Riverside Loses SoCal Final, 35-14, to Mt. San Antonio; Tigers Finish 10-2

RIVERSIDE -- Spotting its opponent a three-touchdown lead was too much to overcome as the No. 1-ranked Riverside City College (RCC) Tigers football team fell to the No. 4-ranked Mt. San Antonio College (MSAC) Mounties, 35-14, in a California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Southern California Regional final game Saturday night (Nov. 22) at RCC's legendary Arthur N. Wheelock Stadium.

MSAC (10-2 overall), the Southern California Football Association (SCFA) National Division wildcard, advances to host the City College of San Francisco (CCSF) Rams (11-1) in the CCCAA Football championship game on Saturday, Dec. 13, at MSAC's Hilmer Lodge Stadium in Walnut. Gametime to be announced.

Riverside (10-2), the SCFA National Central champion (6-0) came from behind to defeat MSAC, 28-24, back on Oct. 25, but this time, the Tigers fell behind and couldn't recover.

The loss by RCC snapped a 31-game home win streak dating to the beginning of the 2010 campaign.

Early on, the teams were jockeying for good field position. There were 19 punts in the game, including nine in the first quarter and 15 in the first half.

After a scoreless first quarter, MSAC led, 14-0, at halftime, and jumped to a 21-0 lead with 5:34 to play in the third quarter before RCC scored twice within a five-minute span to pull to within, 21-14.

RCC sophomore wide receiver Jermel Walker (Rancho Cucamonga HS) capped an eight-play, 86-yard drive when he hauled in a 34-yard TD strike from sophomore QB Nicholas King (Westchester HS) with 57 ticks left in the third quarter. After the RCC defense forced the Mounties to punt after going "three and out," sophomore wide receiver Isaac Whitney (Southmoore, OK) latched onto a nine-yard TD pass from King to cap a ten-play, 82-yard drive with 9:25 left in the game and hope sprang eternal.  

But the Mounties bounced back with a 70-yard touchdown run (aided by at least three missed tackles) on the first play from scrimmage after the Tigers kicked off for a 28-14 lead with 9:06 left in the game. MSAC closed the scoring with a 14-yard TD run with 3:46 left to put the game out of reach.

King completed only 12 of 26 passes for 162 yards, but was sacked five times. Sophomore runningback Denzel Foster (Riverside / John W. North HS), who was recovering from an injury, didn't start, but was the Tigers' leading ground gainer with 98 net rushing yards on 16 carries. Whitney led the RCC receiver corps with four receptions for 39 yards and the one TD.

On defense, sophomore linebacker A.J. Hotchkins (Tigard, OR) had a team-high 11 tackles (three solo) for RCC. Sophomore linebacker Jonah Moi (Citrus Valley HS) had seven tackles (two solo) and was named RCC's Player of the Game.

For MSAC, sophomore quarterback Justin Alo (Carson HS) completed 16 of 26 passes for 263 yards and three TDs, including a 60-yard TD connection to sophomore wide receiver Treydonte Hill (Can Ridge, TN) which gave MSAC a 14-0 advantage late in the first half. For his efforts, Alo was named the game's most valuable player.

MSAC sophomore runningback Omaris Tolbert (East Lee Co., FL HS) led with 172 net rushing yards on 26 totes and the one 70-yard TD dash.

On defense, MSAC freshman linebacker Sitiveni Tamaivena (Palo Alto HS) was a force on defense as he had a co-game-high 12 tackles (11 solo), including 4-1/2 tackles for loss (for a minus-19 yards) and 2-1/2 sacks (for a minus-17 yards) with one pass breakup and one QB hurry. He was named MSAC's Player of the Game.

Freshman linebacker Suliasi Tamaivena (Palo Alto HS) also had 12 total tackles (nine solo). 

In the all-time series, which began in 1948, RCC trails, 16-26. In was the first playoff meeting between the two clubs.

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RCC fifth-year head football coach Tom Craft has compiled a 50-7 overall record (2010 to present) at the Tigers' helm. Craft was head football coach at Palomar College for 16 seasons (1983-93, 1997-2001) where he won nine conference championships and three state championships (1991, 1993, 1998), as well as a state runner-up finish in 2001. While at Palomar, he compiled an overall record of 115-56-1.

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