Second Ranked RCC Defeats Eagles

The MSJC football team is still searching for their first win of the season after falling on Saturday night 41-17 to visiting Riverside City College.

The Tigers got off to a very fast start as they scored on their second play from scrimmage on the night as Bryce Strong scored on a 50 yard run.  The Eagles would fight back on thier first possession, putting together a 8 play 68 yard drive that was capped off by a Zach Zella to Matthew Caldera 16 yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 7-7.  Riverside however, would go on to score three straight TDs to pull ahead 28-7 after the opening quarter.  Mason Krause kicked a 33 yard field goal for MSJC with just under 5 minutes to go before halftime, but the Tigers answered on the final play of the half with a field goal of their own to head to the locker room up 31-10.

Zella would throw his second touchdown pass of the night late in the third quarter when he hooked up with Christian Kretz on a 15 yard scoring strike.  RCC kept the Eagles at bay in the second with a field goal and an early fourth quarter touchdown to win the game.

Zella finished his night completing 20 of 37 passes for 248 yards, Caldera caught a team high 6 passes out of the backfield while Kretz had 5 receptions for 114 yards.  Tyler Martin, Tyrone Oloa, and DeShawn Brooks each had 11 tackles to lead the Eagles' defense.  Carsten Mamaril had a pair of interceptions and a pass break up in the loss.

RCC, who came into the game ranked #2 in the State, remained unbeaten at 5-0.  The Eagles fell to 0-5 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.  MSJC will have this week off, before returning to action at home on Saturday October 14th when they host Southwestern.  The game on the 14th will also serve as the Eagles' 2023 Homecoming game.  Kick off will be at 6 pm.