By Nick Peralta
Riverside City College dominates, getting their fourth straight victory after a huge night from the special teams unit.
Freshmen wide receiver and return specialist Tyler Kennedy had a spectacular performance against the Grossmont College Griffins. Kennedy finished a field day with a total of 238 yards off of special teams returns only (132 kick return yards and 106 punt return yards) with his longest return of the night coming off of a 77 yard kick return.
“Being a return specialist is about making that first man miss,” Kennedy said. “From there it’s all about following your blocks and seeing how far you can go. This is something we as a team made sure we focused on in practice and coach (Tom) Craft really made sure that our special teams unit would have a big game tonight, so we just went out there and executed the game plan.”
The Tigers offense continued to triumph as well, ending the night with a total of 496 yards, with 292 of those yards obtained on the ground from the teams running game. It seemed like the Tigers were able to do whatever they pleased on the field, controlling the game from the first snap, garnering a dominant victory, 37-10.
It was sophomore running back Quincy Wimbish who led the rushing attack for the Tigers, finishing with a total of 69 yards.
The running game was further complimented by sophomore running back Malik Walker who found the end zone twice ending the game with 64 rushing yards.
“We just go out here on Saturdays and execute the game plan that coach Craft had us working on throughout the week,” said Walker. “The practice is paying off clearly. We can still get better though. But the coach keeps up prepared always.”
Freshmen running back Dumar Fisher also ended up with a good rushing performance finishing the night with 66 yards. That’s 199 yards from this trio of running backs alone.
Sophomore quarterback Stone Smartt continued to contribute offensively as well, ending the night with 204 passing yards and one touchdown. That lone touchdown was caught by sophomore receiver Tyrone Marshall who finished with five catches for a total of 64 yards.
The Tigers defense did a great job of also shutting down Grossmont’s offense, holding them to a total of 208 yards and 10 points overall.
Sophomore linebacker Vic Viramontes lead the charge on defense with eight tackles. Sophomore defensive lineman Nickolas Figueroa also supplied the defense with two sacks of the night for RCC. Freshmen linebacker Kue Olotoa notably garnered his first interception of the season.
This loss leaves Grossmont still looking for their first win of the season as they are now sitting at 0-6 in the 2018 season. Meanwhile, Riverside is now 5-1, with their lone loss coming against the 2017 state champions Fullerton College Hornets. RCC will look to continue their momentum amd improve their record on the road Oct. 20 against Golden West College.
