Football Preview: No. 2 Riverside Punches Ticket to SCFA Playoffs as Second Seed

The No. 2 Riverside City College football team finished up conference action last Saturday against the Mt. San Antonio College Mounties. Despite dropping their final contest of the season, the Tigers earned the number two seed in the Southern California Football Association (SCFA) Southern Regional Playoffs after earning the SCFA Central Division Conference title. They will host the third-seeded Ventura College Pirates on Saturday, November 18^th at 6 p.m. in Wheelock Stadium.  

Ticket prices will be $12 for all adults and $8 for students with a valid student ID. There will be a $5 charge for parking as well. The game will be live streamed through SoCal Sports free of charge and can be viewed on their YouTube channel. Live stats will be provided through www.rccatheltics.com as well.

The Tigers look to rebound after suffering their first loss of the season last Saturday against Mt. SAC. Sophomore quarterback Vic Viramontes (Norco, CA), who is arguably one of the most highly-touted community college athletes, will lead the charge under center for the Tiger offense. The 6-2, 230-pound bruiser of a quarterback has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark passing (1,243 yards) and rushing (1,210 yards) thus leading to 16 rushing touchdowns and 18 passing touchdowns. Viramontes has rushed for at least one touchdown in all but one contest this season and has accounted for over a bill on the ground in six games.

Sophomore wide receiver Malik Holcomb (Chicago, IL) leads the aerial strike with 34 receptions for 512 yards and six touchdowns. Freshman wide receiver Tanarious Achan (Lafayette, LA) backs him with 25 catches for 383 yards and two touchdowns. Achan is a threat in the special teams realm as well by returning two punts to the house.  

The ground game is complimented by sophomore running back Clifford Simms (Compton, CA) who has toted the ball 80 times for 587 yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore tailback Josh Johnson (Fontana, CA) follows with a pair of rushing touchdowns.

Riverside boasts a stout defense with heavyweights scattered about the gridiron. Sophomore defensive back Devenare Crenshaw (Riverside, CA) paces the pack in tackles with 45 to average five tackles-per-game. He is tied for first on the team in interceptions with two -  one going for a pick-six in a victory over Cerritos. Freshman corner back Eric Wilson (Oceanside, CA) joins him in the secondary with 42 total tackles with a pair of interceptions and six break ups.

Sophomore linebacker Hunter Hoohuli (Honolulu, HI) leads the line backing core with 42 tackles, while sophomore defensive lineman Misiona Aiolupotea-Pei (Gold Coast, Australia) follows with 38 tackles and leads the squad with 5.5 sacks.

Freshman kicker John Garibay (Rubidoux, CA) has been a strength for the Tigers as he has gone 5-for-7 in field goal attempts that includes a 46 yarder. Additionally, he booted home 52-of-53 extra point attempts.

The Tigers met the Pirates in the week four of the preseason and defeated them, 42-34. In that contest, Viramontes accounted for 508 total yards (284 passing and 224 rushing) and tossed five touchdowns. Sophomore wide receiver Cam Sutton (Moreno Valley, CA) hauled in two touchdown passes while Simms rushed for one touchdown. Wilson recorded nine stops and broke up two passes as well.