By Jair Ramirez
It was another explosive night for sophomore wide receiver Tyler Kennedy, as Riverside City College defeated San Bernardino Valley College 58-37 on Sept. 21 at Wheelock Stadium.
“He’s a hell of a player, he’s always able to stay open and get open, he’s a hell of an athlete,” said sophomore quarterback Mike Irwin.
Kennedy had five receptions for 132 yards and three touchdowns, burning the Wolverine defense with an 85 yard touchdown reception in the third quarter.
“I always try to score as soon as I touch the ball because my teammates rely on me to make the big plays, so I just run, get vertical and hit the pipeline,” said Kennedy.
RCC’s passing game was clicking as they threw for 458 yards and five touchdowns. Sharing quarterback duties for the third straight game were Sophomore Mike Irwin and Freshman Jacob Barlage. Irwin played the first half and got the team going with the west coast style offense he ran, he was 17-28 for 219 yards and two touchdowns. Barlage, who is more of a pocket passing quarterback had an efficient performance going 12-15 for 239 yards and three touchdowns in the second half.
“I’m just trying to get better everyday with every rep I get and when I’m on the sideline trying to see what Mike’s seeing and then when I get my opportunity to take full advantage of it,” said Barlage about the teams improved passing game.
The offensive line had a great night protecting the quarterback only giving up one sack, allowing the quarterbacks to air it out all night. Although forcing two turnovers in SBVC’s first three drives, it was a tale of two halves for the defense as RCC allowed 27 first half points.
It seemed like the game would come down to the wire with RCC leading 31-27 going into halftime. SBVC ran out of steam as RCC’s heavily depth defense stepped it up in the second half. The Tigers only allowed 10 points and held SBVC to 37 points, SBVC was averaging 65.5 points coming into the game. The team forced five turnovers with three interceptions, two fumble recoveries and had five sacks.
Leading the way defensively was sophomore linebacker Zechariah Holifield with two sacks, a forced fumble, six tackles and assisting on five more tackles. Freshman defensive backs Rey Estes and Shawn Dourseau along with sophomore defensive back Isaia Paopao each had an interception. Penalties were a problem for a RCC once again as they had 20 of them for 193 yards. RCC next faces Long Beach City College on Sept. 28 at home.
Photos By Angel Peña
