigers scored all 14 points in the second half after being shutout by the Mounties defense in the first half.
Tigers quarterback Nick King, who was held to 28 passing yards in the first half, threw both of the Tigers’ touchdowns. King finish with 126 yards.
King was pulled from the game in the second half for Kelly Hilinski, who was the starting quarterback to start the season. King was quickly brought back in after Hilinski threw an interception, which was the first turnover for either team.
The loss snaps RCC’s eight-game winning streak and gives the Tigers an 11-2 overall record to end the season. The Tigers were the Central League Champions.
Mt. San Antonio College (10-2) will play on Dec. 13 against San Francisco City College for the State Championship. The Mounties have played San Francisco four previous times and share a 2-2 record in the series.
The win also gave Mounties football coach Bob Jastrab his 6th SoCal Championship.
