Alexander: Riverside’s quest for another state football title comes up short

WALNUT – Back to … (pause) … um, not truthful fast.

Riverside City College’s effort to spell backmost to (sort of) back, to bookend its 2019 authorities and nationalist assemblage assemblage shot title with a 2021 authorities rubric and situation the void that was 2020, ran aground Saturday day astatine Mt. San Antonio College.

They surrendered the rubric to City College of San Francisco, which completed a 13-0 play and won its eighth authorities rubric – and astir apt besides nailed down the nationalist rubric that RCC had captured 2 Decembers ago. The Rams’  taut 22-19 victory wasn’t sealed until De’Andre Greeley’s interception of a Jordan Barton walk with 2:03 left, connected a third-and-goal play astatine the CCSF 10, ended RCC’s bid to spell up oregon astatine slightest tie.

It was, for the astir part, the champion of a tier of shot that tends to beryllium horrendously underreported and unnoticed, astatine slightest until the champion of those two-year players amusement up astatine four-year schools. The play was spirited and reasonably precocious quality, the “home” squad brought its monolithic set and afloat cheer squadron and a beauteous good-sized assemblage to Hilmer Lodge Stadium (1,526 total, including a mates of 100 visitors from The City).

The officiating? Tom Craft volition get backmost to you connected that. RCC’s manager was convinced that Greeley had wrapped his arms astir receiver Jamal Houston to statesman that decisive play, and replays disconnected of the unrecorded watercourse of the crippled verified that the antiaircraft backmost applied a little bearhug that whitethorn person knocked the receiver disconnected stride.

“Normally, I would accidental it shouldn’t travel down to that,” helium said. “But erstwhile you person 2 teams that are similar this, it does travel down to, you know, what you tin and can’t bash successful a crippled … For it to travel down to the extremity and person them wrapper up our receiver similar that, I don’t usually accidental that’s the quality successful the game. But it was.”

He had plentifulness of different concerns during the afternoon, but that’s what happens erstwhile you tally into a truly bully team. In the end, the crippled whitethorn person swung connected a two-point conversion that was missed and 1 that was made.

RCC (10-3) took a 19-14 pb with 12:14 near successful the crippled erstwhile Thomas Kinslow went disconnected close tackle and moved the heap for a 2-yard touchdown run. After sending the kicking portion retired for the other point, Craft changed his caput and went for two, but Juwan Tucker took the shot connected a reverse and couldn’t rather marque it to the pylon earlier being shoved retired of bounds.

Six plays and a small little than 3 minutes aboriginal CCSF went successful beforehand erstwhile Devan Walker took a surface walk from Jack Newman and turned it into a 28-yard touchdown play, and the Rams converted their two-point effort connected Newman’s walk to Roderick Gaskin for the 22-19 edge.

After RCC had failed connected a fourth-and-1 gamble astatine midfield but past forced a CCSF punt, that last thrust enactment the Tigers successful presumption to astatine the precise slightest necktie the crippled with the limb of sophomore Ricardo Chavez, who broke his ain authorities grounds with a 59-yard tract extremity astatine the extremity of the archetypal fractional (though helium doinked it disconnected the crossbar and it got done the uprights). Chavez was 2 for 3, missing a 47-yarder wide near but making a 47-yarder aboriginal successful the 3rd quarter.

The last effect near the Tigers with an bare feeling, but their travel shouldn’t spell unnoticed. From a 3-2 commencement they won 7 consecutive games, won a league successful which 5 of the six teams finished with wide winning records, and knocked disconnected antecedently undefeated Ventura and Golden West, some connected the road, successful the Southern California Football Association determination playoffs.

And that wasn’t the fractional of it. COVID-19 protocols affected everybody, but Craft felt they deed the Tigers peculiarly hard. There were limits connected outpouring enactment (two days a week of running, nary value work), a autumn campy that was unopen down for 10 days aft 1 practice, restrictions helium said kept him from gathering with his squad successful the schoolroom for 5 weeks, and a rash of injuries helium felt were straight attributable to the spotty signifier schedule. Only aft the bye successful week 5 did things get person to normal.

“You person to person developed joint, tendon, ligament strength, bone, musculus mass, alteration (of) direction,” helium said, maintaining that the signifier limits prevented that process. ” … We were mode behind. And I feared galore injuries, and it happened. We had doubly arsenic galore injuries this twelvemonth arsenic we’ve ever had successful my 11 years astatine Riverside. And radical didn’t deliberation astir that and they didn’t ever inquire me. They ne'er asked my sentiment connected anything. They conscionable reacted and gave maine the directive.”

There look to beryllium issues present that spell beyond the pandemic. Craft cited the information of on-campus Wheelock Stadium, primitively built successful 1921, arsenic good arsenic the school’s signifier field. And helium talked of the request for “more of a collegial connection acquisition betwixt the medication and the coaches, peculiarly america successful football, however it affects our sport.”

Given each of that, what the Tigers accomplished was adjacent much impressive.

“The protocols were tough,” Barton said. “Obviously, I deliberation everyone other went done it, but it deed america hard, being kicked disconnected the tract and not being capable to interaction a shot for a mates of weeks. But however acold we came, I’m truly arrogant of this team. I mean, we overcame and we came present erstwhile nary 1 truly expected america to. And truthful I’m truly arrogant of these guys.”

He should be.

jalexander@scng.com

@Jim_Alexander connected Twitter