No. 1/1 Riverside City dominates showdown of SoCal's top-ranked teams with win over No. 3/4 Golden West; All CCCAA scores here

CCCAA Football: Scoreboard l Standings

HUNTINGTON BEACH - There were many headlines leading into the Southern California thriller that featured the top-ranked Riverside City College football team versus the No. 3 Golden West College Rustlers. They included two stout defenses and wondering which side would fold first. Two strong offenses that continue to put up points on a weekly basis.

But, there was no bigger storyline than sophomore quarterback Jake Retzlaff's return to the gridiron he tore up just one year ago.

This time last year, J. Retzlaff was strapped in the black, yellow and green and in the process of leading the Rustlers to the Southern California Football Association Regional Championship. This year, he was on the other side of the line of scrimmage for the Tigers making plays against a similar defense that helped him reach the championship stage.

He excelled and reminded the Huntington Beach faithful how good he is by leading the Tigers to a 58-21 victory.

The sophomore gunslinger dropped back 35 times and completed 28 passes for 488 yards and four touchdowns, which are just shy of his career highs and record-setting numbers he put up in week one for the Tigers. He located 12 different receivers for at least one reception and connected with three wideouts for at least one touchdown.

Two of his four touchdown passes went to sophomore wide receiver Reggie Retzlaff who continues to act as the top weapon for Riverside. He hauled in eight grabs for 109 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown went for 25 yards, while his second touchdown was a nine-yard scurry to the house. R. Retzlaff has surpassed the century mark in receiving twice and has hauled in two touchdowns in three of the four games this season.

Sophomore Roshawn Lacy got into the end zone after shedding a defender in the corner of the end zone. He hauled in three catches for 65 yards. Sophomore Juwan Tucker had a lone reception for a massive 72 yards that landed him in the end zone.

Freshman Norbert Espadron matched R. Retzlaff's reception total by reeling in eight grabs for 77 yards to round out the aerial attack's highlights.

Riverside was able to push the rock on the ground with a backfield by committee. They were just under two bills with 197 total yards. Freshman Donavan Harvey led the team in carries with 10 carts for 54 yards, while freshman Bryce Strong followed with six attempts for 64 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Jacquez Jones had a nice day with nine carries for 27 yards as well.

At game's end, Riverside accumulated a season-high 728 yards and 9.1 yards per play. They also only had two penalties which is a season-low mark.

It was an even attack on defense with a pair of takeaways mixed in. Sophomore Demarco Moorer continued to shine by hauling in his fourth interception of the season. He added two tackles as well.

Freshman Marseille Taylor recorded his first-career pick and brought it back 30 yards into Rustler territory. He also shared the team-high in tackles with four. Sophomore linebacker Talib Salahuddin had four stops as well with one going for a loss of five yards.

(Nicho DellaValle, Riverside City College Athletics)