The Santa Rosa Junior College football team managed to keep its season opener close against the defending champion, San Francisco City College Rams, on Sept. 3 at George M. Rush stadium.
A missed scoring opportunity in the third quarter made all the difference in the Bear Cubs’ 31-20 loss.
Coming out of halftime, the Bear Cubs were down 21-13 to the Rams in a one-possession game. The Bear Cubs received the second-half kickoff and had a chance to even the game.
The Bear Cubs drove all the way to the Rams’ 18-yard line on the back of quarterback Santino Chavez and running back Adrian Torres. Despite being in the red zone, the Bear Cubs walked away with no points in a failed attempt to tie the game.
In the fourth quarter, Rams quarterback Matt Jenner connected with wide receiver Teneil Nichols on a massive 59-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 28-13. Nichols outran the entire Bear Cubs defense on his way to the endzone.
Throughout the game, the Bear Cubs rotated quarterbacks from Carson Budke to Santino Chavez. After a slow first quarter, Budke rotated back in after the Rams’ 59-yard touchdown.
Budke scored his first touchdown of the season on a 6-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Isaac Torres. Earlier in the drive, Budke and Torres put the Bear Cubs in scoring position on a 44-yard connection. Budke displayed a great level of poise on the eight-play, 69-yard drive, a sign for the future of the season.
The Rams ended the Bear Cubs’ comeback attempt with a 29-yard field goal to ice the game and make it a two-possession game.
Linebacker Dimitri Johnson shined on defense, racking up six total tackles and a highlight-worthy 11-yard pick-six touchdown.
Isaac Torres was the Bear Cubs’ lead receiver with seven receptions for 112 yards and caught a touchdown pass from both Budke and Chavez.
The Bear Cubs will try to find their first win in their home-opener against Modesto Junior College at 5 p.m. Sept. 10 at Bailey Field.
