Football Falls in State Championship

The Riverside City College football team fell to the College of San Mateo Bulldogs, 55-0, in the California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) State Championship game on Saturday.

The game was played under extremely unfavorable conditions that featured a consistent sideways downpour and 30-40 MPH wind gust.

Despite reaching the state championship game for the third-consecutive season, Riverside has come up short two years in a row. It is the first time since 2012 that the Tigers have failed to score.

The Bulldogs established the run game early and finished with 379 yards on the ground leading to four rushing touchdowns. They tallied 446 total yards on offense, as opposed to Riverside's 224 total yards.

The Tigers struggled to muster up any offense and failed to gain a first down until their final possession of the first quarter. Additionally, they had an 11 percent third-down efficiency rating.

Riverside turned the ball over five times, threw three interceptions and fumbled the rock six times. Sophomore punter Jared Campbell reared back for a career-high 11 punts for 306 yards. He averaged just 30.9 yards-per-punt with a game-long 65 yarder.

Sophomore quarterback Jake Retzlaff had a rough day under center by going 7-for-26 with 52 yards and three picks; one being brought back to the crib for six. Sophomore quarterbacks Budd Bernie and Alex Grado saw time, but did not experience a much better outcome. They combined for 16 passing yards on seven attempts.

J. Retzlaff led the team in rushing with 12 carries for 30 yards, while sophomore running back Donavon Harvey carted the rock eight times for a team-high 39 yards. Sophomore Bryce Strong followed with nine totes for 33 yards.

Sophomore Reggie Retzlaff led the team with three receptions for a mere 14 yards. Sophomore tight end Wyatt McClour followed with a pair of grabs just 15 yards.

Sophomore Arturo Orozco led the team with eight tackles, while sophomore duo Alonzo Gray-Hall and Marcus Jones followed with seven stops. The two, along with sophomore Alex Navarro-Silva, each recorded stops in the backfield.

Riverside completes their season with a 12-1 record that featured a Southern California Championship and a conference title.