Tigers defeat Saddleback in their first home game of the season

September 13, 2015

Posted: September 13, 2015 | Written by: Alec Calvillo

Kj Young had two touchdowns against the Saddleback Ganchos Sept. 12 in the Arthur N. Wheelock Stadium, both were passes from starting quarterback Kevin Olsen. Gracie Vasquez | Viewpoints — Kj Young had two touchdowns against the Saddleback Ganchos Sept. 12 in the Arthur N. Wheelock Stadium, both were passes from starting quarterback Kevin Olsen. (Gracie Vasquez | Viewpoints)

The No. 1 state ranked Tigers of Riverside City College defeated Saddleback, 38-18, to win their second game of the season.

Tyreke Lewis got the Tigers on the board early with a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown, giving the team an early 7-0 lead.

@RCCTigerFB Tyreke Lewis’ 99-yard kick return TOUCHDOWN that lead the team to an early start vs. Saddleback yesterday pic.twitter.com/mTcgBgLZwi

— Laura M Tapia (@LMTReporter) September 13, 2015

RCC’s head coach Tom Craft noticed how Lewis’s touchdown added to the game’s momentum.

“Anytime you can have a kick off like that to start the game, there is no question that it helped us,” Craft said.

Kevin Olsen, the Tigers’ starting quarterback, connected with KJ Young for a 23-yard pass in the second quarter, which was recorded as the longest pass of the game.

“I think we got two good quarterbacks,” Craft said. “But we went with Olsen because he understands the offense a little bit better and does some things that led us to believe that we should start him.”

Saddleback couldn’t keep the Tigers’ offense from exploding on the field as they scored 31 of their 38 points in the first half.

The Tigers’ leading rusher Christopher Anderson broke tackles along the way of a 113-yard performance while scoring two touchdowns.

In the second half, Saddleback was looking to make a comeback but the Tigers defense was able to hold them.

Linebacker AJ Hotchkins, the defense’s only returning starter, contributed defensively with 12 tackles.

“We got a little sloppy in the second half and the penalties gave them life on both of their touchdown drives,” Craft said. “We played good defense in the first half but I’m not pleased with the penalties at all offense, defense, and special teams. I thought we ran the ball well at times but we didn’t run well when we wanted to run it.”

The Tigers will play at 6 p.m. Sept. 19 against Grossmont for their second home game of the season.

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