Forced Red Zone Turnovers, Strong Offense Lead Tigers Past Pirates

The top-seeded Riverside City College football team and the fourth-seeded Ventura College Pirates faced off in the Southern California Football Association (SCFA) Regional Playoffs for the third time in the past five years on Saturday afternoon. The Tigers got out to an early lead, but the Pirates continued to stay within striking distance. Two Ventura turnovers in the red zone gave Riverside an advantage late in the game leading to a 47-32 win.

The win punches the Tiger's ticket to their sixth-consecutive SCFA Championship game. They will host the winner of second-seeded Fullerton and third-seeded Mt. San Antonio on Saturday, December 3 at San Bernardino Valley College. Game time is to be determined.

Sophomore quarterback Jake Retzlaff was named the Most Valuable Player of the game after going 27-for-37 with 402 yard and six touchdown passes. Freshman tailback Bryce Strong was named the Offensive Player of the Game after carrying the ball 20 times for a career-high 150 yards. He also caught three catches for a team-high 90 yards.

"I feel good," said J. Retzlaff. "My boys up front, my o-lineman, they protected me really well tonight.  For the most part, we did what we wanted to do, but we have a lot to work on."

The Player of the Year candidate threw six touchdown passes for the third time this season, pushing his season total to 42. He now has 4,172 passing yards on the season. Both marks lead the state.

"We just played are game. They guys up front, led by sophomore center Ed Riley, dominated the line of scrimmage. That really helped us down the stretch."

While the offense shined, the defense came up clutch on multiple occasions as they forced three red zone turnovers throughout the game. The first came early in the second quarter after the Pirates blocked a Riverside punt that landed them on the Tigers' 26 yard line. With Ventura threatening to take the lead, sophomore defensive back Demarco Moorer rose up for his ninth interception of the season on a lofted ball in the back of the end zone.

The other two takeaways came in the fourth quarter that deflated the Pirates' sails as they were threatening to score on both possessions. Their 10 play, 85 yard drive was squandered by freshman defensive back Kenton Allen as he forced a fumble on the eight yard line which was recovered by none other than ball magnet Demarco Moorer for his second takeaway of the game. Freshman Bryce Tate put the nail in the coffin on Ventura's final drive of the game as he corralled a batted ball that fell into his hands as he crashed down in the end zone, sealing the victory.

Quality defense gifted the offense multiple opportunities and they took advantage. J. Retzlaff and sophomore wide receiver Roshawn Lacy had their best games as a duo with the two of them linking up for three touchdowns. They connected for the first two scores of the game with the first going for a 25-yard touchdown, backed by a three yard connection on the ensuing possession. They later hooked up for an eight yard touchdown in the third quarter to put Riverside up by 15 points.

J. Retzlaff had three other touchdown passes with two finding the hands of sophomore wide receiver Reggie Retzlaff. They came on back-to-back possessions as J. Retzlaff found R. Retzlaff on a four yard pitch for a touchdown, backed by a 15-yard slant that found him in the end zone to close out the first half. The score put the Tigers up 16 points.

J. Retzlaff's final touchdown pass came on the closing drive that found the hands of freshman slot receiver Norbert Espadron. He caught a 39-yard screen pass that he promptly took to the crib. Freshman running back Cam Leofa had the lone rushing touchdown for the Tigers as he pounded a three yard run past the goal line at the end of the first quarter.

Moorer had a monster day on the defensive end highlighted by his ninth interception of the season on a fumble recovery in the end zone. He is currently one interception away from tying the single-season interceptions record. In addition, he had six total tackles.

Sophomore linebacker Arturo Orozco led the team with 12 tackles, which was the second most in the game. Sophomore linebacker Gage Summers and freshman defensive back Marseille Taylor each had five tackles.

The Tigers wreaked havoc in the backfield, especially in the second half. They recorded three sacks for a loss of 19 yards highlighted by one and a half sacks by freshman Mafileo Tupou. Sophomore Sivea Logoleo recorded one sack.