Riverside Battles Fullerton, Rain in SoCal Bowl Game

No. 13-ranked Riverside City College battled No. 11-ranked Fullerton College and the rain Monday night, ultimately falling 45-30 in the SoCal Bowl.

The Tigers end the year with a 7-4 record, while the Hornets finish at 8-3.

Rain came down for most of the game, and both teams struggled to get their passing games going with the slippery conditions. Both teams also had multiple turnovers as the Tigers fumbled four times and had one interception, while the Hornets coughed up the ball three times.

RCC boasted 413 total offensive yards, including 149 passing yards and 264 rushing yards. Jared Doolittle went 9-for-18 with one touchdown pass, accumulating 130 yards, while Bryan Wilson went 6-for-22 with one touchdown pass and one rushing touchdown. Kayvion Sibley, Donavon Ferguson and Dominic Cox also scored touchdowns for Riverside, while Timothy Tynan hit a 38-yard field goal and three extra points.

Defensively, Caden Arellano led RCC with 16 tackles on the night, including eight solo stuffs, and a forced fumble. Micah Valenzuela followed with 14 tackles, including six solo efforts, and one fumble recovery.

Riverside scored first on its first drive of the game off a Sibley 21-yard run, before Tynan put the Tigers up 10-0 with just under five minutes left in the first.

Fullerton battled back and took a 14-10 lead at halftime and came out strong to start the second half, scoring two touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the third quarter. The Hornets kept pushing and upped their lead to 45-24 late in the fourth.

RCC put together a quick drive (three plays, 73 yards) culminating in a 20-yard touchdown pass from Doolittle to Ferguson, but there wasn't enough time left on the clock for the Tigers to come back.