By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Bruin Teams Battle On Road, At Home
Fall Sports Wrap
Calderon
Angel Calderon is shown in action on the Escalon Golf Course, the Lady Bruins home field, last week, hosting Orestimba. On Tuesday, Sept. 27, the Lady Warriors from Newman only brought two competitors, so most of the RHS team played for practice.News Photos By Ric McGinnis

Last week’s high school sports action saw disappointment on both the football field and the volleyball court. Things went a little better on the local golf links for the Lady Bruins.

The girls golf team hosted Orestimba on Tuesday, Sept. 27. The Lady Warriors from Newman brought only two competitors, so technically the win by default goes to Riverbank. Most of the local team played for practice, at their home course in Escalon. Individual scores were not reported.

Ripon Christian was scheduled to play Riverbank at Escalon yesterday, Oct. 4. The Lady Bruin golfers are scheduled to play Hilmar tomorrow, Oct. 6, also on the home course.

 

Varsity, JV Football

With a mixed record so far this year, the Bruin varsity football team took a loss at the hands of the Millennium High School Falcons. They played on the Kimball High field in Tracy.

Coach Kit Jory reported that his team started out the game with a strong defense.

Early in the game, guard Eduardo Flores chased down the runner, behind their line of scrimmage and stripped the ball out of his hands.

“He recovered the fumble and sprinted into the end zone for a defensive touchdown,” Jory said.

The teams traded field position several times, the coach said.

“Allen Brown scored our only offensive TD rushing. Fidel Herrera caught a fade pass for a 2-point conversion and Carlos Villapudua kicked a 43-yard field goal.”

Riverbank entered the fourth quarter down 20-17. With six minutes left the team got hit with several penalties: delay of games, mostly, and then QB Jalen Spikes took a shot to try and get his team into scoring position.

“However, the ball bounced off Villapudua’s hands and a defender grabbed it out of the air and returned it for a TD,” Jory explained. “Down 27-17 with four minutes left we had no choice but to be very aggressive on defense, to try and force a turnover. Unfortunately, linebacker Deyton Wey missed a key tackle on a blitz and Millennium’s running back scampered for a long TD to seal the game.”

The Bruins lost by a 33-17 final.

“Unfortunately, on a night where the pre-game talk was all about resiliency and outlasting an opponent’s best punches, Millennium showed us they were more resilient,” Jory noted.

The Bruins, however, have gotten some wins this season and been playing at a more consistent level.

“One thing is for sure, what could be a trial run of being placed in the CCAA league for football only is providing us the opportunity to at least compete every week,” Jory pointed out. “Should the CIF use the competitive equity formula during realignment next year instead of going strictly by student body size, we are right where we should be.

“And, from the feedback we are getting, the other teams of the CCAA agree.”

Jory noted a final upside from this past week’s game: “Fortunately, for the first time in the last three games, we had no significant injuries.”

The Bruins scored seven points in the first quarter, three in the second, seven in the third quarter and were blanked in the final frame.

The JV Bruins were also on the wrong end of the final score, shut out 14-0, with Millennium scoring in the second and fourth quarters.

That game closed out the JV season, since many of the teams on Riverbank’s schedule don’t field a JV team. Look for some of the junior varsity players to appear on the varsity roster for the rest of the season.

This week is the Homecoming Celebration on the RHS campus, with activities scheduled each day at lunch time, ending with the Homecoming game on Friday, Oct. 7, hosting Brookside Christian High School. The varsity game is set to start at 7 p.m., with no JV game preceding.

The Homecoming King and Queen will be crowned at halftime.

Riverbank is away next week, Oct. 14, against Stone Ridge Christian in Merced, with a bye the following week.

On Oct. 28, they’re at Big Valley Christian in Modesto. On Nov. 4, the Bruins close out the season with Senior Night at home.

 

Lady Bruin Volleyball

Varsity RHS volleyball players dropped their match against Ripon High School, losing in three straight, 10-25, 10-25, 18-25, on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at home.

They were to host Modesto Christian High School last Thursday, but no scores were reported. The Varsity Lady Bruins were to play at the Pacheco Tournament in Los Banos on Saturday and both teams, JV and varsity, were set to play at Hilmar on Tuesday, Oct. 4, after The News went to press.

Tomorrow, Oct. 6, they are to host the Lady Cougars of Escalon.