Viewpoints
6 | November 29, 2012
Serving students since 1922
Riverside wins first game at home Tim Cornell Staff Writer
Luis Solis / Staff Photographer
Refresh: Riverside City College guard Mason Biddle lays up the ball against Miramar College on Nov. 20.
The Riverside City College Tigers opened up the new renovated Wheelock gym with a win against the Miramar College Jets 51-39. The Tigers were outscored in the first half but came out of halftime focused to quickly get rid of the Jet’s lead. The Tigers never trailed again to go on to win by 12. Of the win Smith said, “It was a good feeling being home and being able to pull out the victory.” The team’s second tournament was at the San Bernardino Valley Tournament on Nov. 16 at San Bernardino Valley College. The Tigers dominated the Victor Valley Rams with a final score of 86-31. Bernard Ireland and Anthony Rounds led the Tigers with 14 points apiece In the second game of the tournament, the Tigers lost to Mt. San Antonio College. The first half ended with a tie at 29. The second half continued to be close before the Tigers started pulling away. With a couple of minutes left in the game, the Tigers held onto a six point lead. The Mounties started gaining momentum. Down by three, the Mounties hit a highly contested three-pointer to tie the game and send it into overtime.
Mt. Sac had all the momentum going into overtime. They outscored the Tigers 16-6 to win 78-68. The Riverside City College basketball team opened up their season at the San Jose Tip Off classic on Nov. 9. The Tigers won their first game against the Stanford Club team with a final score of 74-47. Kendall Schmidt led the Tigers with 18 points. The Tigers had an offensive explosion in the second game. Five players scored over 10 points to
beat the Lassen Cougars 104-83. Dominique Lanier led the Tigers with 23 points. In the tournament championship game, the Tigers fell to the San Jose City Jaguars 75-62. Shannon Fowler had a double-double for the Tigers with 12 points and 13 rebounds With a record of 4-3, the Tigers prepare for the RCC Holiday Tournament. “We are working really well as a team right now,” said Mason Biddle, “We are going to be ready for the holiday tournament.”
Luis Solis / Staff Photographer
Opener: Riverside City College guard Bernard Ireland jumps up for a slam dunk against Miramar College on Nov. 20.
RCC football wins third straight Golden State Bowl
Matt Dziak Staff Writer After losing 25-0 to Mt. San Antonio College in the regular season finale, RCC missed out on the Southern California Football playoffs, settling for a rematch with the LA Harbor Seahawks in the Golden State Bowl at Riverside’s Wheelock Stadium on Nov. 17. RCC battled against LA Harbor in a 34-23 comeback victory to win its third straight bowl game and improved their record to 30-3 overall in three years under coach Tom Craft. “It was a difficult situation to go to practice this week after being letdown and shunned by the playoffs,” Craft said. RCC defeated Harbor in week four, 31-7 with quarterback Zach Adkins coming in for Tyler Shreve in the second half to lead the Tigers to a victory. In the most recent game, the Tigers were trailing in the first half 20-17, RCC opened the second half with an interception thrown by Nick Gathrite and returned it 51 yards for the touchdown as the Tigers regained the lead at 24-20. Adkins finished atop the National Central Conference in passing and had 221 yards on 18of-27 passing and two touchdowns adding to his totals. Adkins, a
Luis Solis / Staff Photographer
Champion: Riverside City College defeats L.A. Harbor Seahawks, 34-23 on Nov. 17. man who shrugs off personal achievements, was named MVP for his performance. “I didn’t even think I would get that, but it is great to be considered the MVP of our team,” Adkins said. RCC’s rushing attack continued to shine as the offensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and opened up gaping holes that even a big rig truck could pass through. Finishing the season as the National Central Conference’s
leading rusher, Schexnayder had 24 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown. For the first time all season, the Tigers allowed 100 yards or more to a single running back. Dewaun Wesley eluded would be tacklers on 18 rushing attempts for 111 yards and a touchdown. In the second quarter, Wesley exploded to the outside for a 42yard run in the red zone, but the Tigers’ stingy defense held their ground and Harbor settled for a
33-yard field goal. “These guys battled and I’m real proud of them,” Craft said. “We had a bend, don’t break mentality on defense and it was great today.” Harbor was much improved from the previous match up where they had 310 yards of offense and quarterback Brandon Edwards had two costly interceptions. For the Seahawks, receiver Ryan Hyman caught seven passes for 138 yards and set up two scores
with his ability to stretch the field and get behind the secondary. RCC was out gained 429-401 in yardage offensively for the second straight game, but capitalized off of four Harbor turnovers. The Seahawks utilized a duo quarterback attack, switching between Max Baiz and Edwards on each drive to keep the Tigers’ defense on their heels. Baiz however, threw three interceptions on 10-of-22 completions for 169 yards. An interception by RCC safety Chris Gonzalez with just a minute remaining that allowed the Tigers to line up in the victory formation one last time, taking a knee to run out the final seconds remaining on the clock. “We got the turnovers and it slammed the door for us,” Craft said. “The turnovers were the difference in the game.” With their friends and family gathered in the home crowd at Wheelock Stadium, the players gathered afterwards for pictures, capturing a victorious moment. “It feels really good because last week everyone was really down about not getting into the playoffs,” Adkins said. “It was great to finish on a high note and get the win.”