RCC gets revenge against Fullerton

BY ALLAN STEELE / PE STAFF WRITER

RIVERSIDE – Riverside City College ran its home win streak at Wheelock Field to 27 games on Saturday, but more importantly, the Tigers exorcised some demons, courtesy of Fullerton College, and likely put themselves back in the conversation as a state title contender.

For the second week in a row, the RCC defense looked sharp, and for the second week in a row, sophomore Nick King started at quarterback and again gave the offense an added dimension with his ability to run.

King passed for 322 yards and three touchdowns and also ran for 53 yards and another score as the Tigers downed the Hornets 36-13. Denzel Foster ran for 161 yards and also caught a pair of touchdown passes.

After losing a turnover-marred game to Grossmont, the Tigers (4-1) have now won two straight games with a rejuvenated offense and a much-improved defense.

"I think we're getting better running the football," Coach Tom Craft said. "We threw the ball better than we have all year. … Nick's given us a spark."

Fullerton College (4-2) defeated RCC twice last season, including in the Southern California championship game, but this one was all Tigers.

"They're a different team, we're a different team," Craft said, not playing into the redemption theme.

But the sophomores remembered.

"We did have a little chip on our shoulder," said linebacker Jonah Moi, who recorded seven tackles and a sack.

The defense kept El Camino out of the end zone last week and nearly did it again on Saturday, but the Hornets scored a touchdown with 2:16 remaining. By that time the game was in hand and starters were on the bench.

Moi called it a good team win. Foster, who rushed for 238 yards in last year's regular-season matchup with the Hornets, echoed the sentiment.

"I knew we were going to run the ball, so I just had to do what I can for my team," said Foster, who had touchdown receptions of 56 and 14 yards.

Fullerton entered with the No. 2 rushing defense in SoCal, giving up just 78 yards per game, but the Tigers racked up 247 yards on the ground.

The Tigers struck quickly, moving downfield on their first possession and scored when King hit Foster for a score.

RCC punted on its next series. Hornet returner Ryan Markush took the bouncing kick, made a move and ran right, where he ended up in the end zone and was subsequently tackled for a safety.

That seemed to fire up the RCC defense and the offense continued to find success, finishing with 569 total yards. The Tigers led 22-6 at the half and then scored twice in the third to all but seal the win.

"We've made a lot of progress," said Foster, who's topped 100 yards rushing the past two weeks. Isaac Whitney added 10 catches for 126 yards and Jimmy Camacho kicked field goals of 31 and 33 yards.

RCC is at LA Harbor next Saturday

Photo by Doug Benc