No. 1 Riverside City remains undefeated in triple-overtime thriller over No. 3 Mt. San Antonio

CCCAA FOOTBALL: Scoreboard l Standings

RIVERSIDE - It could not have been drawn up with any more drama as the top-ranked Riverside City College football team hosted the No. 3 Mt. San Antonio College Mounties in National Central Division action. With a storied history between the two squads, it took three overtime periods to determine a winner.

The primetime showdown came down to the Tiger's final possession in the fourth quarter. Sophomore linebacker Gage Summers came up with a massive goal line stop to force a Mountie field goal with under five minutes remaining in regulation. Riverside got the ball back but failed to move the ball downfield resulting in a punt with just two minutes remaining.

Things looked bleak for Riverside, but the defense responded by forcing a quick four and out-handing the Tigers the ball back with exactly a minute remaining.

The Tigers quickly went into their two minute drill and sophomore quarterback Jake Retzlaff went to work.

He began the drive with a 13-yard completion to sophomore wide receiver Roshawn Lacy, but a fumble on the next play brought the Tigers behind their original line of scrimmage by four yards. After a short completion to freshman running back Bryce Strong and an incomplete pass, the Tiger faced a fourth down and a ways to go with the game on the line.

J. Retzlaff took the fourth down play and rolled to his left, but quickly readjusted to his right and found sophomore wide receiver Reggie Retzlaff streaking across the middle of the field for a 16-yard completion and a first down at midfield.

Riverside faced yet another fourth down after a false start penalty pushed them back with an ensuing incomplete pass. Nevertheless, the Retzlaff connection came in clutch as the brothers linked up for the biggest and most crucial play of the game in the form of a 29 yard connection down the near sideline. It handed the Tigers a first and 10 at the 19-yard line.

The Tigers could not punch it in at drive's end, but sophomore kicker Jacob Marroquin sent the game into overtime by booting his fourth field goal through the uprights; this one good from 36 yards out.

And then, overtime ensued.

The teams went to three overtime periods. The first two overtime periods unfold with no time on the clock with the ball placed on the 25-yard line. The teams have a four-down opportunity to score, whether it's via field goal or touchdown, or gain another first down and continue to attempt to score. The third overtime period is treated as a point after attempt with the ball being placed on the three-yard line. Each team has an opportunity to respond whether their opponent scores or not.

Riverside earned the first possession of the overtime period and wasted no time as Strong carted the ball 25 yards to the house on the first possession. Marroquin capped the score with a PAT to grab the lead at 26-33.

However, Mt. SAC mirrored the Tiger's outcome by scoring on the first play with some trickery. They executed a wide receiver pass to find an open Mountie in the back corner of the end zone for six. They kicked the PAT as well to tie the game at 33-all.

The Mounties earned the first possession of the second overtime period and failed to convert a 40-yard field goal, giving the Tigers an opportunity to win the game. However, Riverside missed a 36-yard attempt as well which brought the game to the third overtime period.

The third overtime allows for a single play from the three-yard line. J. Retzlaff dropped back to find freshman wide receiver Norian Espadron, but missed him by a slim margin. However, a defensive holding on Espadron brought the ball to the one-yard line and handed Riverside a second chance. They capitalized as Strong ran the ball in for the two-point conversion to take the lead.

The Mounties had a similar occurrence by failing on their first attempt, but a substitution infraction on the Tigers' sideline gifted them another opportunity.

Sophomore defensive back Kenton Allen ended the Mounties' night by picking off the Mt. SAC quarterback's pass in the back of the end zone, thus securing the 35-33 victory for the TIgers.

Strong had a career day as he rushed the ball 19 times for 146 yards and two touchdowns including the two-point conversion run in the third overtime. Prior to tonight, he had not rushed for more than 70 yards. He also hauled in three catches for 12 yards.

J. Retzlaff rushed for over a bill for the first time this season highlighted by a 70-yard touchdown run at the beginning of the second quarter. He finished with 130 yards on seven carries. Additionally, he went 23-for-43 through the air but failed to find the end zone for the first time this season.

R. Retzlaff surpassed the century mark in receiving yards for the third time this season as he racked up 110 yards on seven snatches.

Summers had the lone turnover by picking up a fumble forced by freshman defensive back Eupeterson Lewis. The sophomore linebacker finished with seven tackles. Sophomore defensive back Demarco Moorer led the team with nine total tackles, while Lewis and freshman Mafileo Tupou notched six stops.

(Nicho DellaValle, Riverside City Athletics)