REEDLEY – There no longer are any undefeated football teams in the National Division Valley Conference.
Both Reedley and Contra Costa College are 5-1 in 2023 after a start to finish 31-21 Tiger victory in San Pablo on Saturday, Oct. 14.
The keys to the win over the previously undefeated Comets were the Reedley defense and special teams, according to head coach Rob Hartenfels. The Tigers forced seven Contra Costa turnovers (four lost fumbles and three pass interceptions).
Reedley blocked a field goal attempt and recovered a fumble on the return. Four plays later, Reedley scored on a 13-yard pass from DJ Stevenson to Nick Osho to increase the Tiger lead to 21-7 at halftime.
In the final two minutes of the third quarter, Reedley increased the lead to 31-7 on a 33-yard field goal by Jayden Evangelo and a 22-yard touchdown run by Contae Cason. Contra Costa managed two short touchdowns in the final fourth quarter to wrap up the scoring.
Reedley took the lead four and a minutes into the contest on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Stevenson to Johnathon Calderon (Dinuba). “The offense capitalized on great field position and ran the ball extremely well,” said the coach. The Comets outgained the Tigers 444-259 and had an edge in time in possession.
Defensively, sophomore Langston Latham led the Tigers with six tackles, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.
Nick Soho returned after being held the last two games and had 60 yards in 17 Carrie’s while C’ontae Cason finished with 52 yards in 11 tries. Stevenson was 10 of 17 for 54 yards, completing passes to seven receivers.
Reedley hosts College of the Sequoias on Saturday, Oct. 21 in a 2 p.m. start at Reedley High’s Sal Gonzalez Field. The loss broke a three-game winning streak for the 3-3 Giants, who have defeated Shasta (40-27), San Joaquin Delta (42-7) and Diablo Valley (28-14). In the other conference opener, Modesto outscored Sacramento City 27-14 in Sacramento.
Women’s soccer strengthens hold on second in CVC
With road wins over Madera and Taft last week, the Reedley College Tiger women’s soccer team strengthened their hold on second place in the Central Valley Conference.
Coach Onesta Francis’ Lady Tigers are actually tied for second in the nine-team conference with a 6-2-1 conference record while the Rams are 5-1-3. On Oct. 17, Reedley continued second round play at Merced before hosting the College of the Sequoias Giants on Friday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m.
Next Tuesday, Oct. 24, Reedley travels to unbeaten and first place Clovis Community College.
On Oct. 10, goals by Krysta Casas (DInuba), Jennifer Martinez and Bibiana Gallardo lifted the Tigers to a 3-0 win at Madera. Diana Rico added two assists while goalie Natalie Duran had two saves. Galvan leads the conference in save percentage at .904.
On Oct. 13, Reedley defeated Taft 5-1 in Taft. All of the scoring came in the second half. Rico opened the scoring with the first of her three goals in the 48th minute. Taft tied it ten minutes later before Reedley took the lead for good at the 62nd minute mark. Rico added two more goals before Alexa Baez finished the scoring on an unassisted goal in the 81st minute.
The wins improved RC to 9-3-1 overall, tied for 20th in the latest state rankings.
Women’s golf third at State Preview Tournament
The Reedley College women’s golf team got a chance to play at the course where the State Championship will be played next month in Paso Robles two weekends ago.
Coach Scott Stark’s Lady Tigers finished third In the State Preview Tournament at Hunter Ranch Course in Paso Robles on Oct. 6-7.
Mt. San Antonio College won the event, while defending state champion Modesto edged Reedley by one stroke for second place.
Ethel Asequia led Reedley with an 81-82-163 score over 36 holes while Ava Arredondo also was at 163 with a 79-84. Next was Meghan Hanson with a 92-90-182, Miya Zolkoske at 97-88-185, Melanie Davila with a 99-94-193 and Gabrielle Jasso with a 95-90–185.
As a team, Reedley finished with a 347-344–691 total score, Modesto shot a 351-339–690.
The Tigers returned to conference play on Tuesday, Oct. 17 at Modesto and on Thursday, Oct 19 at Taft.
Tigers’ volleyball loses twice at home
Reedley College dropped Central Valley Conference women’s home volleyball matches in straight sets last week.
This week, the Tigers are on the road at West Hills Coalinga on Oct. 18 and at conference leading Fresno City College on Friday, Oct. 13. Reedley is at West Hills Lemoore on Wednesday, Oct. 25.
Statistics were available from Reedley’s 25-22, 22-19, 25-18 loss to Taft on Oct. 11. Lillian Martinez (Reedley High) led Reedley with seven kills while sophomore Dakota Vermilya added six kills and Kailynn Rios chipped in with four.
Merced edged the Tigers 27-25, 26-24, 25-16 in Reedley on Oct. 13.
