By Hayden Kulick
In a game that came down to the final play, the Riverside City College football team still came out on top and remained undefeated on the season as they beat College of the Canyons 31-28 on Oct. 1.
Trailing by six going into halftime was all the Tigers needed for motivation to come back and win the game. The team came out of the locker room on fire. Quarterback Jake Retzlaff connected with wide receiver Juwan Tucker on a 35 yard catch and run to set up the go ahead touchdown to put the Tigers up 14-13.
“We didn’t make any adjustments at halftime,” head coach Tom Craft said. “We just started running our offense, calmed down a bit and showed some character.”
On the very next possession, standout defensive back DaMarco Moorer would come down with his sixth interception of the season, completely shifting the momentum of the game in favor of the Tigers.
The Tigers went on a 17-0 run in the third quarter.
“We’re not going to be handed a win every week,” Retzlaff said. “We have to go out there and earn it.”
The team almost let the Cougars mount a comeback in the fourth quarter, but ultimately the defense stepped up and shut them down on the final play of the game.
“I mean how do we get beat over the top,” Craft said. “What do you think they’re going to do when they’re down by two scores in the fourth quarter.We have work to do, we are not a finished product.”
The first half was a completely different story. The Tigers were not playing like themselves, fumbling twice and getting beat deep on passing plays. Both of the fumbles ended up being costly, leading to a field goal and the other turned into a touchdown for the Cougars.
“That’s as bad as we could have played in the first half in every phase,” Craft said. “On special teams we fumbled, on offense we fumbled, we got beat over the top.”
Playing in close games could prove beneficial come playoff time..
“All of the games are going to be a deathmatch in conference so that’s what we need to get ready for,” Craft said. “We have to win the next game, that’s what we are focused on.”
The team now has a bye week and will face Palomar College on Oct. 15.
