SPORTS

8December 14, 2022 SPORTS RCC looks to rebuild following championship loss

RAIN from page 1 resulted in three-and-outs and after the first quarter the lead was 21-0 for the Bulldogs.

“We came into the game leading the state in total offense,” head coach Tom Craft said. “It just wasn’t our day.”

Any chance of a comeback was lost when quarterback Jake Retzlaff fumbled on the first drive of the second half. It was one of five turnovers by RCC. “Our quarterback had tonsillitis, but that’s not an excuse,” Craft said. “It was just an unusual situation.”

Retzlaff confirmed through direct message that he had tonsillitis throughout the week.

“I was bedridden for over 24 hours before the game,” Retzlaff said. “Being sick is one thing, but being sick, wet and cold is something entirely different.”

The weather conditions and being sick clearly affected Retzlaff as he was inaccurate and unable to get into a rhythm.

Eventually, coach Craft pulled the starters and elected to play the bench players in the fourth quarter, essentially waving the white flag.

“Our kids work extremely hard,” San Mateo head coach Tim Tulloch said. “They prepared hard for this. But it’s not just this week, it’s how they approached everything all year.”

The Bulldogs were able to attack the RCC defense by running laterally, which led to multiple plays of 20 or more yards.

“They (RCC) do a phenomenal job,” Tulloch said. “I saw a heck of a football team (on film). Today was just our day.”

Running back Ezra Moleni set a new rushing record for the Bulldogs with 232 yards on 16 carries..

This is the end of a historic season for the Tigers in which the team went 12-1 and was the Southern California Football Association champions.

However, RCC will be losing a large amount of talent as players transfer to higher-level schools.

“At this level, you’ve got to rebuild every year,” Craft said. “There will be a complete reload.”

The Tigers will look to bring in graduating high schoolers as well as try to find another Jake Retzlaff from the transfer portal to try and make it back to the state championship for the fourth consecutive time next year.

“We had a great year,” Craft said. “We’re going to continue to do what we do. We’ll be alright.”

PHOTOS BY STEPHEN DAY | VIEWPOINTS ABOVE The Bulldogs proved to be slippery when wet, and made the defensive line work twice as hard to stop them. On the punt return Tigers’ Etu Sekona was able to pull Bulldogs’ Brian Pierce down.

Editor: Hayden Kulick viewpoints.sports@gmail.com

Tigers fall short, slip in title game

HAYDEN KULICK MANAGING & SPORTS EDITOR

This loss can’t be blamed on the rain.

Losing a football game 55-0 can’t be chalked up to brutal weather.

Sure, Riverside City College plays in a drier climate compared to the College of San Mateo. But, the rain is not the reason they lost.

A lopsided game like this doesn’t happen often and it surely doesn’t happen often in rain games. And it certainly doesn’t happen in the State Championship.

Generally when you think of football in harsh weather conditions, you think of teams running the football a ton while also keeping the score low.

So why wasn’t that the case in this game? The Tigers were not prepared.

On all three levels the Tigers were dominated.

Offensively, this game was a disaster. On multiple occasions RCC players fumbled without being touched. Yes, the rain can make the ball slippery. Why wasn’t San Mateo dropping the ball like that? Maybe the Tigers were simply unprepared.

Fumbles weren’t the only blunders.

In the third quarter, RCC was attempting to mount a comeback. But instead of taking a sack on third down, quarterback Jake Retzlaff threw the football directly into the hands of one of the San Mateo defensive linemen for a pick six.

You’re already getting blown out. It is four down territory. Why not take the sack? Live to see another down.

Don’t play hero ball when you’re already down by 35.

San Mateo clearly saw something on film about how to attack the defense. The Bulldogs found holes anytime they ran sweeps.

Even on special teams RCC couldn’t hold it together. The opening kick off was returned to the Tigers’ 35 yard line. Later, one of their punts got blocked in their own territory.

The blame for this historic championship loss can’t be put on one person. However, the coaching leading into this game clearly wasn’t good enough.

The team may have been one of two undefeated junior college football teams heading into the weekend but that doesn’t excuse the horrific performance that was put on in the championship by the Tigers.