Tigers Top Cerritos, 31-16, Saturday; After Oct. 8 Bye, RCC Opens National Central League Play at Chaffey Oct. 15

RIVERSIDE -- Leading from the first score, the Riverside City College (RCC) football team -- the top-ranked team in the state for the third consecutive week -- built a two-touchdown, first-quarter lead and prevailed, 31-16, over the Cerritos College Falcons in a non-conference home game Saturday night (Oct. 1) at RCC's historic Arthur N. Wheelock Stadium.

Riverside City (5-0 overall) struck first when sophomore tight end Adrian Hughes (Riverside / John W. North HS) latched onto a 20-yard touchdown strike from sophomore quarterback Collyn Anderson (Durham, NC / Hillside [NC] HS '12) to capa seven-play, 56-yard drive with 5:53 left in the forst quarter. Freshman place kicker John Hilfer (Redlands / Redlands East Valley HS) kicked home the first of four points after touchdown (PAT) and RCC led, 7-0.

Less than five minutes later, sophomore tailback Seth Acda (Murrieta / Vista Murrieta HS '15) capped a ten-play, 53-yard drive with a one-yard TD run with 1:12 left. Hilfer kicked his second PAT and RCC led, 14-0.

Early in the second quarter, Hilfer booted home a 28-yard field goal and RCC led, 17-0, with 11:02 left. About a minute later, the Tigers forced Cerritos to punt, but on the ensuing punt return, Sebastian LaRue took the ball from his own 10-yard line and circled into his own end zone where he was tackled for a safety to get the Falcons on the scoreboard, 17-2.

Each team scored a touchdown in the third and fourth quarters to account for the final score.

In terms of total offense yardage, Riverside outgained Cerritos, 425 to 306. The Tigers outgained the Falcons in net yards rushing, 184-94, and in passing yardage, 241-212.

Despite not being penalized in the first quarter, RCC had ten penalties for 90 yards, while Cerritos had only eight for 64 yards.

Acda led all rushers with 112 net yards rushing (only loss of minus 1) on 22 carries with the one TD and a long gain of 27 yards.

Anderson had another solid start for RCC, completing 18 of 30 passes (with zero interceptions) for 241 yards and two TDs and wass only sacked once.

Sophomore wide receiver Jacoby Herring (Riverside / Citrus Hill HS '15) had four receptions for 63 yards (with a long gain of 30 yards) and sophomore WR Darius Hunter (Prosper, TX) -- son of former Major League Baseball outfielder Torii Hunter -- had a co-team-high four catches for 30 yards (with a long gain of 13 yards).

On defense, sophomore linebacker Nick Underwood (Lake Oswego, OR / Lake Oswego HS) had another solid game with 12 total tackles (six solo, including a tackle for a loss of two yards and an interception return for nine yards.

For Cerritos (2-3 overall), sophomore quarterback Nick Mitchell -- a transfer from Oregon State U. -- completed ten of 21 passes with two interceptions for 206 yards and two TDs, but was sacked three times.

Kishawn Holmes (Vista Murrieta HS) a prep teammate of RCC's Acda -- led the Falcons in rushing with 58 net yards on 16 totes. Freshman wide receiver Stacy Chukwumezie (Downey HS) had four receptions for 138 yards and one TD, a 61-yard long gain in the fourth quarter, and sophomore wide receiver Matt Rosales (La Serna HS) had four nabs for 69 yards, including a 29-yard TD catch in the third quarter.  

With the win, Riverside still trails Cerritos in the all-time series, 14-9. Prior to Saturday, the teams last met in 2009 when the Falcons toppped the Tigers, 58-17.  Additionally, prior to Saturday, RCC's last win over Cerritos was a 22-16 overtime verdict in 2007.

At the halfpoint in the season, Riverside -- as will all "national league" teams -- will have a bye on Saturday, Oct. 8. The Tigers return to action on Saturday, Oct. 15, when they visit the Chaffey College Panthers to open National Central League (NCL) play in a 6 p.m. kickoff

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With a 5-0 start, Riverside figures to remain in the top spot in the next poll, which will be released Tuesday, Oct. 4, by the California Community College Football Coaches Association (CCCFCA) and the Junior College Athletic Bureau (JCAB).

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RCC head coach Tom Craft, who is his seventh season at the Tigers' helm, brings an overall record of 63-10 (through the previous six seasons, 2010-15, plus the first five games of 2016) into the Tigers' next game (Saturday, Oct. 15) at Chaffey. Craft has guided the Tigers to five bowl victories and five conference championships (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, co-2015).

In 2015, RCC was 8-3 overall, 5-1 in the National Central League (NCL). In 2013 and 2014, Riverside was 10-2 overall, 6-0 in the National Central Conference (NCC) each season.

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