City College kicked off its 60th season against San Bernardino Valley College on Saturday falling to the Wolverines 18-10.
“I was proud of the guys,” said Craig Moropoulos, head coach. “A lot of lesser teams with lesser character would have given up…our guys didn’t.”
The Vaqueros defense stepped up early as Zach Arnell (No. 1), sophomore safety and team captain, intercepted a pass from San Bernardino’s Ricardo Johnson III (No. 10) with 10:38 remaining in the first quarter, deep in their own territory.
San Bernardino responded with a takeaway of its own when City College true freshman quarterback Brandon Edwards (No. 8) threw an interception with 8:58 left in the first.
Despite setbacks, City College’s defense didn’t slow down. Later in the quarter, a 32-yard field goal attempt by the Wolverines was blocked with a defensive stand by the Vaqueros, giving the home crowd something to buzz about.
A 48-yard field goal by City College’s Blake Levin (No. 41) with 3:45 left in the quarter put City College on the board for its first points of the season.
In the second quarter, the defense remained relentless when a forced fumble by Jacob Girgle (No. 2) was recovered by Jake Pettit (No. 40). This added another turnover to the defense’s stat sheet. Missed opportunities were costly early and the Vaqueros couldn’t make any points out of the takeaway.
San Bernardino took the lead in the second quarter after a tough goal line stand by City College when Johnson snuck into the end zone, putting the Wolverines up three with just over six minutes left. A successful field goal settled the score at 9-3, Wolverines, going into halftime.
More defensive pressure came in the third quarter when Owen Hoolihan (No. 94) forced a fumble on Johnson, recovered by Cameron Gamble (No. 29). City College offense took over in Wolverine territory, looking to go up with a score. But again the Vaqueros couldn’t capitalize on the turnover and were forced to punt.
In the final seconds of the third quarter, San Bernardino sophomore running back Kendrick Dorn (No. 1) put his team up 12 points with a seven-yard carry into the end zone.
The Vaqueros started to gain momentum early in the fourth quarter, marching down the field to the one-yard line to push the ball into the end zone on a fumbled snap. A little luck put the first touchdown of the season on the board with just over eight minutes remaining in the game.
With time running out, the offense started marching down to San Bernardino territory yet again. City College reached the Wolverine 21-yard-line but could not capitalize on the momentum, falling to San Bernardino 18-10.
Arnell said he knew the team’s defense was going to be key in the contest and his teammates close to making the outcome in favor of City College.
“They definitely threw some stuff at us that we weren’t ready for,” Arnell said. “But we adjusted. The defense did good.”
City College plays its next game next at 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 13 at Allan Hancock College.
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