By Izaiah Cerratos 

Two teams are headed in different directions. Nine touchdowns and a defensive shutdown. 

The undefeated Riverside City College football team dominated the winless Grossmont College in their homecoming game at home.

RCC returned from its bye week with a match up against the Griffin’s. Grossmont came into this game looking for its first win of the season after suffering five straight losses heading into the contest. 

“Was good to be back from the bye week,” running back Bryce Strong said.  Great to play again.” 

The Tigers came out strong on both sides of the ball. The RCC offense stunned the Grossmont defense after sophomore running back Bryce Strong opened up the first drive with an explosive 48-yard touchdown run.

“We played fast today,” sophomore linebacker Leo Tupoun said.  “And didn’t wait till later in the game to show our skills.”

The Tigers defense would then force the Grossmont offense to a quick three and out. Strong and The Tigers offense would continue the hot start after he took a screen pass from quarterback Jordan Barton to score a 35-yard receiving touchdown. The lead would increase to 14-0.

The Grossmont offense pulled together a few big plays but defensive back Dayton Ford ended that effort with an interception.

RCC’s offense stayed hot, producing seven points off the Grossmont interception. Barton connected with Jesse Campbell for a 98-yard catch-and-run touchdown to increase the Tigers’ lead to 21-0 in the first quarter.

The offensive explosion continued in the second quarter, beginning with a 37-yard pass from Barton to Kajiya Hollawayne that flipped the field for the offense. 

The defense would continue to force the Grossmont offense into quick three and outs and inefficient drives. RCC’s defense would not give an inch to the Grossmont offense.The RCC defensive stand gave the Tigers one last chance at the end zone before the first half expired. 

The Tiger would begin the second half with some of the starters being pulled from the game. RCC’s offense did not miss a beat. The Tiger’s capped off the impressive drive with a 8-yard touchdown run from running back Devyne Pearson. 

Their defense would then force a punt and the offense would take over with minutes to go in the third quarter. 

“When we play fast no team can match that speed,” sophomore linebacker Leo Tupou said. “And we believe that as a team.”

 On the first play of the fourth quarter the Tigers offense punched in a 2-yard touchdown run to push the lead to 56-0.  

As time expired in the fourth quarter the Tiger’s offense would put together one last final drive. The Tigers would score on a 1-yard run that was fumbled into the end zone then recovered by an RCC player giving the Tigers the touchdown and extending the lead to 63-0. 

The Griffins’ offense attempted one more drive with three minutes left in the game. RCC’s defense would stand tall and end the game on a high note with an interception that closed the game. The Tigers would go on to secure the shutout.

Even with the impressive performance from both sides of the ball head coach Tom Craft still acknowledged an area his team can improve on. 

 RCC head coach Tom Craft said, “We gotta stop giving up first downs due to the defensive penalties.” 

The Tiger’s defense gave up 12 defensive penalties that resulted in a first down for the Grossmont offense. 

“The score doesn’t always tell the story of the game,” Craft said. “Gotta clean up those mistakes.” 

The Riverside City College Tiger’s next game will take place on the road against the Southwestern College Panthers on Oct. 21.