Gauchos get another tough foe in week two

The Saddleback football team is looking to get back to winning ways this Saturday and will travel to Riverside City College to take on the Tigers.  The Gauchos will look to end a four-year drought against the high-powered Tigers…a team ranked #3 in the nation.

Saddleback had its chances in week one and came about two yards away from knocking off one of the better teams in the country, falling to Cerritos, 20-26.  This week the test will be just as hard as they travel to Riverside, a program ranked #3 in the latest JCGridiron.com Dirty 30 Rankings and #1 in the state by the JC Athletic Bureau. 

Saddleback lost to Riverside last season in overtime (34-37) in a game they outgained the Tigers by nearly 300 yards.  The Gauchos had the ball for over 40 minutes in that game but a late turnover left the door open for Riverside to sneak out with a win.  It was the fourth straight win by Riverside in a series that dates back to 1970.  Saddleback owned the series in the early years and holds a 28-12 advantage overall, including 12 straight wins from 1970-1981. The Gauchos would like to start a new streak on Saturday, and with it send a message to the rest of the programs in Southern California.

Riverside comes in at 1-0 after beating Bakersfield College, 33-14, last weekend.  The Tigers jumped out to a 33-7 lead at halftime before taking their foot off the gas pedal in the second half.  In the game, RCC racked up 468 yards of offense, including a running attack that averaged 4.9 yards-per-carry.  The Tiger defense held the Renegades to 220 yards of offense while forcing four turnovers.

Saddleback linebacker Blake Whitlock was named the National Southern League Defensive Player-of-the-Week following his performance in week one while running back Jojo Binda was an honorable mention selection for all-purpose.  Whitlock finished with 10 tackles, two tackles-for-loss and one sack in the opener while Binda averaged 21.1 on kick returns, also rushing for 24 yards and catching a pass as a receiver.

Game time at Riverside is set for 6:00 PM.