Fresno City College opens football season with convincing win. Big plays made it happened
Fresno City College football coach Tony Caviglia admits there are a bunch of unknowns when facing a team to start the season.
He was a bit worried heading into the game against Diablo Valley because Vikings new coach Jimmy Collins came over from City College of San Francisco where they usually have the upper hand against Fresno City in years past.
His Rams said don’t worry about that.
Fresno City scored at ease with quarterbacks Ryan Markarian and Ya’j Vance leading the way in a 37-13 victory on Friday night.
“We had plans on playing both of them because we’re calling those guys good quarterbacks,” he said. “They moved the team and they made big throws at big times.”
Caviglia’s Rams is filled with mostly Fresno-area talent with out-of-area players mixed in.
“Most high school guys we have on our team, the quarters are a lot longer in college football,” Caviglia said. “The game is a lot longer and to be able to play strong and finish strong today ... it was big for us.”
The Rams defense generated four turnovers.
Fresno City had three rushing touchdowns and three touchdown passes.
The Rams defense kept the Vikings scoreless in the second half.
Game summary
Fresno City 37, Diablo Valley 13
Fresno City (1-0) 12 12 0 13 - 37
Diablo Valley 0 13 0 0 - 13
First quarter
Fresno City: Ashton Chalabian 5 pass from Ryan Markarian (kick failed), 13:25. Drive: 4 plays, 46 yards in 1:29. Fresno City 6, Diablo Valley 0.
Fresno City: Ah’Marion Gaines-Smith (run failed), 5:30. Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards in 4:15. Fresno City 12, Diablo Valley 0.
Second quarter
Diablo Valley: David Pierro 14 pass from Teddy Booras (kick failed), 13:50. Drive: 10 plays, 63 yards in 6:30. Fresno City 12, Diablo Valley 6.
Fresno City: Andrew Chavez 4 run (kick failed), 5:50. Drive: 5 plays, 63 yards in 2:40. Fresno City 18, Diablo Valley 6.
Diablo Valley: Cade Young 15 pass from Teddy Booras (Michael Vaccaro kick), 3:50. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards in 2:00. Fresno City 18, Diablo Valley 13.
Fresno City: Nahzae Cox 19 pass from Ya’J Vance (run failed), 1:55. Drive: 4 plays, 47 yards in 1:10. Fresno City 24, Diablo Valley 13.
Fourth quarter
Fresno City: Jack Kirby 5 pass from Markarian (kick failed), 8:42. Drive: 12 plays, 89 yards in 7:44. Fresno City 30, Diablo Valley 13.
Fresno City: Jordan Colbert 9 run (Johnny Enriquez kick), 1:02. Drive: 4 plays, 55 yards in 1:16. Fresno City 37, Diablo Valley 13.
Fresno City Diablo Valley
First downs 23 19
Rushes-yards 39-163 27-74
Passing yards 214 219
Passes Att-Comp-Int 21-14-0 39-22-2
Total offense plays-yards 60-377 66-293
Fumble Returns-Yards 1-0 0-0
Punt Returns-Yards 0-0 1-21
Kickoff Returns-Yards 3-104 3-90
Interception Returns-Yards 2-21 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg) 3-82 2-67
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1
Penalties-Yards 7-65 11-89
Possession Time 28:48 31:12
Third-Down Conversions 45% (5 of 11) 43% (6 of 14)
Fourth-Down Conversions 100% (1 of 1) 25% (1 of 4)
Red-Zone Scores-Chances 5-5 2-3
Sacks By: Number-Yards 2-21 3-16
RUSHING: Fresno City, Ah’Marion Gaines-Smith 12-56; Jordan Colbert 3-55; Andrew Chavez 7-36; Ashton Chalabian 6-23; Ryan Markarian 3-6; D’ante Benjamin 1-0; Ramon Ruiz 1--2; Ya’J Vance 4-(-3); Team 2-(-8). Diablo Valley, Ferrari Miller 15-61; Sean Davis 4-14; Amani Holliday 3-8; Omari Taylor 2-4; Teddy Booras 3-(-13).
PASSING: Fresno City, Ryan Markarian 8-11-0-108; Ya’J Vance 6-10-0-106. Diablo Valley, Teddy Booras 22-38-2-219; Marcus Sanders 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING: Fresno City, Nahzae Cox 4-101; Ramon Ruiz 1-38; Jack Kirby 2-28; Ah’Marion Gaines-Smith 2-18; Noey Felix 1-12; Travis Sirwet 1-6; Ashton Chalabian 1-5; Zach Jenkins 1-3; Marquis Cropper 1-3. Diablo Valley, David Pierro 14-134; Yannik Berg 1-39; Cade Young 4-31; Amani Elfadil 2-10; Steven Henry II 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS: Fresno City, Jaylon Jones 1-21; Alex Valencia 1-0. Diablo Valley, None.
FUMBLES: Fresno City, None. Diablo Valley, Teddy Booras 1-1.
SACKS (UA-A): Fresno City, Archie Chambers 1-0; Giovanni Pifferini 0-1; Eli Laufili 0-1. Diablo Valley, Malik Viewins 1-0; Michael Estrada 0-1; Dougie Silva 0-1; Roarke Hoban 0-1; Armari Cormier 0-1.
TACKLES (UA-A): Fresno City, Bryan Gutierrez 2-1; Diego Betancourt 2-1; Noah Taylor 5-0; Derek Cardenas 1-0; Kaleb Tennison 1-0; Jaylon Jones 1-1; Alex Valencia 3-0; Brandon Holmes 1-0; Ontario Thompson 1-0; Archie Chambers 4-2; Keanu Kuma 3-5; Kenny Vernado 1-0; Giovanni Pifferini 2-3; Jack Metzler 1-0; Eli Laufili 1-1; Johnny Enriquez 1-1; Nate Reinhold 1-0; Diego Rojas 0-1; James Kakiva 1-0; DeSean Watts 1-0; Rocky Koontz 4-1; Devin Williams 0-1; Alex Aldana 0-1; Teloma Elisara 0-1; Greg De La Cerda 1-0; Team 2-0. Diablo Valley, Safir Stills-Bey 1-0; Malik Viewins 2-0; Anthony Henry 5-1; Kameron Hawkins 1-0; Wesley Garton 6-0; Antone Monroe 3-0; Jeffery Holden 2-0; Donavon Ferguson 1-0; Charles Cox 4-1; Marley Alapati 1-2; Zachary Sandoval 1-0; Kaden McIver 1-1; Michael Estrada 2-1; Dougie Silva 0-1; David Johnson 1-0; Roarke Hoban 1-2; Armari Cormier 1-1; Team 8-0.
This story was originally published September 7, 2024 at 11:12 AM.
