John Garibay Named SCFA Special Teams Player of the Week

Throughout the football season, whether it is in the professional or college setting, it is evident that special teams play can be a deciding factor in the outcome of a game. For the Riverside City College football team, the kicking component on special teams has been a reliable force throughout the month of October.

Sophomore kicker John Garibay has been automatic in the past three games and his performance in a 36-6 victory over No. 11 Southwestern earned him the Southern California Football Association Special Teams Player of the Week honor for week eight.

It is difficult to pinpoint the main highlight of his performance due to the numerous strengths he possessed throughout the game. He was active in putting numbers on the scoreboard emphasized by a career-long 47-yarder in the third quarter to add to an already sizable lead. He followed with a 43-yarder in the fourth quarter to put icing on an already decorated cake.

His punting performances put a major damper on any offensive rhythm Southwestern could have mustered. Garibay dropped back for eight punts that totaled 358 yards with four of them landing inside the 20-yard line. His best punt pinned the Jaguars at the three-yard line eventually leading to a safety in the first quarter.

Furthermore, the Jaguars had minimal chances to bring the ball out on kickoff returns as he launched seven kickoffs for 449 yards to average 64.1 yards-per-kickoff. Four of his kickoffs went for touchbacks.

Garibay joins freshman Tyler Kennedy (Special Teams Player of the Week – Week Four) and sophomore Quincy Wimbish (Offensive Player of the Week – Week Five) as the third RCC football player to haul in SCFA accolades this season.