JC football: Fresno City beats Reedley with late TD
The Pump stays with Fresno City College.
Rams running back Nate Jones scored on a 2-yard run with 2:22 remaining in the game as Fresno City pulled out a 24-21 victory over Reedley in the annual Battle for the Pump football game at Reedley High on Saturday.
Fresno City, ranked No. 10 in the NorCal National Division, keeps the Pump for a seventh straight year and also snapped a two-game losing streak heading into its bye week before the Valley Conference opener.
“The linemen did a great job adjusting to what was happening,” Jones said. “(Quarterback Christian) Rossi adjusted and kept playing hard, and the fullbacks blocked extremely well – and coach told me the game is in my hands, so I told the boys to take me to the promised land and they did.”
The Fresno City defense had a batted down pass to seal the game.
“This was a tough week and I’m very groud of how our team prepared for this game,” Fresno City coach Tony Caviglia said. “Very physical week of practice and our team responded well. The bye week comes at a perfect time. We should get a majority of our injured players back ready to go for conference.”
NorCal American Division No. 3 Reedley scored first in the second quarter when Austin Bray connected on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Terrell McLaughlin with 14:23 left. But Fresno City responded as Rossi found Kailon Carter for a 15-yard touchdown pass with 4:01 left in the half. The Rams added a field goal for a 10-7 halftime lead.
The Tigers regained the lead when DeShaun Dean ripped the ball away for a 1-yard fumble return for a 14-10 early in the third quarter.
Fresno City (3-2) didn’t go away, as Nate Jones found a hole and scored on a 61-yard touchdown run for a 17-14 lead with 10:02 left in the third quarter.
Just when the Rams regained momentum, the Tigers (3-2) responded as Bray found McLaughlin for a 24-yard touchdown pass for a 21-17 lead with 11:21 left in the fourth quarter.
Fresno City will host Laney College on Oct. 17.
“We really have a lot of work to do still,” Caviglia said. “I believe we are getting better each time we step on the field.”
Santa Rosa 44, Sequoias 0 – The No. 11 Bear Cubs rolled up 443 total yards en route to handing the No. 4 Giants (4-1) their first defeat. Bear Cubs (3-2) quarterback Vincent Jefferies completed 25 of 34 for 291 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Ja’Narrick James rushed 10 times for 55 yards and two scores.
West Hills 61, Gavilan 3 – D’Anthony Cross had two rushing touchdowns to lead the American Division No. 5 Falcons (4-1) to a victory over the Rams (0-5) on Friday.
This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 10:11 PM with the headline "JC football: Fresno City beats Reedley with late TD."