The City College Panthers left Hughes Stadium victorious on the afternoon of Saturday, Oct. 16 after a close match with the Reedley College Tigers. Panthers defense took center stage in the match with two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and four sacks to lead the team to a 16-14 win for the Valley Conference opener.

The game started out quiet with the first quarter ending with no points earned by either team. The Panthers emerged with the first score of the game about three minutes into the second quarter with kicker Sox Lee’s (#98) 39-yard field goal attempt going straight through the uprights. From there, the Panthers managed to find their energy and the game began to get very vocal. 

The Panthers began to march upfield. The Tigers’ linebacker Rolph Michel (#33) was soon called for a personal foul after hitting a receiver. As the injured player laid on the ground, an assistant coach for the Tigers began screaming over the player and was promptly given a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. To rally their teammates on the field, Panthers on the sidelines began chanting; after a three-minute drive, Sacramento running back Trevon Frazier (#32) completed a 10-yard rush, bringing the score to 9-0. Once again, Lee’s field goal attempt proved fruitful, giving the Panthers a 10-point lead. 

A fumble recovered by defensive lineman Mason Ahlemeyer (#58) late in the second quarter put the Panthers in yet another scoring position. Quick downs left the Panthers just within field goal range at the 33-yard line. As Lee kicked the ball, it was swatted out of the air by Tigers’ defensive lineman Dante Lawson (#15) and recovered by Tigers’ Devin Mcgee (#10). McGee swiftly ran the ball in for a touchdown to end the first half at 10-7.

The energy seemed to be back with the Tigers as both teams headed to the locker rooms. Both teams took the same route to the locker rooms as the game went into halftime. 

As the teams marched back to the field, chants again broke out from the Panthers. The Panthers quickly halted the momentum of the Tigers from the previous quarter. Solid defense from both teams began to shine until the latter part of the third quarter. A pass from Tigers’ quarterback Jordan Soloman (#2) hit the helmet of Tigers’ wide receiver Dallas Parker (#8) and fell into the hands of Panthers’ defensive back Khalani Riddick (#7). 

A few penalties on both teams proved more costly for Reedly as City College came down field and Panther wide receiver Johnathan Brenes (#80) caught a six-yard touchdown with 3:21 left in the third quarter. Lee would once again kick the extra point. This time the ball flew sharply to the left of the uprights and no point was earned. The quarter ended with Sacramento in a commanding lead at 16-7. 

In the final quarter, the vocality of the game was at its peak. Tigers’ cornerback Silas Proby (#4) routinely trash talked the Panthers sidelines and receivers. In one instance, Proby was on route to tackle the Panthers ball carrier but the play was called off due to a delayed time out. Proby threatened, “Oh my god, you are so lucky. Boy I woulda — oh my god; you are so lucky!”

The energy of the Tigers seemed to stagnate toward the end of the game. The first play of the drive, Tigers’ quarterback Jordan Soloman completed a 67-yard pass to wide receiver Jaylin Jackson (#0); Jackson then ran it in for a touchdown. With the extra point secured, the score was 16-14, three minutes left in the game for the Panthers to hold onto victory. 

Reedley maintained a strong defense and quickly got back possession of the football. Early in the drive, a penalty once again held them back from advancing. The offense couldn’t make progress and the ball went back to the Panthers. As Panthers quarterback Jacob Stewart took a knee to run out the clock, Michel, the linebacker for the Tigers, was called for unsportsmanlike conduct during what would have been the final play of the game. 

Reedley ended the game with eight penalties; two of which were unsportsmanlike conduct. Penalties hurt Reedley in critical points of the game and City College capitalized on them. Big plays from Panthers’ linebacker Dustin Sumrow (#48), Trevon Frazier, and Jacob Stewart brought the team to the heights needed to secure the win. The Panthers record moves to 3-4 and their conference record is at 1-0.