The No. 13 Riverside City College football team fell 45–30 to No. 11 Fullerton College in the Southern California Bowl on Nov. 17 at rain soaked Sherbeck Field, marking the end of the season for the Tigers who finish with a 7-4 record, three of those losses being by one score.
Riverside got on the board first with a 21-yard rushing touchdown from freshman running back Kayvion Sibley. They would extend the lead on the next drive with a 38-yard field goal from freshman kicker Timothy Tynan, going up 10-0.
The first half ended with two straight Hornets rushing touchdowns from quarterback Jack Schierholz, leaving the Tigers down 14-10.
The third quarter unraveled for the Tigers, as they surrendered 21 points including two unanswered touchdowns before freshman quarterback Bryan Wilson scored on a 17-yard run. But the Hornets responded back immediately, closing the quarter with a 10-yard rushing touchdown from running back OJ Jones.
Wilson connected with sophomore wide receiver Dominic Cox for a 1-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit 35-24. After a crucial fourth-down stop, the Tigers regained possession at their own 17-yard line.
But an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed them back to the 8-yard line, and sophomore quarterback Jared Doolittle was flagged for intentional grounding, resulting in a safety.
The Hornets immediately ended any hopes of a Tigers comeback. On the first play of the ensuing drive, running back Fred Hunter broke free for a 61-yard touchdown to ice the game.
In the final minute Doolittle was able to find sophomore wide receiver Donovan Ferguson for a 20-yard touchdown, to close the loss margin.
“I think we did a good job but we could have done a great job,” freshman linebacker Micah Valenzuela said. “We have got to be better prepared, we gotta be better.”
Riverside was penalized 15 times for 122 yards. The penalties frustrated the Tigers all game giving the Hornets several opportunities to extend their lead.
For the game, RCC boasted 413 total offensive yards, including 149 passing yards and 264 rushing yards. Freshman running back Kayvion Sibley had 15 carries for 99 rushing yards and sophomore running back Kiyel Tyler had 6 carries for 57 rushing yards.
Doolittle went 9-for-18 for 130 yards with one touchdown pass, while Wilson went 6-for-22 with one touchdown pass and one rushing score. This was the lowest amount of passing yards in a game for the season.
On defense, Valenzuela had 14 tackles and one fumble recovery and freshman linebacker Caden Arellano had 16 tackles and a forced fumble.
“We had a lot of mistakes, a lot of mental mistakes on our own,” sophomore wide receiver Dominic Cox said. He finished the year with 1241 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns on the year. He currently leads the Southern California Football Association in receptions, yards, yards per game and is fourth in touchdowns.
This was his final game with the Tigers and he looks ahead to consider offers from Colorado State, East Carolina, Florida Atlantic, Akron and four more Division I universities.
“I got to be able to play with my team and my family, win or lose it feels amazing,” Cox said. “I’m ready to go to the next level.”
