New conference and more wins for the football team Cherie Smith Sports Editor Every team wants to win their conference and all season Reedley College Football believed that it could happen. Reedley College’s Head Football Coach Randy Whited said, “This year’s team showed great resiliency, they constantly battled back and put themselves in position to win football games. The difference was our sophomores who provided great leadership and were committed to “Finish”; I am very proud of them”. Reedley’s first game of the season was on September 1at College of the Sequoias. Reedley College versus Chabot College on Bryan Brown returned a 42 yard punt for a November 10 touchdown. Quarterback Ian Hall threw a 14 yard touchdown to get them within six. Tigers tried an onsite kick in the final minute, but were unable to get the ball. The defense kept them in the game, but the offense was not able pull out the win, losing 20-14. In Reedley’s first home game of the season they hosted San Joaquin Delta College. The Tigers had 34 yard field goal by Dennis Gallo. Reedley’s punter Patrick Green had a 44 yard punt, pinning Delta at their 1 yard line. Tigers’ defense made a goal line stand in the third quarter and was able to get four turnovers even though San Joaquin Delta won 45-17. The Tigers hosted Fresno City College for the Battle of the Pump. Fresno took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. The Tigers scored 15 unanswered points in the third quarter, taking a 24-21 lead. In the fourth quarter Fresno City scored a touchdown to take a 28-24 lead. With 1:28 left and Reedley at the Fresno 12 yard line, an interception ended the game. Reedley then traveled to Sacramento City College. The Tigers scored every quarter starting with Gallo’s 31 yard field goal. Sean Stell threw a 27 yard touchdown pass to tie the game. The Tigers were a yard short of the first down with about 30 seconds left. Punter Green had a fake punt run for 34 yards. Sacramento City College took the lead late in the fourth and won, 27-20. The Tigers hosted Monterey Peninsula College and ended their 11 game losing streak with a 2114 win. In the first half Donte Capers and Will Hanford had touchdowns. Going into halftime, Reedley led 14-0. Monterey scored twice in the third quarter, but Reedley also scored. The defense had two red zone stands in the final 10 minutes to help seal the win. Tigers’ defense kept Monterey offense to -10 yards rushing.
The Tigers traveled to Diablo Valley College. DVC took a 20-0 lead into half time. Reedley got two touchdowns in the second half making it 40-14 DVC. The Tigers last score came in the fourth quarter on a Stell one yard touchdown run. DVC won 49- 21. Reedley had their first game in the Golden Gate Conference hosting Merced College. The Tigers scored first on a 38 yard field goal. Carter, Terrence Tatume, and Kendric Peeples all had two touchdowns helping Reedley win 52-38. Reedley College Football game against Fresno City College earlier in the season
Reedley traveled to Coalinga to play West Hills College. Reedley went on a 28 point run with four touchdowns making it 28-12. Fletcher, Capers, Peeples, and Hanford all had touchdowns helping Reedley win 42-24. The Tigers went to Oakland to face Laney College. Reedley had a touchdown by Carter, making it 7-6 Reedley. Then Laney went on a 31 point run the second and third quarter. Reedley had two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Devin Cox and Peeples had the touchdown catches. The final score was 37-20 Laney. On Saturday, November 10, Reedley College hosted Chabot College for the final game of the season and their shot at being one of the Golden Gate Conference Champions. The Tigers started off the game going on a 14-0 run including an interception return by Patrick Greene. Then Chabot went on a 34 point run. Reedley was able to make it 34-21 Chabot at half time. Reedley scored two touchdowns to take a 45-44 lead with less than fourth minutes left. Chabot had 49 yard field goal to win the game 47-45. Quarterback Stell went 251-for-415, 2558 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and ran the ball 71 times including for a touchdown. Quarterback Hall went 32-for-58, 253 passing yards, and one touchdown. Carter ran the ball 98 times for 498 yards, 29 catches for 205 yards, and eight touchdowns. Capers ran the ball 84 times for 376 yards and three touchdowns. Peeples had 78 catches for 839 yards, and six touchdowns. Hanford caught the ball 59 times for 692 yards including seven touchdowns. Tatume had 33 catches for 377 yards and three touchdowns. Kicker Gallo made 8-of-11 field goals. Punter Greene had 66 punts for 2113. Thomas had 50 tackles, 14 assists, one sack, and one block. Lytle had 33 tackles, 19 assists, and two sacks. Dallas had 26 tackles, 21 assists, and 6.5 sacks. Mathis had 17 tackles, 14 assists, and 4.5 sacks. Outing had 23 tackles, eight assists, and three interceptions. Brown had 22 tackles, eight assists, and two interceptions. Pinkston had 19 tackles, and eight assists. Byrd had 15 tackles, six assists, and four sacks. Green had nine tackles, two assists, and three interceptions and ran the ball four times for 35 yards. Javon Henderson had five tackles, four assists, and three interceptions.
The football lost four games by a touchdown or less. Whited said, “It was nice to have a chance to win games in the 4th quarter but disappointing for us all and the missed opportunities”. Whited said, “Teams create their own breaks, that will be the next step that we must take as a program and a team to compete for conference titles. The highlights for me have always been seeing young men grow and mature, make adjustments, and change their value system. The wins & losses come and go, the relationships we develop last a lifetime”. Reedley College has more wins than they did last season and finished the season at 3-7 overall. Reedley College was 2-2 in their first year in the Golden Gate Conference. Stell led the Golden Gate Conference in passing yards per a game and in touchdowns. Hanford had led the conference in receiving touchdowns. Dallas was first in the conference in sacks. “A special thank you to all Tiger football supporters; your unconditional loyalty to Tiger Football is greatly appreciated!!!”, said Whited